Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: kinder clean on October 02, 2008, 03:47:34 pm
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Did a carpet clean at an apartment yesterday, client very pleased and asked if I would follow her to her new home and take a look at a sofa that needed cleaning.
The sofa was a white suede 3 piece, :o very grubby, dirty finger marks and food spills, I was honest and said I had never cleaned any suede before, she said if it can't be cleaned its wrecked anyway so why don't I try cleaning one of the scatter cushions, which were matching material.
Tried cleaning half the cushion with micro splitter, I borrowed a hair dryer and dried it and it came up great!!! booked the job!!
I'm sure this is not the correct method, is it going to cause problems do you think? what is the correct solution for a suede clean.
Paul - Kinder Clean
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Hi Paul
Yes that is the correct method, what you are actually cleaning is a Faux Suede, if it was real you would have ruined it by now !
Apply your prespray, work in with a microfibre cloth and extract with modereately hot water , about 60C.
Faux suede is a plastic laminate and you have to be careful not to use to hot water or any solvents as this may cause delamination, resulting in a bubble.
Check the high wear areas to see if any bubbling/ruckling has already occurred and inform the customer before you start.
Cheers
Doug
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Also commonly known as "microfibre" fabric :)
Great advice from Doug, I'd also add that you need to concentrate on two things when cleaning this fabric.
Firstly, agitation. Microfibre fabrics do respond well to microsplitters/colloids when agitated, but you need to make sure you don't go overboard or you'll cause pilling. If you've got an out of sight area to test on, get real rough with it on a small spot to see how susceptible it is to pilling - some are fine even under extreme agitation but some are not! Remember that the wear areas will already have experienced a fair amount of "rubbing" from being sat on.
Second thing is airflow. Lock-down is a big problem on microfibre, without airflow you'll not get as efficient a flushing action and leave more moisture behind. A CFR or Drimaster tool would probably be ideal, but if like me you haven't got around to buying one yet, you'll probably need to make a little adjustment in your hand tool technique. Try tilting your hand tool forwards on your backwards stroke, which will stop the fabric from being pulled too far into the vacuum slot and maintain the airflow.
Running your pump at a little less flow/pressure than normal will also help stop over wetting. The reason you don't want to over wet is because like Doug says this fabric can be susceptible to delamination, which can be cause by being too damp for too long. Towel each area off after cleaning and dry with fans. It'll probably take a bit longer to do a microfibre suite than, for example, a flat-weave cotton or something.
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if the scatter cushions are faux and the suite is real then you'll get a shock cleaning it like that.
derek
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Let's hope "identical" means just that!
Another quick note Paul, Simply agitating a microsplitter into the fabric is doing little more than dissipating the dirt in the fabric; not much is being removed unless you're using a nappy or a mitt, or something else to absorb the soil away from the fabric.
I'm sure you're well aware of that but just wanted to emphasise the importance of rinsing out. Of course something like a Minitex is brilliant for microfibre (subject to pre-testing) if it only needs a LM clean, but it sounds like this one needs a bomb dropping on it so HWE is definitely the best way to go.
Before/after pictures please :D
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Thanks for all the info guys, I wouldn't have guessed it could be HWE so thats great.
So for best results I will use M/S agitate with microfibre cloth, extract with the CFR tool adjusted for less suction, keep the water temp below 60, towel dry after extraction to reset pile and get air movers going.
I will post some before and after pics next week, fantastic house too, like something from a Miami Vice set.
Thanks again
Paul
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Look forward to hearing back from you after the job ;)
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Did one with this technique last week, customer was amazed took me ages and left me knackered.
M/s + agitate microfibre glove
extract pure clean 50c
towel dry and blow dry.
Wouldn't recommend shampoo
excellent advice guys
Paul
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Also commonly known as "microfibre" fabric :)
Great advice from Doug, I'd also add that you need to concentrate on two things when cleaning this fabric.
Firstly, agitation. Microfibre fabrics do respond well to microsplitters/colloids when agitated, but you need to make sure you don't go overboard or you'll cause pilling. If you've got an out of sight area to test on, get real rough with it on a small spot to see how susceptible it is to pilling - some are fine even under extreme agitation but some are not! Remember that the wear areas will already have experienced a fair amount of "rubbing" from being sat on.
Second thing is airflow. Lock-down is a big problem on microfibre, without airflow you'll not get as efficient a flushing action and leave more moisture behind. A CFR or Drimaster tool would probably be ideal, but if like me you haven't got around to buying one yet, you'll probably need to make a little adjustment in your hand tool technique. Try tilting your hand tool forwards on your backwards stroke, which will stop the fabric from being pulled too far into the vacuum slot and maintain the airflow.
Running your pump at a little less flow/pressure than normal will also help stop over wetting. The reason you don't want to over wet is because like Doug says this fabric can be susceptible to delamination, which can be cause by being too damp for too long. Towel each area off after cleaning and dry with fans. It'll probably take a bit longer to do a microfibre suite than, for example, a flat-weave cotton or something.
Micro fibre does not pill ;D ;D, only cotton/wool does.
How do you know that a cfr or drimaster would be best if you have never owned or used one ::)
Also you cant over wet this type of synthetic fibre ( its not cotton!!) too damp for too long???
Also micro fibres are easier and quicker to clean and dry than flat weave cotton or any other cotton.
Jim stick to mopping floors mate.