[stevie wonder]

Went to look at a Gplan suite today,but the custy was told it must not be wet cleaned ,and only cleaned by  chemdry who use a drycleaning system.It appears to look wet cleanable to me.What are your views please.Steve Hinnis.

[jacko]

Hi Steve
Have you managed to identify the fibre type?

[clinton]

Steve

Have you got any picies might be an old suite

I dont always take it as a no just because the label says it caint be cleaned :

[Hilton]

I remember when nearly all the labels on furniture said ;

'DO NOT DRY CLEAN, DO NOT WET CLEAN,CALL SERVICEMASTER'

Of course we all know that they can clean suites using fresh air so all the customers would call them  :

The reason it states that of course is because they are supposed to be the professionals who will decide in which manner the suite should be cleaned and as such if the customer went out of that advise and it went wrong  then G-Plan or who ever could not be held responsible for any damage or defect that occurs. In other words any warranty would become invalid.

 This is great for Servicemaster and Chem-Dry and well done to their marketing dept. who convinced the manufacturers that all other cleaners out there are cowboys who should not be trusted with their £2k suite.

Of course in reality this is not the case and in answer to your question, the suite can almost certainly be wet cleaned once you have taken all the necessary precautions. I can not think of any G-Plan suite that can not be wet cleaned and this is almost certainly what Chem-'Dry' will do.

Not many 'Dry' clean nowdays in the home for environmental and health reasons.

[Jim_77]

Stevie,

Chemdry use water-based systems as their main cleaning methods, the same as the rest of us

The cleaning advice on suites varies between manufacturers, and a lot of them do word their cleaning instructions to deter customers from setting about them with a sponge and soapy water, or chucking the covers in the washing machine etc etc.

You need to use your common sense, instinct and experience as time goes on, to work out what's the best method and what the fabric can withstand.

The bottom line is that the vast majority of upholstery fabrics nowadays are perfectly fine for water-based cleaning.

BUT no matter how experienced you get you should always be cautious and test!  I could have bought a suite on Saturday, I was convinced it was a polyester pile but turned out to be viscose.  The only tell-tale was a little patch where the customer had used water on it.  If I hadn't have spotted that I wouldn't have spent so long test-cleaning an area which then showed HWE to be a no-go!

Hilton (any chance of gracing us with your real name?),

You seem to have an axe or two to grind

Neither SM or CD can "brainwash" companies like M&S or G-Plan into thinking that only they can clean their upholstery.  Give people some credit!  The other thing you don't realise is that these companies hold service contracts with the franchises, who get sent out to troubleshoot problems like delivery damage/soiling, as well as a whole host of other report-based work.  The care label is only part of the relationship between the two companies.

Being named on the care label of a suite is a paid-for privilege.  The manufacturer gains from this too - by providing a trusted and respected company to go to for cleaning, it is an extension of their customer care.  And also, dare I say it, many customers will benefit from the arrangement as well, because it will help them avoid either ruining it themselves or ending up with a cowboy instead of one of the many first-class independent cleaning pro's out there.

Interestingly, I'm a SM franchisee but I clean plenty of G-Plan furniture which recommends CD.  I'm sure it's the same the other way round with M&S furniture. Funny things, people are

[Hilton]

Ive looked but I can't see where I have used the term brainwashed 

What makes you think I have an axe to grind, Ive associated with some excellent cleaners from both SM & CD, I have also had to go  on too many jobs to care,  carried out by SM&CD which were very poorly executed.

If you read the post I am complimenting the sales and marketing on a job well done , SM used to have to buy the lables for the manufacturers who were not allowed to recommend one single company so the label would say we recommend you use a professional cleaning company like Servicemaster.

Its just the old labels used to make me smile, we would get calls  asking us if we can clean like SM & CD and we would say we can (if not better  ) and then they would ask how if they do not use water or dry cleaning methods

However the point is G-Plan can be wet cleaned after usual checks, just check any chair mechanisms are in good working order before you start , this just averts any conflict after cleaning if a foot rest or lever is not working because if not, as usual the cleaner will get the blame and G-Plan costs  a few bob to repair.

[Eddie Conroy]

I have cleaned many G plan suites but usually after identifying the fabric with the local showroom. A lot of their fabrics have a viscose content but I suspect the the non wet cleaning advice is to do with the flame retardency
Regards
Eddie