There have been multiple articles written about Furniture Cleaning Codes. They are cussed and discussed at Bane-Clene Institute®. The bottom line, while they may seem helpful, they are only guidelines and should not be taken as fact.
The following are the most common codes and their implied meaning:
W: Generally means the fabric is able to be wet cleaned.
S: Generally means the fabric will require a solvent based cleaner.
W-S: Generally means the fabric may be cleaned with either water or solvent based processes.
X: Generally means the fabric should not be cleaned with either a wet or solvent based process.
D: Generally means Dry Clean only.
Notice each time a code was mentioned we used the term “generally”. Once again, these are guidelines and should not be taken literally. What we recommend is thoroughly pre-vacuuming the fabric, which will remove any dry particulate matter.
Then, based upon the code displayed on the fabric, we will test with the suggested cleaning method in an inconspicuous place. We also recommend quickly drying the area to view the after test cleaning results.
If the desired results are achieved then we still proceed with caution. If the fabric was able to be wet cleaned, then after cleaning we apply a diluted mixture of Brown Out® and water. Then no matter the cleaning process used, we towel off the cleaned fabric. We then apply Sta-Clene® as a fabric protector, followed by quick drying.
We cannot stress enough the importance of testing. Some fabrics will not respond properly to the code attached to them. Then you may choose to test with an alternative method.
Once again, these codes and more are reviewed and discussed at our classes at the Bane-Clene Institute®. Information and class schedules are available at www.baneclene.com.
Related furniture cleaning information on the Bane-Clene web site:
- Carpet, Rug and upholstery Protectors
- Furniture Cleaning
- Microfiber Furniture and Upholstery Cleaning and Care
- Partition Cleaning
Thank you for reading Bane's Blog®.
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The Bane-Clene® Team.
