Virginia's Northern Neck Professional Cleaners - Butylo

You may perhaps be regularly cleaning your upholstery with brush, vacuum etc but it is advisable to let your upholstery be cleaned by experts every couple of years. Let's see how these professional upholstery cleaning companies, with their various methods, make your furniture visibly look 'new'.

Material Identification:

Similar to fabric protection, the material forms the premise of cleaning your upholstery. Depending on the nature of the fiber, soil in the furniture and the color fastness, appropriate method of cleaning is determined by these companies. The furniture after a pre-vacuum is then prepared for further cleaning.

Methods of Upholstery Cleaning:

Broadly there are two forms of cleaning: Wet cleaning and dry cleaning. Expert cleaners decide on the method depending on the material and the amount of soil and dirt.

Wet Cleaning

It is the commonly employed cleaning process for upholstery with thicker soil and dirt requiring aggressive clean-up.

o Hot Water Extraction: Usually referred to as 'steam cleaning', the process begins with spraying hot water based solutions to loosen the soil and then with a neutralizing solution the soil is vacuumed off into a separate waste tank. Steam cleaning is the most effective method to extract deep dirt and soil.

o Wet Shampoo: Similar to steam cleaning for excessive soiled furniture. In this process, with a brush or sponge a chemical based foamy shampoo solution is applied to the upholstery, which is then extracted by vacuum.

o Dry Foam: This method is recommended to extract deeper soil from finer fabrics. A water based solution is initially whipped into foam and worked on to the upholstery and allowed to dry. The cleaning agents in dried foam encapsulate the soil forming fine crystals, which are then vacuumed off.

Dry Cleaning-

Fabrics viz., chintz or moiré are not conducive for steam cleaning and hence 'dry clean' is the most suitable method. Dry cleaning process is akin to wet clean involving injection of solution and extraction of soil and dirt. However, dry cleaning utilizes chemical based solvents instead of water and has lesser moisture.

Dry-Wet-Dry Method:

This is a developing method to deep clean and also preclude damage to sensitive fabrics. The chemical based 'dry' cleaning fluids are used to create a protective barrier on the fabric and then water based solutions are worked on the upholstery which is consequently rinsed with dry solvents. The water based solutions clean the deeper soil and dirt while the dry barrier protects the fabric.

Wet and dry cleaning processes have their respective pros and cons. Though wet cleaning aims to get rid of the deeper dirt, it can be harmful to the fabric. While dry clean is relatively softer on fabric it does not aggressively and deeply clean your upholstery.

Leather upholstery also needs special care and professional help. Leather upholstery cleaning companies use pH balanced leather cleaner and special conditioners to do away with dryness and reinstate suppleness. Most professional cleaning companies also provide carpet cleaning and fabric protection services besides upholstery cleaning.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2777305