Product Background
The Need for FIBRESOFT
Most carpet cleaners are aware of the lack of quality standards in the upholstery fabrics used in household furniture. Whilst there are many manufacturers who test fabrics for wear strength, dye fastness, shrunk resistance, there are equally as many who don’t. Even when quality fabric is used, many manufacturers place non-fast back materials (like unbleached calico, black buckram) under the fabric that bleeds through when cleaned.
New labelling laws, whilst designed to protect the consumer, are in fact now protecting the manufacturer. By placing ambiguous labels that read “Do not wet-clean, do not dry clean” on upholstered furniture, the manufacturers are, it appears, trying to shift the responsibility to you, the upholstery cleaning contractor.
So how do you guard against this potential problem?
Test First
The first thing you can do to protect against colour change, bleed or shrinkage is by pretesting on an inconspicuous area, such as the flounce (although this may not indicate the nature of the backing material). After prespraying FIBRESOFT PRESPRAY and extracting, wipe test an area with white towelling to check for colour transfer.
The second way to create fewer problems is to speed up drying. Use an upholstery cleaning machine, fitted with a hot air dryer or use your carpet dryer or hairdryer to direct air over the upholstery whilst you are cleaning. If these are not available to you, clean in a well ventilated are (take upholstery to a shaded outdoor area if necessary) and do not clean risky fibres such as Indian Cotton on wet days.
Notes: Some fabrics may be affected by sunlight. If cleaning upholstery to be sure of even light. Good upholstery cleaning practices should be followed at all times; first use a waterproof ground sheet under item to be cleaned, to avoid overspray; placed cleaned cushions against a non-staining surface and turn regularly whilst drying. Do not replace these whilst wet.
FIBRESOFT Prespray
This is the super-active cleaning solution that is ultra gentle on fibres. It is totally new concept that draws its development and technology from such diverse areas as the sugar bi-product and wine industries - unusual to say the least.
The FIRBRESOFT System
What is it?
This is the world’s first, totally integrated cleaning system for upholstery and may be used successfully in the automotive, marine, domestic and commercial cleaning of fabrics. It is the only system available that combines the total benefits of new technology chemistry that may be used with your present extraction machine.
The FIBRESOFT Chemistry - 1 part Prespray to 6 parts water
Two colour coded products are used in the system, they are:
FIBRESOFT UPHOLSTERY PRESPRAY: Red spot colour code
FIBRESOFT UPHOLSTERY RINSE: Blue Spot colour code
Benefits of FIBRESOFT Rinse
| Permanently bonds fabric softener: |
A chemical reaction (complex) created when the PRESPRAY and RINSE come together permanently bonds a mildly antiseptic softener onto the fibre. Polished cottons, Dralon velvets and synthetic velours are left soft, fluffy and standing straight. |
| Reduces ph of fibre: |
Mild acidity lowers the pH, therefore reduces the chance of alkalinity, browning and colour bleed. |
| Permanently bonded Anti-stat: |
Static cling created by nylon and wool blends, acrylics and to some extent polypropylene fibres. It is a free bonus that will add extra impetus to your upholstery cleaning business. |
| Permanently bonded Deodorant: |
Exhaustive consumer studies have proven conclusively the appealing nature of the clean fresh deodoriser embodied in the RINSE. It not only makes the system more pleasant to use, it increases the customers’ memory of your good cleaning. They ask you back again. |
Conclusion
Three years of development have created what we believe is the highest performance, yet safe, cleaning system for upholstery fibres. It is now used by Government Departments for cleaning upholstered trains and buses interiors, Hotels, Motels as well as by hundreds of carpet cleaners throughout the country. The system is recommended by many fibre weavers as being the best available.
By prespraying the fabric, using an airless spray gun (1 to 6 parts water) the active ingredients virtually dissolve the bond between fibre and soilage. A high level of grease emulsifiers are able to cut greasy deposits that would normally require solvent pre-scrubbing.
A unique water soluble polymer incorporated into Fibresoft, holds soilage in suspension and prevents re-deposition until the rinse cycle is complete. Polymer assists also in the prevention of bleeding of colours. This surrounds the loose dye molecules, enlarging them so that re-deposition is difficult.
High levels of optical brightener are used to provide an anti-yellowing barrier in the critical drying stage. Levels are reduced to normal in the rinse stage. On white or coloured fabrics a slight blue effect may be seen on the fibre, but this disappears on drying.
Drying agents are activated by the hot rinse and dramatically improve drying speed. It is here that the action of the hot air blast of the FIBRESOFT machines become important.
Important
Do not use the FIBRESOFT SYSTEM for spot cleaning of furnishings as the cleaned areas are dramatically brighter and are difficult to blend.
FIBRESOFT PRESPRAY outperforms solvent cleaners; is safer to use than solvent cleaners and dries just as fast
FIBRESOFT RINSE – 1 part Rinse to 50 parts water
This is the in-tank additive for your portable extractor. It is a chemical reaction product that increases the performance and saleability of the total FIBRESOFT SYSTEM as well as increasing the safety.
Upholstery Cleaning Tools/Equipment
- Carpet extraction machine fitted with variable pressure adjustment.
- Upholstery valet upholstery tool.
- Soft Nylon brush
- Stainless steel carding brush for velvets.
- Waterproof drop sheet.
- Carpet dryer or hair dryer
Click here to download the Fibresoft Prespray MSDS.
