In the last few weeks I've gotten more than a few emails and calls about upholstery cleaning problems. In fact, one of which came in after this video was done!
Every one of these problems, without exception, could have been prevented by proper testing and inspection of the fabric. Taking a few minutes (and it only takes a very few minutes) to look over the piece of furniture before you clean it, and conducting a few tests, will help you determine three VERY important things that you and the customer need to know before you begin cleaning:
- Testing and Inspection helps you better inform your customer as to what they should expect in the way of a result from your cleaning efforts. Simply put, a heavily soiled and stained white polyester sofa will clean more quickly and look a lot better than a heavily soiled and stained white rayon sofa.
- Testing and Inspection helps you to chose the best products. The "best" products doesn't mean defaulting to "safe" either. This means you can use aggressive and effective products on durable synthetic fiber fabrics, and of course gentle and safe products on less durable, perhaps non colorfast natural fiber fabrics.
- Finally, Testing and Inspection helps keep you out of trouble and from paying claims. Finding out that the dyes in a fabric might bleed, or that fabric weakness might result in a torn area during cleaning keeps you from paying needless claims.
