Sanity Check

[Bryce C]

Apologies in advance for the long winded description. I'm walking into a potentially very stupid job tomorrow morning at 8am. The client has 7 old dining chairs, likely upholstered with cotton or a cotton blend, with an attached cushion on the seat and back rest, the rest of the dining chair is a wooden frame. The customer complained of an odor in the cushions (likely foam cushions but not sure yet), not from urine but rather musty from being stored in a garage or basement.

So far I am planning on informing the customer (my wife and secretary is currently in training, and so am I ) that since the cushions are attached there isn't anything I can do without risking damage to the wood frame and the natural fibers it is upholstered with due to any effective treatment causing it to remain wet for an extended period of time. Letting them know I can attempt an off-site deodorization that will cost them 4x as much, have a high probability of damage, and they must sign a waiver of liability.

If they agree deodorization isn't worth the attempt, then proceeding to use an OP method with distilled water for even wetting (misted lightly) and a neutral cleaner (Bridgepoint's OxyBuff, again misted lightly), followed by rapid drying, and time is the only safe (possibly effective) remedy for the cushions. If they prefer me to take it off-site and sign off accordingly then scouring through all the old relevant posts I can find here and asking for more current pointers from you wizards tomorrow night. Next time inform them of all this on the phone during the initial call. Does that sound like a decent plan or still pretty stupid?

 

[Bryce C]

These.

Do those dark regions look like browning or soil? Dampen a cotton rag with an acid rinse and weigh it down on the dark region for a bit to see if it pulls brown to identify the cause of discoloration?

Pretty cool looking chairs, not cool enough to buy

 

[hogjowl]

Well, you were right

 

[Living The Dream]

I'm sure it's unlikely, but are you able to get a piece of fiber from an inconspicuous area?

Do you know if the customer ever attempted to clean them?

 

[Bryce C]

Well, you were right

About what, that they look pretty cool?

I'm sure it's unlikely, but are you able to get a piece of fiber from an inconspicuous area?

Do you know if the customer ever attempted to clean them?

Good call, I'll check all 7 of them to see if can get a piece of the fiber off to burn. Does it look like it could be a weird material? Didn't think to ask them about previous cleaning attempts. I will in the morning during our chat and inspection. If so do I do a ph test the dark areas or something to make sure I don't pull colors?

 

[Living The Dream]

About what, that they look pretty cool?


Good call, I'll check all 7 of them to see if can get a piece of the fiber off to burn. Does it look like it could be a weird material? Didn't think to ask them about previous cleaning attempts. I will in the morning during our chat and inspection. If so do I do a ph test the dark areas or something to make sure I don't pull colors?

Its hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like something hungover the back of the chair and it sat like that for a period or time. Possibly could even be some UV damage.

You're more than likely going to need to treat the fibers as a natural fiber. I wouldn't worry about trying to do any type of PH test on the dark areas.

If it were me, I would hit them with a VLM approach to start with. I would start with Encapuclean Green DS and a hand buffing tool if you think the fiber is strong enough to handle it. If it does seem weak or brittle than carefully horsehair and hand towel. The PH is almost neutral in this product and should help correct any ph shifting and help limit any bleeding.(I don't think bleeding will be an issue, but you can always DyeLock) It will also help limit reactivating anything stinky in the cushion.

If you think you will need to HWE these chairs, I highly recommend the Avenge products from Bridgepoint or Prochem Upholstery products and rinse ( The liquid versions).

Air movers to speed dry on either process.

 

[Bryce C]

Awesome, Thanks for the tips man. That's really interesting about something possibly hanging on it and causing the dark regions.

I suppose Encapuclean Green DS will be gentler than the Oxy Buff product I had thought to use?

I don't have an eye for it but I've read silk has a sheen. If I do a burn test and smell hair, in this case would that likely be silk? If so can vlm technique still mess it up if I'm too aggressive?

 

[Bryce C]

My apologies, nvm the question about the vlm method being too aggressive, I see that you already answered it!

 

[SamIam]

There's already damage, note that to the customer

I would prespray ultra TLC pros choice, had a great citrus fragrance.

I prefer a sapphire upholstery tool rinse with last step.

Lower psi use the flow valve to lower flow on tool and crack the vacuum relief.


I use a hand sprayer to mist the pre spray on

Terry towel any excess off wood, rinse with low flow tool.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Its hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like something hungover the back of the chair and it sat like that for a period or time. Possibly could even be some UV damage.

You're more than likely going to need to treat the fibers as a natural fiber. I wouldn't worry about trying to do any type of PH test on the dark areas.

If it were me, I would hit them with a VLM approach to start with. I would start with Encapuclean Green DS and a hand buffing tool if you think the fiber is strong enough to handle it. If it does seem weak or brittle than carefully horsehair and hand towel. The PH is almost neutral in this product and should help correct any ph shifting and help limit any bleeding.(I don't think bleeding will be an issue, but you can always DyeLock) It will also help limit reactivating anything stinky in the cushion.

If you think you will need to HWE these chairs, I highly recommend the Avenge products from Bridgepoint or Prochem Upholstery products and rinse ( The liquid versions).

