Most people are usually attracted from the fancy appearance, colour or certain model when purchasing their new furniture. Of course, appearance is quite important factor when buying furnishings, but there is another key issue you need to consider – the practicality. Before purchasing the amazing sofa which you have seen in a fancy show room, or catalogue take a minute and think about this: how much efforts, time and money are you willing to waste in its maintenance? There certainly is no point of taking gorgeous couch, that you won’t be able to clean well. This is why choosing the right kind of upholstery is really crucial.
Modern Fabrics Are Usually Blends of Fibres
Today most of fabric types used for upholstery are usually mixture of different kinds of fibres. When you pick a sofa, or other piece of upholstered furniture, like settee or armchair you should ask the salesman for the kind of textile and its ingredients. Take a glance at this list of some of the most used fibres and materials and get familiar with their specifications.
Synthetic Upholstery Materials
It’s a common myth that all of the synthetic fabrics are easy to maintain and clean. This only depends on the amount of fibres in the blend. Man made fibres are used in upholsteries mostly for their resistance to water and sunlight exposure.
Nylon and nylon containing natural fibres are never stain resistant, but nylon is still quite easy to take care of, especially if it has been treated with stain repellent such as Scotchgard. Nylon based textiles are great upholstery choice for pet owners though, because their four-legged friends can enjoy their couch or armchair without harmful results like stains or hair, embedded into the fibres.
Acrylic fibres’ performance for dirt and stains is quite poor. The only reason why this material is used is only in blend with others is that acrylic resist very well to sunlight exposure and it is abrasion-resistant. If spill occurs on acrylic couch it could be very hard to remove the stain without a professional treatment.
Polyester has similar properties to acrylic. It responds well to direct sun. But it is much harder to get the stains out this material, than from acrylic or nylon. Usually when the upholstery of your sofa contains a big percentage of polyester fibres you will probably have to call a London Carpet Cleaning LTD in Bromley so the stains are handled properly.
Natural Fibred Fabrics
Natural fibred materials are often preferred for upholstery fabrics because of the soft touch they have. Also natural fibres are the best choice for people with delicate skin allergies sufferers.
Cotton is a very strong fibre and stands fairly to wear and tear, that’s why it is used in upholstery fabric blends. But unfortunately it can be damaged from direct sun light. If your couch’s upholstery contains a large percentage of cotton fibres be sure that it isn’t placed near windows – its colour fades very quick. Take in mind removing stains from cotton is pretty difficult task. These fibres are very absorbent and spills and moist quickly get deep into the upholstery. The good news is that cotton armchair or sofa can be steam-cleaned with very good result.
Wool can be easily damaged by food and beverage stains and direct sun exposure. Stain removals which will usually work perfect for other upholstery types may fail to help with wool. Professional carpet cleaners can remove grease and other stains from wool very effectively, but ask them to use less aggressive , environmental friendly products to protect the nature.
