[absolutecleaning]

I looked at a sofa earlier and being only the third I've done since my upholstery course something about it bothered me.

Wasnt 100% sure on fibre and customer called manufacturer (ligne roset) - its apparently 80% cotton, 10% poly and 10% "mordel" - what is "mordel" and is it anything to worry about?

From burn test it appears cotton and wetting a little part didnt seem to cause problems but she has used fabreeze on the milk spill area and its gone a bit hard - is this the product rather than fibre?

Also her daughter has spilt milk on it and I was just going to use an odour neutralizer but having had a search do I need something to break down the enzymes in the milk to stop the smell returning?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Simon

[markpowell]

It will be the milk that has made it go hard not the fabreze, you can wet clean this no problem, just flush the milk out with water, i wouldnt use an enzyme it may damage the upholstery
Mark

[Jim_77]

Don't fret

I cleaned a roset suite yesterday, funnily enough!  From the picture, I'm not familiar with that fabric on a roset - does it have a pile or is it more of a flat weave kind of fabric?

Roset suites are quite expensive and despite their size take a decent amount of time to clean.  Don't be shy charging a decent amount for it, the customer should perceive plenty of value in the price.

It looks a bit grubby, or is it just the photo making it look like that?

You can do a test clean on these, just turn it upside down, the fabric goes underneath.  Remember though that it'll need propping up to dry, don't put it back on a carpet or floor when wet.

I'd be shocked if you couldn't give this a damn good seeing to with HWE.

My approach would be first to give it a nice long dwell with M-power, wetting the milk spills generously.  Then, I'd apply heavy duty microsplitter all over and agitate it very very well.  Extract with acid rinse and dry with fans.

Those are the products I use, others will obviously do the same job, I'm sure the next 3 people to reply will recommend what they use themselves

Have fun with the folds, it's like a sharpei dog - there's twice as much fabric there as you think!  Go horizontally and dry in the folds with a towel so it's not too wet.  Careful with the buttons.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

Straightforward clean, prespray, agitate with micro cloth and extract.

Collect money

By the way the enzymes are used to break down the milk but in most cases you don't need to us them as it is only a little, different if a pint has been spilt on a carpet !

Cheers

Doug

[absolutecleaning]

Thanks for replies - feel much conifdent about it now. (though may still do a small test area )

Noticed all those bloody folds earlier so thats a handy tip.  It is very grubby thats not just the photo and it does have a slight pile to it.

Am going to use pureclean and fabric restorer - hope that will do the trick.

Cheers

Simon

PS Quoted £75 - £100

[markpowell]

I would use Fab rest pre-spray hot and ff rinse if its heavily soiled
Mark

[Jim_77]

Simon, glad to hear you've been given some confidence, I'm sure you'll be OK with it if you start off cautiously

Is it a suite or just the piece pictured?  Just the sofa pictured and you've got yourself a nice little job.  If it's a normal roset suite (2-seat, 2 chairs & pouffe) you could reasonably command a bit more than that mate, considering the condition.

For example, a regular annual "maintenance" clean I do of one of these (the one I did yesterday) is charged at about £100, so if it's a heavy-duty job you could quote more and they should be happy to pay it because of the value of the suite.  Might be a bit late now though if you've already quoted

Whatever the case, treat it as a learning experience, you're not going to make a loss, maybe try to bump it up a bit next time

[absolutecleaning]

Its just the sofa pictured. 

Its a bit more than I would have quoted normally but on the phone she mentioned that the other two cleaners she had spoken to previously hadnt asked her any questions about potential fibre, whether wet cleaned before etc and I pretty much knew she would go for it as I had made her feel confident that I had (some) idea what I was on about.  Also as you said Jim those folds could take a while

Cheers

Simon

[absolutecleaning]

This lady is very fond of this sofa - could it be protected using prochems flouroseal?

[Joe H]

I dont particularly like doing suites (makes it better when they pay you though), and I wouldnt particularly like to do that one. Have done similar and yes, those folds are going to be a pain to do.
What you are charging for what you shown in the photo is reasonable.
Hope it goes well.

[absolutecleaning]

Went nicely although the customer claimed she could still smell the milk slightly with nose right up to it.

Thanks for answers

Simon

[benny d]

They are never bleedin' happy! 

[Joe H]

With it being a settee the padding will be thicker then a carpet backing, so the milk has gone deeper and therefore more difficult to get it all out.

[Jim_77]

Just the sofa pictured.... nice price then

Any good quality protector will give a benefit.

Regarding the milk, these things are just a chunk of foam with a fabric cover - it may well have soaked in to the foam if there was a lot of if spilled and left a while.  It can take a little while to recede after cleaning, so it may not be noticeable after a few days.

If it remains a problem, you could inject a little odour neutraliser in through the fabric using a hypodermic, then treat the face fabric itself.

Don't lose a customer over this, it won't take you long to do if you have to go back to treat the smelly bit.  Give her a call on Monday and see how it is

You could go and treat it at the same time as protecting.