Air movers to speed dry on either process.

Agreed as above.

I can walk you through the deodorizing options if you would like to call my cell. I’m up and happy to help Bryce

 

[Mikey P]

Bryce was a huge stand out at The Fest last week

The world is his oyster.



and thank God, he knows his boundaries...

 

[Bryce C]

Excellent. Thanks for all the recommendations and encouragement guys! I'd be lost and swimming up a heavily soiled creek without y'all. Jim, I'll give you a call right now..

 

[Bryce C]

Happy Easter friends. The cool looking and possibly stupid to clean dining chair job went well yesterday I may of been foinked without you guys. Hard to say how grateful I am for all the pro tips, but thank you..!

When I met the client first thing he said is "can you clean them mon?", then I pointed out the chairs were already damaged and that there is a fair chance I can't effectively clean them at all, but we'll find out. I also inquired about the odor and described to him the limitations of deodorizing the attached cushions without running major risks of damaging the wood and upholstered natural fibers. He wasn't concerned about the odor, and I didn't detect anything substantial either.

Burn test showed it was cotton, and testing my neutral encap cleaning solution pulled a little bit of soil onto a cotton rag, but not much really. So I told him I can safely clean the fabric, however it may only improve slightly and I wanted him to be fully aware of that before I proceeded. He understood and was content with moving forward.

Vlm/op method was only making very slight improvements so I decided to carefully do a warm to the touch water extraction with minimal water through my low moisture upholstery tool first, followed by low vacuum gentle dry passes, then used a clean cotton rag with the orbital buffer right afterwards (which pulled a surprising amount of moisture and more soil from the fabric), then quickly put each chair in front of an air mover after I finished. Grooming each one with a horsehair brush.

The client sat and watched me the entire time. He was impressed with the process and I used the opportunity to educate him about the chairs while I was working, carefully tending to every part as I was cleaning. He seemed really impressed with my knowledge, professionalism, and attention to detail. In the end it took me 3 hours to do 8 dining chairs, next time it will take me around 2 hours in a similar situation. He was pleased with the results and gave me a tip. It definitely helped build my confidence and gave me a foundation to base future (higher) pricing off of. The chairs didn't make a miraculous improvement. But they all certainly improved, some a bit more and others a bit less. All in all it felt like a success!

 

[Bryce C]

Some before and afters

 

[Bryce C]

...

 

[hogjowl]

That was a lot of work. I doubt you really got what it was worth, but hope you did.

 

[Bryce C]

That was a lot of work. I doubt you really got what it was worth, but hope you did.

Thanks Hogjowl. Relative to what experienced professionals get paid for a job like this it was low. However in taking the job and utilizing every resource at my disposal (especially that of wise souls here) I got a 1st class brief/partial crash course education on this style of upholstery cleaning, made enough money to gas up my truck and buy some groceries, and gained the skills, confidence, and understanding of how to price it moving forward so that I make around $100/hour on similar jobs in the future.

While I didn't leave with a ton of cash, to me it was a priceless treasure of an experience.

 

[Jimmy L]

It's all in the "show"
I prefer to just hammer out polyester sofas with no stress

 

[Bryce C]

It's all in the "show"
I prefer to just hammer out polyester sofas with no stress

Good call.

$200-$300 a whack for cleaning fairly risk free plastic sofas feels like a sunny day in paradise

 

[hogjowl]

Thanks Hogjowl. Relative to what experienced professionals get paid for a job like this it was low. However in taking the job and utilizing every resource at my disposal (especially that of wise souls here) I got a 1st class brief/partial crash course education on this style of upholstery cleaning, made enough money to gas up my truck and buy some groceries, and gained the skills, confidence, and understanding of how to price it moving forward so that I make around $100/hour on similar jobs in the future.

While I didn't leave with a ton of cash, to me it was a priceless treasure of an experience.

It’s 2024. $100/hr was the goal in 1995.

 

[Mikey P]

It’s 2024. $100/hr was the goal in 1995.

True enough.

He'll be at $200 in no time

 

[hogjowl]

He better be if he wants to avoid being another Matt.
Oh, and I saw where your ex-buddy Mr. Labcoat is cleaning for $40/room.

 

[Bryce C]

I'm not hunting for a big paycheck at the moment, but rather tilling the soil and planting seeds for a very prosperous future. I'm thinking about bumping all of my prices as soon as I'm booked a week out, and immediately bumping the few that are unreasonably low.

Great to hear that I may exceed my own hopes with it all! I'll just do my best to keep doing excellent work one day at a time.

 

[Mikey P]

He better be if he wants to avoid being another Matt.
Oh, and I saw where your ex-buddy Mr. Labcoat is cleaning for $40/room.

yup..

 

[hogjowl]

I'm not hunting for a big paycheck at the moment, but rather tilling the soil and planting seeds for a very prosperous future. I'm thinking about bumping all of my prices as soon as I'm booked a week out, and immediately bumping the few that are unreasonably low.

Great to hear that I may exceed my own hopes with it all! I'll just do my best to keep doing excellent work one day at a time.

One day you’ll be telling fish stories here.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Oh, and I saw where your ex-buddy Mr. Labcoat is cleaning for $40/room.

