It is unimaginable to think of a world in which there was no upholstery. Furniture would be plain and unattractive. It would also be uncomfortable to sit on. Upholstery adds color and texture to any home or office. Upholstery however, needs to be maintained in a clean condition for it to retain its quality. Dirty upholstery soon becomes faded and worn-out.
There are various methods of upholstery cleaning. The most common are those that involve the use of a lot of water and they are perhaps popular because one does not have to be a professional to use them. Hot water extraction is highly favored because it is effective against spills that penetrate deep into the upholstery. Steam cleaning easily removes stubborn stains. These methods even though effective, have one shortcoming. They result in a long drying out time. Upholstery that is cleaned using these methods can stay damp for many hours, even days if too much water is applied, or not thoroughly extracted.
A good alternative to hot water extraction and steam cleaning is the use of very low moisture upholstery cleaning methods. These are several but they have one thing in common. They use very little water and the upholstery should be completely dry in 2 hours or less, and ready for use.
The most effective methods of low moisture upholstery cleaning engage the use of a process known as encapsulation. Encapsulation involves the application of a special cleaning compound, which dissolves the soil particles and locks them in miniature capsules that are detached from the fabric. These can then be vacuumed out as soon as the fabric is dry, or during the next regular cleaning and vacuuming. The cleaning compound used is professional and may be supplied in liquid or foam form. The process of incorporating it into the fabric requires the use of a special scrubbing machine which can be either rotary or oscillating equipment with Micro-Fiber, or other suitable pads. This is a delicate process, which should only be done by professionals who can correctly identify fibers and fabrics, to ensure the proper solution, and cleaning pads are used for each different material.
Low moisture cleaning processes have many advantages over the more conventional wet processes. The key among the advantages however, is the time saved that would have been spent waiting for the upholstery to dry before use. This is particularly useful in a business applications where time saved converts into money made. The process is a great way to maintain clean upholstery and extend the time between more aggressive hot water extraction or steam cleaning methods.
Dave Koetter
Alpine Cleaning Solutions LLC.
@ http://www.alpinecleaningsolutions.net/
(505) 470 1831
Submit your review | |
My wife wanted to sell our living room couches but we found some stains that needed cleaning. You mentioned that upholstery needs to be maintained in a clean condition for it to retain its quality. Do cleaning services offer cleaning techniques that could return them to their original condition? It seems that we would need to get them cleaned before selling it.
I’ve been putting off having our furniture cleaned because it would be impossible to keep everyone off of it for days. I’m very glad to know there is a low moisture upholstery cleaning method. Thanks for the post
Great article! So many people are ready to toss furniture to the curb instead of trying to have it professionally cleaned first. A good professional cleaning can often return upholstery to like-new conditions!
Thanks, did not know about it. I heard that cleaning companies can generally restore the furniture upholstery in fact to the state of a new one. I’m planning on cleaning my sofa soon.