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LDowding

Cleaning VASELINE from fabric sofa
« on: April 24, 2004, 12:12:54 am »
Virtually a whole pot of vaseline has ended up on our new sofa (thanks to our lovely 3 year old daughter).

The covers are machine washable, but it doesn't wash out. Can anyone help? ???

WavieDavie

  • Posts: 951
Re: Cleaning VASELINE from fabric sofa
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2004, 02:29:42 am »
(thanks to our lovely 3 year old daughter)

Your secret's safe with me  ;)

Anyway, enough of that, try this - I looked, but they don't have vaseline from upholstery . . .

http://www.howtocleananything.com/tipdetails.asp?tid=758

How to clean Vaseline from Carpet  

General Info:
Be sure to check the helpful hints for the Do's and Don'ts of stain removal and Six Sure Ways to Set Stains.

Tools & Chemicals:
Dry cleaning solvent,dish washing or fine fabric detergent, white terry towels, white vinegar, warm water, measuring cup, vacuum. Dry cleaning solvents can be purchased at your grogery store or at your local carpet cleaning supply retailer.

Technique:

Work on removing the stain as soon as you notice it. The longer the stain is left on the carpet the greater the chances are of the stain setting.

In every case remove all excess wet or dry material before attempting to clean. Blot wet materials using a white terry towel (check helpful hints for a detailed description of blotting). Vacuum excess dry materials or gently scrape up materials with a spoon.

Apply a small amount of dry cleaning solvent to the white terry towel and blot the stain. Continue until no further transfer of material to the towel is apparent.

If the stian remains proceed to the next step.

Mix 1/2 tsp. of dish washing soap or fine fabric detergent into 1 (8 oz.)cup of warm water.

Apply a small amount, blot or tamp and repeat until the stain is removed. Be patient. Complete removal may require repeating the same step several times. Tamp down on the carpet, do not scrub as this may distort the texture of the pile.

Cover the stain with the towel and press down repeatedly to absorb the stain material and detergent.

Once the stain is completely removed, rinse the area with cold water; blot with a dry white terry towel until all moisture is removed. Repeat this process several times to remove cleaning solution residue. (Residue can attract soils).

If the spot or stain turns brownish when dry, mix 1 part white vinegar and two parts water. Apply a small amount and blot. Repeat only once.

Precautions:
Never use a stronger concentration than is recommended.
Never use laundry detergent or automatic dish washing detergents because they may destroy or dye some fibers.
Never use non-volatile solvents as they can cause delamination in synthetic carpets either immediately or over a period of time. Non-volatile solvents do not dissipate at room temperture & will remain in your carpet.
Never pour solvents directly onto your carpet or saturate your carpet. Instead apply the solvent to a white terry towel and blot the stained area.
Never use highly combustible solvents such as gasoline or paint thinners.


Hope this helps, and remember - leather suites might appear dear to buy, but they look good for years (ours is 17yr old and has beaten off anything our daughter, now 14, could throw at it) and any spills just literally wipe off - ours still looks brand new.
You're a Scottish window-cleaner? Licensed or not, get yourself along to www.slwcn.org right now !

Davie Park
Dalzell Window Cleaning Service - Edinburgh www.windowscleaner.co.uk

The Great One

  • Posts: 12722
Re: Cleaning VASELINE from fabric sofa
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2004, 11:40:09 am »
Hi

vasiline is made from petrol (petroleum Jelly) so obviously is oil based. You will need a solvent based product, tampico brush and some terry towels.

Dry vac always 1st.
Add solvent to terry towels, not to fabric
Blot in to area
gently agitate with the tampico brush
blot out with clean terry towel
dry vac again to help with drying time.

The reason it wouldn't wash out is because you cannot clean solvent with water as they don't mix (cannot clean water based stains with solvent also)

Don't forget that sofa fabric is very thin so go carefully and don't put too much solvent on at one time.

good luck and please keep us posted.

Regards

Martin 8)

WavieDavie

  • Posts: 951
You're a Scottish window-cleaner? Licensed or not, get yourself along to www.slwcn.org right now !

Davie Park
Dalzell Window Cleaning Service - Edinburgh www.windowscleaner.co.uk

LDowding

Re: Cleaning VASELINE from fabric sofa
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2004, 12:34:24 am »
I shall let you know how it goes.

;D

Fox

  • Posts: 824
Re: Cleaning VASELINE from fabric sofa New
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2004, 07:07:40 am »
Know what I'd do - completely against anything anyone  on here or any manufacture would advise but here goes (prob get slated too!)

Rub lots of shampoo into it! This will disolve most of the fats and then try the washing machine.  A very quick fix which doesn't always work but better than leaving it till finding the right chemical! (hopefully you haven't introduced water to it!)

Don't take my word for it though - just a thought! hope you get it sorted.

Fox