I'm glad he took my advise and didn't sell his TM to become a juice salesman.

==================================================================


Those are cool chairs.
Rock on Bryce!

.L.T.A.

 

[Living The Dream]

I'm glad he took my advise and didn't sell his TM to become a juice salesman.

==================================================================


Those are cool chairs.
Rock on Bryce!

.L.T.A.

I think he's going through some hard times based on his videos. I think someone helped him out with getting a TM and van, and he needed GoFundMe to get to the Fest. I'm not exactly sure what's going on.

When I talked to him in San Diego things sounded like they were all going good. Hopefully he gets back up and going. I don't think $40 a room is the way to go, but if that's what it takes to keep cash coming in, do what you gotta do.

 

[Luky]

Mikey P:
Bryce was a huge stand out at The Fest last week
The world is his oyster.


and thank God, he knows his boundaries...
Bryce Comprone:
Apologies in advance for the long winded description. I'm walking into a potentially very stupid job tomorrow morning at 8am. The client has 7 old dining chairs, likely upholstered with cotton or a cotton blend, with an attached cushion on the seat and back rest, the rest of the dining chair is a wooden frame. The customer complained of an odor in the cushions (likely foam cushions but not sure yet), not from urine but rather musty from being stored in a garage or basement.
So far I am planning on informing the customer (my wife and secretary is currently in training, and so am I

) that since the cushions are attached there isn't anything I can do without risking damage to the wood frame and the natural fibers it is upholstered with due to any effective treatment causing it to remain wet for an extended period of time. Letting them know I can attempt an off-site deodorization that will cost them 4x as much, have a high probability of damage, and they must sign a waiver of liability.
If they agree deodorization isn't worth the attempt, then proceeding to use an OP method with distilled water for even wetting (misted lightly) and a neutral cleaner (Bridgepoint's OxyBuff, again misted lightly), followed by rapid drying, and time is the only safe (possibly effective) remedy for the cushions. If they prefer me to take it off-site and sign off accordingly then scouring through all the old relevant posts I can find here and asking for more current pointers from you wizards tomorrow night. Next time inform them of all this on the phone during the initial call. Does that sound like a decent plan or still pretty stupid?

I do applaud your hunger for widening your horizon by getting continuous education in many fields of our industry and in quest for perfection. On the other hand, no matter how much information you getting, all that has to settle over the time in your head and will come in handy over and over in the future. It's same principles when parents try to instill good values in us, it takes time, and eventually, we'll get it together. It would help if you focused on marketing, advertising, and volume and did as many jobs as possible. This is how you'll experience many situations where you can apply what you've learned. You don't have to be perfect; you must deliver the best possible results with the equipment and technology available and haul a$$ now when your enthusiasm is in high gear. You'll make mistakes no matter how hard you try to avoid them and sometimes pays to take road of least resistance. I'm sure that you're equipped with sea foam sponge among other gadgets. You're also familiar with Fine fabric shampoo, Haitian cotton ( I love Prochem products)and some other pre-sprays for delicate fabrics. It wouldn't hurt to get these dining chairs done in an old, old-fashioned way. Get the foam going, gently apply it with the sponge, wipe it with a cotton towel, lightly mist it, use an upholstery tool with open vac relief ( to your liking) so as not to pull much on the fabric, and wipe excess moisture, especially around the frame not only to protect the wood but to prevent possible watermarks or browning. I guarantee the outcome. Regarding odor mitigation, I'd approach with an odor modifier ( syringe) if the material allows or with an air scrubber. I'm sure that Mr. Pemberton has a more effective way to deal with this situation.

 

[Bryce C]

Thanks Luky, great advice. Not sure what the heck happened to my sea sponge, I know I ordered one. For now I have a $3 grout cleaning sponge from the borg. It was recommended as an alternative to expensive sea sponges here on the boards at some point. One of these in the pic below.

Regarding the fine fabric treatments I have 3 or 4, none of them are specific to Haitian cotton though (although maybe some are appropriate and I don't know it). I have Bridgepoint's OxyBuff with sodium percarbonate at a neutral ph, seems ideal for natural fibers that aren't already weak or prone to weakening, can be used as a dry foam or prespray. I have Bridgepoints Encapuclean Green DS, also a near neutral ph, gentler, and useful on all natural fibers even those that are old and weak I think. Carpet Details at half concentration is under a ph of 8 and seems like it would be safe on natural fibers, not sure how effective it is compared to the others I listed above but I've only been using it here and there at full strength on synthetics for now. And for wool I have Wool Perfect by Bridgepoint (along with Wool Zone and Wool Medic). And Prochem All Fiber Rinse for an acid rinse I use with many things, when that runs out I'll probably stick with Fabset by Bridgepoint as an acid rinse and treatment for all forms of upholstery and all natural fibers moving forward.

Unless I'm forgetting something the rest of my arsenal is only useful for synthetics.

 

[Dolly Llama]

I'm not exactly sure what's going on.

couldn't make a living selling expensive juice in an ocean of quality juices available for less.
and he didn't have "Seager star power"

.L.T.A.