Pre-conditioning agents receive the most attention in discussions of fine fabric chemistry, but the choices of what products to add (or not to add) to your "rinse solution" are just as critical.
Following are the three choices that most cleaners make, along with my observations regarding each choice:
Option #1. - Alkaline Detergent
This is the most commonly chosen (usually a carpet cleaning detergent is used by default), -- and absolutely both the riskiest and least desirable, of all your choices.
Alkaline detergents, even when formulated for upholstery, are usually only safe for synthetic fiber fabrics. While they may be somewhat safe and effective for breaking down oily soils, the risks of leaving residues of such detergents on fabrics that have not been tested and that might contain natural fibers outweigh the benefits.
If the soil level is such that an alkaline detergent might be considered helpful, - DON'T! – Rather you should use a pre-spray, such as Sapphire Scientific Upholstery Prespray, that is self neutralizing, and follow with an acidic rinse agent, like Sapphire Scientific Upholstery Rinse to assure that the fabric has the least possible residue left behind.
Option #2 - Acidic Rinse Agent
The cleaning industry is far more familiar with acidic rinse agents than it was in years past. Such products, such as Sapphire Scientific Upholstery Rinse, are designed to neutralize pre-conditioning products, leave textures soft, stabilize dyes, and to help to prevent cellulose browning.
With very rare exceptions, acid rinses are the best choice for extraction solutions.
Option #3 - If your cleaning equipment does not allow you to easily change to an acidic rinse, or if your cleaning equipment might be damaged by such a product, your third option is to rinse the fabric with clear water.
This system could work very well if fiber family testing is done. In such cases, the Sapphire self neutralizing Upholstery Prespray can be used on synthetic fiber fabrics, and an acidic preconditioner (as opposed to an acidic rinse) such as Sapphire Scientific Natural Fiber Cleaner, can be used to precondition sensitive natural fiber fabrics, with no acidic rinse needed.
In my years of studying browning, bleeding, fading, and texture problems, VERY few have occurred when the second (acidic rinse) option or the third (clear water after the use of a self neutralizing or acidic preconditioned) have been used.
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