Furniture Cleaning

So you just bought new furniture and you want to keep it looking good for years.  A proper furniture cleaning program should be implemented to insure that this happens.  This should include regular vacuuming, periodic cleaning, and fabric protection being reapplied after cleaning.

As with carpet, rugs and draperies, your upholstery needs to be vacuumed on a regular basis. Since vacuuming can remove 75% of all soil in the fabric this is the best way to keep your upholstery looking and smelling great.  When vacuuming your upholstery, don’t use a brush bar or beater bar vacuum attachment.  Just use the suction.  This will prevent any damage to the fiber. 

Then from time to time periodic cleaning will be needed to remove the rest of the soil that vacuuming does not remove.  Vacuuming can only remove dry soil, but some soils are oily or sticky and cannot be removed by vacuuming alone.  If your fabric is synthetic then cleaning or spot cleaning it yourself should be fine.  If your furniture is cotton, silk or another natural fiber you should consider letting a professional cleaning company do the furniture cleaning for you.  Natural fibers are more delicate and can take special training and chemicals to get the results you want.

If you keep fabric protection applied to then the likelihood that you will spill something on the fabric that cannot be removed is slim.  Furniture protection should be reapplied every 12 – 18 months especially after cleaning.  If you have to do some furniture cleaning sooner than that then it would be a good idea to reapply the furniture protection at that time. 

IICRC Seeks Volunteers for S210 and S300 Standards Updates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IICRC Continues to Seek Volunteers for S210 and S300 Standards Updates
(VANCOUVER, Wash.) June 21, 2012 – The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is continuing to seek volunteers to serve on the consensus bodies for the development of a new BSR-IICRC S210 and the revision of IICRC S300.
The BSR-IICRC S210 Standard and Reference Guide on Dimension Stone Maintenance and Restoration is expected to be completed in 36 months. The updated IICRC S300 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Upholstery Cleaning is set to be completed in approximately 24 months.
“As our industry continues to evolve, our standards ensure that the IICRC is providing the most relevant and consistent information,” said Mili Washington, IICRC standards director. “But our standards are only as good as our volunteers; we need their expertise and knowledge.”
The consensus bodies will meet approximately two times per year, with most of the work being completed online and via conference calls. Those interested in serving on the BSR-IICRC S210 or IICRC S300 consensus bodies should contact Mili Washington at mili@iicrc.org. The IICRC will be accepting applications through the end of July.
To learn more about IICRC standards, please visit iicrc.org/standards.
About IICRC
The IICRC is an international, ANSI accredited standard development organization (SDO) that certifies individuals in 20+ categories within the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. Representing more than 54,000 certified technicians in 22 countries, the IICRC, in partnership with regional and international trade associations, represents the entire industry. The IICRC does not own schools, employ instructors, produce training materials, or promote specific product brands, cleaning methods or systems. To know if a technician has received proper education and training, consumers should look for the cleantrust patch and logo, the service mark of the IICRC. For more information, visit www.iicrc.org.