Clean It Up

UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Steven Butler on January 15, 2016, 06:29:53 pm

Title: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: Steven Butler on January 15, 2016, 06:29:53 pm
Hi are these the same material??
Only heard of faux suede..?? Customer called it faux leather...
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: elliott cleaning on January 15, 2016, 08:25:27 pm
'Faux' is the French for false - fake - imitation.  So sure - you can get these both for suede as well as leather
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: john martin on January 15, 2016, 08:36:22 pm
faux suede being microfiber ?  then this would be faux leather being microfiber

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d9/74/f1/d974f1b16c4d30b8fbca735ac98aa5fd.jpg
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: Steven Butler on January 16, 2016, 04:42:39 am
How would you recommend cleaning these...HWE or shampoo??
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: john martin on January 16, 2016, 10:28:00 am
How would you recommend cleaning these...HWE or shampoo??
Me , iv only come accross a handfull of those exact suites , and also its sometimes on the base of large corner units with different cushions .
I have always steam cleaned them ,  cleaned well but i always feel a tiny bit of the original almost wet leather look is lost , its very subtle and the customer had never said anything , by time i get to them they are usually stained with black greasy spots and the customer is just delighted to be rid of those .
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: Steven Butler on January 16, 2016, 11:13:57 am
Cheers John, what products did you use?
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: dutchman on January 16, 2016, 02:20:34 pm
I have cleaned a lot of these suites. The picture John has uploaded would be a sofa I would avoid as the fabric has had a treatment to give it that shaded look. You will remove this when you clean it. You would need to get custy to sign something for a suite like that. I have only seen a few with this shaded look. 90 % are self coloured and are fairly strightforward if you know what to expect. The fabric natrually get thinner with wear and becomes rippled. You should look at the seats to see if this has happened. The backs and sides should be as new so you can see the difference between the two. Dont overheat the cleaning solution. 40 degrees max as too much heat will make the fabric ripple and may not go back when dry. Dont use any solvents on the fabric as that can delaminate it and is not fixable. They clean well enough though as the fabric is stain resistant. The solution runs off a lot though so you need sheets down to catch the run off. After cleaning one cushion wipe with a clean cloth to dry off and see if there is any dirt left. Do one as a tester if you are unsure and with till its dry.
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: tim handley on January 16, 2016, 02:43:07 pm
ive got a faux  rolex...............
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: Doug Holloway on January 16, 2016, 05:45:28 pm
Hi Guys

Clean well but be careful of delamination if there is evidence of bubbles.

A good pre spray, work in with a towel or brush , extract and it should look good.

Suede is leather.

If its real suede the suite would have cost 5K plus.
 Cheers

Doug
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: tim handley on January 16, 2016, 06:31:47 pm
only done a handfull of faux suede suits, but never had any issues. I guess do all usual checks/tests, dont over wet, you should be okay..................
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: LTT Leathercare on January 16, 2016, 07:18:39 pm
Faux suede is generally a microfibre fabric - Alcantara, buffalo etc
Faux leather is generally PVC or equivalent printed to look like leather
Hope this helps
Judyb
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: John Kelly on January 18, 2016, 10:30:01 am
Got some Faux Leather in the unit so thought I'd have a good look at it including through the microscope. Strange stuff. The backing fabric seems to be a random collection of fibres. The face is a woven plastic with bits of what look like resin or could just be different coloured fibres.
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: John Kelly on January 18, 2016, 10:30:43 am
Face fibres.
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: LTT Leathercare on January 18, 2016, 06:56:26 pm
The reverse of faux leather will always be a fabric of some sort - always a good clue if you can get to the reverse.
The top surface will depend on what has been used to create the 'plastic' finish and often can look very like pigment coated leather so is not always a very good indicator as they can print it to look like leather grain.
Microscopes are really useful as long as you know what you are looking for
Hope this helps
Judyb
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: Steven Butler on January 25, 2016, 08:06:18 pm
Heres the suite i have coming up..has anyone cleaned similar? Its from Harveys so probably popular.(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1453752360_Screenshot_2016-01-25-19-56-56.png)
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: john martin on January 25, 2016, 09:00:19 pm
bit hard to tell from the pic but i'd say its microfiber like the pic i linked a few posts back but without the shaded effect .
I came accross two of the darn things in the past two weeks .   Should be fine for a light steam clean , possible risk of slight fading if u crazy with the heat and chemicals .  The one in your pic looks fairly  clean anyway .
Title: Re: Faux leather/Faux Suede
Post by: dutchman on January 25, 2016, 11:01:41 pm
You would definately want to turn up and do a pre test on a patch. Leave it to dry natrually and see if the customer is happy. I looked at one similar to that about 18 months ago. Did a pre test and it changed completely. The grain on the fabric was taken away by the cleaning and it looked different from the rest of the suite. I think its a type of starch they used to give it the grain and it  dissolves in water... Your might be different but its best to test.