Upholstery fabric
Carpet advice does not transfer to it. The manufacturer's rules start with what NOT to vacuum with, and water is on the prohibited list rather than the method list.
What not to do
Water is unsafe on Upholstery fabric
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Stated for panel and workspace cloth specifically. Not every sofa fabric — but the assumption that water is always the gentle option fails here.
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
Why we say this
Supported
Stated directly, and recorded as supported rather than higher because it is given for named panel and workspace fabrics rather than for upholstery in general.
Sources
Materials: Textiles Care and Maintenance
Herman Miller, Inc. · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That water or any liquid solution must not be applied to the panel cloth, because wetting the fabric with any liquid solution may result in permanent damage. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Workspace Fabrics, Acoustic Material, the wool-blend section and Seating Fabrics. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
In detail
Upholstery looks like carpet on a vertical surface and is not treated like it. The manufacturer's normal-cleaning instruction is to vacuum with an UPHOLSTERY ATTACHMENT and explicitly not to brush the fabric or use an attachment with a ROTARY BRUSH, because brushing may permanently damage the nap or change the character of the fabric — the same prohibition the leather trade gives, for the same reason, on a different material. For panel and workspace fabrics the restrictions go further than anything in the carpet guidance: do not apply water or any liquid solution, because wetting the fabric may result in permanent damage, and do not use steam. Where more is needed the route is dry cleaning or a solvent spot cleaner, and on a wool blend a dry-cleaning solution on a damp cloth is directed for BOTH water-based and oil-based stains. One spot-cleaning instruction inverts the usual advice and is worth carrying: soak the stain up immediately, and do not let it dry completely or it may set. Elsewhere in this catalogue drying is the safe default; here it is the thing to avoid.
Properties
Sensitivity
- Acids
- Not known
- Alkalis
- Not known
- Chlorine bleach
- Not known
- Heat
- Recorded
- Abrasion
- Recorded
- Porous
- Recorded
“Not known” means CleaningHQ has not established this, not that the material is unaffected.
Related
- Upholstery fabric is commonly affected by Mould
Sources for this page
Sources
Materials: Textiles Care and Maintenance
Herman Miller, Inc. · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That fabric is vacuumed with an upholstery attachment and never brushed or vacuumed with a rotary brush because brushing may permanently damage the nap, that water or any liquid solution must not be applied to panel cloth, that steam must not be used, and that a stain is soaked up immediately and not allowed to dry completely or it may set. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Workspace Fabrics, Acoustic Material, the wool-blend section and Seating Fabrics. Supports the claim as stated.
What CleaningHQ cannot answer yet
These are recorded questions about this subject that we have not yet researched to a standard we would publish.
- Interpret an upholstery cleaning code
- Removing animal hair from upholstered furniture
- Cleaning fabric stretched over a lampshade frame without marking or distorting it
Last reviewed by a person on .