[wayne zabel]

Jus been to Ikea and whilst there had a look at the fabrics of their upholstery,lots were 100% cotton and gave instructions to shampoo only,so is 100% cotton not suitable for HWE?

[Jonny F]

Cotton is very sensitive to excessive water and or heat  (shrinkage)  I would start off with a very good detailed vacuum and dusting off with a microfiber towel. Then mix up some dry foam cleaner, and using a good clean horse hair brush work the foam in a circular overlapping motion......then vac off and towel each panel as you work, even using a hair dryer to aid in getting the cotton dry fast,  to prevent spotting and water rings. If the fabric is very thin or delicate I will wipe down with dry cleaning solvent prior to dry foam cleaning, this will act like a barrier to prevent over wetting the fabric.

[richy27]

the main issue with cotton is water marks.  Chemspec do a product called hiation cotton shampoo which i have used before, handy to have a can in stock.

[markpowell]

Keep moisture down, keep Ph down, acid rinse, plenty vac passes and turbo dry, just treat as any other natural fibre.

Mark

[markpowell]

How does the wife wash your 100% cotton shirts, bet she uses water
Mark

[wayne zabel]

Thats exactly what I was just thinking whilst Ive just been ironing some cotton t shirts

[clinton]

Maybe get some cushions from a charity shop or go to a local retail shop that sells loose upholstery and have a practice at home

[richy27]

Maybe get some cushions from a charity shop or go to a local retail shop that sells loose upholstery and have a practice at home

I found lots of various pieces of upholstery at recycle centres and in skips when i started out was good practice

[clinton]

Forgot about the recycling centers as well

[Jonny F]

 Well,  with a cotton t-shirt your not dealing with any coatings like furniture fabrics......nor are you concerned with dimentional stability (wrinkles) like you have to deal with in upholstery. (using that household iron could be difficuilt)

  Haition cotton shampo is great for Haition cotton (unprocessed cotton with the seeds) but you would not want to use this solution on finished cottons like liinen or colorful versons, as that type of shampoo has a small amount of reducing agent in the mix which can bleach out a fabric