Help with cleaning couch? Suede or micro?

[Cameron14]

Going to clean this couch Thursday but do not know what fabric it is? Customer thinks it is Suede? Any ideas on what material it is and tips on cleaning it? I have not done much upholstery so any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[John Rockwood]

View attachment 98061
Going to clean this couch Thursday but do not know what fabric it is? Customer thinks it is Suede? Any ideas on what material it is and tips on cleaning it? I have not done much upholstery so any help is greatly appreciated.

Looks like micro fiber but from the picture it's hard to tell. You can test it to find out what type of leather it is by applying a small amount of Leather protection cream in an inconspicuous place. Protected will not darken and is the easiest to clean. Aniline will darken and dry clear, Nubuck will darken and dry darker. This is about the only way to tell them apart if it is leather. You should not try to clean if it turns out to be Nubuck. This type is the most sensitive and difficult to clean especially if you have little to no experience in cleaning Leather.
I'm kind of leaning towards being micro fiber.
Hope this helps.

You could ask how much it cost. Nubuck would be at least $3000+ micro would be around 600-800.

 

[Cameron14]

Thank you! Yes anything helps, I have not cleaned much upholstery yet.

 

[Mac M]

If they are the original owners then most likely they will know if it’s suede because they paid
the extra money for the real thing. So if they don’t really know them most likely not suede but always double check by inspection to confirm.

 

[Cameron14]

Thank you, going to try to find the tag Thursday to find out.

 

[rob allen]

You can also use your nose.


Probably micro fiber and Revive or Black Label will make it look new!

 

[Cameron14]

Thank you, I have both of those going to go clean it today. I’m thinking it is micro fiber but going to see what I can find out today.

 

[sbsscn]

By looking at the photo, You already answered what the fabric is. It is microfiber/Micro suede/ imitation suede.

Whats more important is what FIBER its made from. That no matter how good you are cannot tell just by looking at it on a photo. You must do FIBER ID Test.

take a small sample from a inconspicuous spot, and area where the face of the fabric will not be effected.

look on the back, is 100 % woven? with backing? Latex?
separate the backing and burn the main sample.

Hows it burn?
the color?
scent/smell?
deposit color?
type of residue?

 

[sbsscn]

Now days everything is expensive and even cotton microfiber or nylon is up there.
Even cheap costo sofas are expensive so its hard to label whats cheap now days based on cost.
In my opinion and experience a customer will say it cost so much and its from pottery barn, room & board or Ashley, macy, jc penny it doesnt matter who you bought it from the tag is 80% inaccurate.
Test the fiber. thats the only way .
Even if it was re upholstered, Ive had folks tell me that its a "good" fabric, it was expensive to re cover.

Nope, many I repeat many times ive encountered Sissal, Rayon and it was expensive. expensive isnt good quality.
Even upholstery shops dont know about textiles. I sure wish they would take a class.

 

[sbsscn]

If you know what your dealing with then youll know when not to use rat nasty or flex or bleach ( who the heck would use bleach in upholstery cleaning but theres been a few clowns that swear by it) and when and when not to use a solvent spotter cause yes they can cause damage.

 

[sbsscn]

I will end my thoughts with this

And Im not doing propaganda ,
Do suggest applying a quality superior stain guard, like Robs Solvent protector.

I been using Robs protector for I think 2 years now and I got to say I use it a lot not every job but a lot!
I havent gotten any complaints on its performance or regrets

 

[Cameron14]

Thank you very much sbsscn, I appreciate your response. I’m new to the business and have not had much experience with upholstery yet. I did the job Thursday and the customer was happy, I did do a test spot for the customer to see before proceeding. Just trying to learn what I can and hopefully grow my knowledge as well as business.

 

[Cameron14]

Thank you everyone for all the responses, trying to learn all I can. Customer was happy after it was cleaned, here is how it turned out.