I attended last January’s SFS Class in Florida and found it very helpful in many ways.  However, now I could really use some advice/assistance.  I hope you can help me!

I am new to the carpet cleaning business and even newer to upholstery cleaning.  In January I signed up for Jon-Don’s Free Lifetime “Spot Out” program (which I love!) and have distributed about 150 bottles to my customers.  Today I received a call from someone (not my original customer) who said they used my Spot Out product on a dining room chair and it left a “water ring”.  When I asked about the fabric code/type she said she didn’t know as she bought the high end set second hand.  However, she “thinks” the fabric is rayon.

Since she isn’t my customer and I personally did not give her the Spot-Out my first instinct was to run away but she does have the Spot-Out with my logo and information on it.  So she convinced me to come out and “clean” all of the chairs for a charge.

Here are my 3 questions, Bill:

A. If the chair seats are rayon- can I wet clean them? How can I tell if they are rayon?

B. If I can’t wet clean them, is there a method of dry cleaning, (which I have never done) that I should use?

C. If I can’t “low risk” clean them at all, can I at least spot clean the ring from the Spot Out?

I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me.  Thank you!

Grasping in Gainesville

Dear Grasping,

Steve Toburen likes to say that “no good deed goes unpunished.”  This case is tricky as she has created a water ring which probably means that it is a natural fiber such as cotton or rayon. (Rayon is really just cotton that has been mixed with a high alkaline chemistry and extruded.)

If you can get a yarn off the bottom of the fabric (or try inside a chair skirt) then do a “burn test”. (Cotton/rayon will burn quickly and leave an orange burning ember that does not extinguish easily.)

If it is cotton or rayon a water ring will be difficult to remove. Your best bet, after you have explained that you cannot guarantee removal, is to clean it with Matrix All Fiber Rinse paying special attention to the ring. Add 1-2 ounces of isopropyl alcohol to the solution. Immediately dry it using a hair dryer on the cool setting until it dries. It may take a couple of attempts.

If this process does not get it all out bring some cheesecloth with you and after you have cleaned it wrap the chair cushion in a few layers of the cheesecloth (try weighting it with something to speed up the absorption) and the residue may wick into the cloth.

When you are doing the burn test if the fiber turns to ash quickly without the orange ember and smells like burning hair you may have silk which will be even more difficult. If that is the case use distilled water instead of tap water.

If your client starts being “difficult” (I think Steve calls them “discriminating” in SFS) remind her that the bottle states to test fabric before using the product.

Steve:  Bill, I would add that much of this conversation should happen over the phone even before Grasping takes on the job.  It is called “pre-qualifying”, otherwise known as “Not letting the customer’s problem become your problem”!

As for dry solvent cleaning it will not be effective as  a water-based stain can only come out with water. A petroleum solvent does not work on water rings or spots.

Good luck. Don’t try to be a hero. If you make it worse she may try to get you to replace all the chairs on your nickel.  (Read Steve’s comment above once again!)  One other option is she could take the cushion to a dry cleaner and they may be able to work on it in their plant.  Let us know what happens.

Bill Yeadon

Bill, I was a student of yours in a Technical class at Jon-Don in Atlanta. The local Jon-Don folks recommended I pose this question about fabric upholstery cleaning to you. Here is the small inventory of the “Matrix” system I have on hand:

• Breakdown • Advanced Stain Remover A&B • Outset • Matrix Professional Spotting Kit • Acid rinse Can you make recommendations for the following “profit opportunity”? Or will it just be a headache I should avoid? (The customer is a good client of mine and I would like to help her out.)

The dilemma is with a silk headboard on a very expensive bed. The customer thinks that while making the bed her maid brushed her face against the headboard and the housekeeper’s makeup was smeared on a small area about the size of a golf ball. They haven’t tried anything to take it out (thank goodness!) and have called me on the problem.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Bill: This one may be a toughie! The biggest concerns for silk are water rings, which can occur from either water or solvents. Another big challenge with silk is fiber distortion if indeed this headboard has a pile texture.  Makeup is normally oily so a solvent would work best. Of the products you have Matrix Breakdown is the best to remove makeup. The problem is it must be rinsed out. You can use the Matrix All Fiber Rinse in an extractor BUT you must rinse evenly or it will leave ugly water rings. (Which will obviously be even worse than a “golf ball sized makeup stain”!)

My suggestion is to buy 1 gallon of ChemSpec Dry Fabric Cleaner. This is a solvent based product used in dry cleaning machines. Apply the product to a white towel and very gently blot the area then use a hair blower on a cool to warm setting to force it dry before it leaves a ring. If it all doesn’t come out repeat the procedure. This is your safest option.

Steve: Sounds like Bill has nailed it as usual.  However, let me stress two non-technical aspects of this sort of thing.  One is the need to pre-test the technique if possible.  (This is true even if it comes from the Master of All Things Technical, otherwise known as Mr. “Big Billy” Yeadon!)  So see if there is an inconspicuous area on the back of the headboard you can test the technique on.  Or on a headboard some of the fabric may be normally hidden by the mattress.  Try this area first.

My other concern/warning is the time honored principle “Not Letting the Customer’s Problem Become your Problem”.  Too many times I have rushed in to the rescue trying to be the “Knight in Shining White Armor” and wound up getting burned!  Pre-testing will be a big help in avoiding this problem plus don’t forget to pre-qualify both verbally and in writing.  Especially with a problem fabric the client must understand that the item is unusable as it stands and so if you further damage the fabric in trying to remove the stain it would have needed to be recovered anyway.  So at the very worst it becomes a zero-sum game.  At the best (which by following Bill’s sage advice above) you become a hero!

Let us know how it turns out!