What the W, S, WS and X code on furniture means
It is a colourfastness code, not a cleaning-method code. The committee that created it says so, and says the codes do not tell you enough to clean the fabric.
In detail
Four letters appear on upholstered furniture. W means spot clean only with a water-based shampoo or foam upholstery cleaner, and not with solvents. S means spot clean only with a water-free dry cleaning solvent, do not saturate, and DO NOT USE WATER. WS means either may be used — and adds that hot water extraction and steam cleaning are not recommended methods. X means clean only by vacuuming or light brushing with a non-metallic soft-bristle brush, with no water-based or solvent-based cleaner at all. Every one of the first three also says to pretest a small inconspicuous area first. The correction is what makes this worth a page. The standard that defines the codes states that the code refers to the ability of the yarns to remain colourfast to water, solvent or both, and does NOT reflect the fabric's ability to withstand a particular cleaning method. It is a dye test read against a grey scale. The committee goes further in its own standard: the codes do not give consumers or professional cleaners adequate information for cleaning upholstery, which is why it adopted a separate professional standard instead. A code is a floor, not a licence.
Why
- Upholstery fabric is explained by What the W, S, WS and X code on furniture means
- Sofa is explained by What the W, S, WS and X code on furniture means
Sources for this page
Sources
Woven & Knit Residential Upholstery Fabric Standards & Guidelines
Joint Industry Fabric Standards and Guidelines Committee, via the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) · Standards body
Relied on for: The four code definitions as the standard states them, the pretest instruction, the steam and hot-water-extraction exclusion under WS, the clause stating that the code is a colourfastness code that does not reflect a fabric's ability to withstand specific cleaning methods, and the committee's statement that the codes do not provide adequate cleaning information. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Section 4, Guideline for Cleanability of Upholstery Fabrics and Standard for Colorfastness to Water and Solvents: 4.3.1, 4.4.1.1, 4.4.1.2 and 4.1.1.3. Supports a wider statement — our claim was widened. Closes two observed intents and corrects a belief the register would otherwise have published. CleaningHQ was about to describe the codes as cleaning-method codes, which is what every accessible explanation calls them; the originating committee says they are colourfastness codes and explicitly disclaims the cleaning-method reading. The seam-to-seam instruction is the other find: it inverts the reader's intention, which is always to clean the spot.
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