When it comes to upholstery cleaning Education helps you tremendously!
But till you get classes Ill try to help as simply as possible.
1st thing to do when choosing how to cleaning a fiber or fabric is :
1: Fiber Identification
Identifying a fiber and knowing its cleaning and handling characteristic will save you from nightmares and paying your client instead of them paying you.
Every fiber has a different characteristic, some are similar but proper identifying them will relax you and even give you confidence which can easily be reflected to your client.
I I identify fibers to help me avoid problems and give myself a cushion with a customer.
If I meet a customer that is very sensitive or has a sentimental attachment to a upholstery piece, this is where identifying a fiber makes you a hero and gains their trust almost immediately. I cannot tell you how many times I've identified the fiber and almost in a blink of an eye do people react with " wow, whats that you're doing?" or "No one ever did that!"
I identifying a fiber is not the only thing to do, its just part of it. Understanding the science, chemistry, customer service skill and being able to communicate to a customer will also help you relax and also help them decide its you they trust.Many times I have heard "You are more expensive but I can tell that you know what youre doing and You are SO professional!" and no its no myth these are comments that I receive. They feel great!
Plus I get to understand their mindset.
2: Communicate
As a professional you are expected to know, and understand why and what direction to go and to lead your customer. If you know how to identify the fiber and know what fibers are problematic then You should/Need to communicate and be completely honest and never ignore your experience and wisdom. I never over promise instead I am honest and under promise. If you know full well that a particular fiber has a high risk of damage then you should tell your client and be able to explain why.
So many times do I communicate with the client and explain the situation, When they only care about cleanliness and not aesthetic. Then you no longer feel the pressure. You warn/inform them, document it and have them sign a waiver/disclaimer agreement.
Part of communication is asking questions and answering them. Asking questions such as are there pets? children? age of item, and origin of soil will make choosing direction to go becomes clear.
3: Once you identify the fiber and communicate all possible issue or risks, then the cleaning begins.
4: Cleaning
Pre vacuum, pre vacuum and Pre vacuum!
This step is soooooooooo Important. Anything that your upholstery will touch Must be prevacuumed.
Depending on the type of fiber you are dealing with and the type of soil will determine what type of arsenal youll be using.
Cellulose fibers should not be over wet. Avoiding over wetting them or expose them to a high PH detergent. Otherwise you raise the risk for cellulose browning ( you really need to know the science/chemistry why this occurs) although you could you a strong spotter to treat a spot, you still should know the risks associated with the actions you take and communicating this to your client.
However if you are dealing with a fiber that has a strong chemical resistance then you dont worry too much about color loss or cellulose browning.
Do understand that there are about 12 or more fibers that are used in upholstery fabric manufacturing. and although you might notice one fiber being popupalr compare to others , YOU should still be aware and familiar with them.
there are
Synthetic fibers
Natural fibers have 2 groups :
Cellulose and Protein.
And Regenerated fibers.
And thats not all
not only should you know what the fabric is made of (which is the Fiber)but you will also know how its woven (Construction/fabric) Fabric this not mean Fiber.
Microfiber is not a fiber
Suede is not a fiber
Velvet is Not a fiber
Moire is not a fiber'
Corduroy is not a fiber
During the first week of the shut down I did a project that the client wanted 8 piece of furniture and 5 area rugs cleaned. Most of the furniture was made of a cellulose fiber,
1 a synthetic (nylon). 2 pieces (a large 2 seat cushioned sofa, and 1 large 1 seat love seat sofa) both are a matching set along with a bench but a blended fiber, rayon & cotton. To make matters interesting they had embossed leafs on them and with a very bright color red and in some areas had a crushed look.....oh And Velvet.
I knew exactly what they were in fiber, and construction. I was honest and explained to them my findings and asked them questions. One was why they wanted it cleaned? and when was the last cleaning service? would they be willing to consider an alternate form of cleaning up to including dry soil removal only. They wanted HWE, not dry or low moisture or even power vacuuming. I explained the possible consequence. The leafs would be at a high risk of disappearing, I assured them the cleaning of the soil would not be an issue, the result of the cleaning would more than likely cause the loss of the embossed leafs. The husband didnt mind loosing the leafs, but the wife did. I put no pressure instead asked to continue with the onsite consultation/pre inspection and that they should think about it and let me know at the end. They ended asking me to test a section I really was against it so they offered a bench cushion as a sample. But when I looke at the cushion I asked if anything had ever spilled on it and they said yes, they spilled water or some sort of drink. Well the water had actually erased a portion of the embossed leaf and they didnt like it, they wondered why it looked so different through the years. Since they never had anyone clean any of the items it was a complete shock!
This client is a multi oscar award winning individual and they were both super impressed with my professionalism (all credit and glory to God) they hired me and I cleaned 1 large velvet sofa 1 area rug (onsite) 3 arm chairs, 1 rocker, 1 ottoman, and one 6x9 area rug offsite. Made a good sale and they are super happy, they even took photos.\
Sorry for the long post but
My advice and opinion to you is take your time and dont just do research get educated
IICRC in my opinion is awesome some wont agree and I respect that.
I do respect Rob and I am happy to encourage you consider getting some education through him.
Hope fully he also covers history, science, chemistry and construction besides the labor(how to) side
