Troubling Upholstery Clean
Problem areas
- A visible ‘watermarks’ appeared on a 2 seater sofa after professional cleaning.
- Mild soiling in usual areas seems not to have been removed.
- The fabric colour on the 2 seater sofa and top of the back frame, seems to have faded.
- After six return visits, the items were not cleaned to a satisfactory standard, and the ‘watermarks’ are still visible.
- Some stains on the 4 x dining chairs were not removed.
Possible Causes
- It seems that a cleaning product has been applied to the fabric, but not thoroughly rinsed out, or rinsed at all.
- It is possible that a crystallising shampoo method was used to carry out the cleaning, but was applied too thoroughly and absorbed by the fabric and the filling. This could have caused a wicking effect.
- According to the client, two operators took approximately 55 minutes, to complete the cleaning. I would suggest/allow a minimum of three man-hours to carry out the above work. Therefor not enough time taken to ensure a satisfactory result.
On site Testing
- I test cleaned three areas of concern: the ‘water mark’, an armchair cushion, and the small chair. With a simple pre-treatment and extraction clean, the cushion and small chair cleaned to a satisfactory standard. An improvement was made on the ‘water mark’. This may need a more thorough rinse.
- I treated a stain on the small chair with an oil-based stain remover, resulting in a 100% improvement.
Conclusion
- After six visits, the company failed to clean the items to a satisfactory standard.
- I would consider it reasonable the company offers the client a full refund. Or they cover all cost to allow Mrs Blunt employ another professional cleaning company, to clean the items to her expectations.