Mrs. Piffelton's VERY expensive white cotton satin sofa and chairs were not appreciably soiled, just very lightly. The main problem was with so called "Heel marks" on the skirts, pretty bad on the sofa skirts, and some on each of the 2 chairs she wanted removed- they were unsightly to say the least.

OK, so this material is "S" rated, and while some "S" fabrics can be wet cleaned just fine, this was a shrinker, so that was out.

I tilt the sofa and chairs onto their backs after removing the cushions, so I can work on the black marks, which actually are from the top of the vacuum cleaner, driving the dirt and dust into the fabric when someone tries to vacuum under the edge of the skirts.

I did point out to her these marks were from the vacuum cleaner, and not heels, because most of the marks were streaks, not dots, which a heel would make.

OK, normally I remove them with regular rubbing alcohol, applied to a towel, then the dampened towel applied to the marks. That worked fine except for a couple really driven in deeply, the alcohol did not fully remove.

So, it is time for a water based detergent to get the rest. BOK's Bonnet Cleaner, diluted 4 ounces to a quart of water is what I use, then followed by the alcohol.

One mark left. Releasit Encapsulating Detergent is a mild detergent. I am gonna try it on the last mark, and if it does not work, I will use the regular stuff.

It worked. Same technique.

Whatta my gonna say.

Good stuff, Rick!!

Oh yeah, overall cleaning was done with plain alcohol sprayed on, then followed with my US Products furniture roto and a cotton furniture bonnet.

Gary

Regarding the US Products roto scrub you used, what size is the drive brush, and does it attach to a solution hose? I see it on their website, but they give very few details. I'm trying to find something to use on stairs with releasit.
Thanks
Paul

Gary -

That upholstery machine you mentioned made by US Products...any idea how much those go for? I am interested, since we are planning on doing more upholstery and I'd love to try encapping the ones that can be done that way.

Their website describes the item, but maybe they sell thru dealers, since you can't buy it directly from the site. What's the speed on that thing? I assume you can use it for most synthetics, but what about gentler fabrics? Too rough?

Thanks!

Clay

Jon Don is a dealer for the US products. The upholstery scrub head is listed at $483. plus $43. for the drive brush and $ 10. for the pads.

I use mine primarily as a bonnet machine rather than a shampoo machine, using their 6 inch bonnets for uph and for stairs.

As I recall when I bought mine- some 20 years ago, it was around $650.00.

They last forever, apparently. I have only done 1 repair- last year I had to put in new motor brushes, and while it was apart, I put on a new and longer cord.

Yes, there is a sprayer on it, to be used for shampooing, but in all the years, I have only used that once.

2 things I like about it- the motor speed control is variable from zero- or 1 rpm to 1200 rpms, and a lock keeps the speed where I set it until I want to stop. The second thing I like about it is the second handle at right angles. Turning the motor on, with a bonnet under the drive block, I can reach the bottom of the back or sides of a sofa easily. And in the rare occasion I need 2 hands, one hand on the motor handle, one hand on the side handle.

This is a well thought out and manufactured machine- like all US Products items.

The sprayer is on the left side of the head, and when shampooing, I can only lay down shampoo while moving from right to left, and that is inconvienient, so I bonnet, and that means spraying all the stairs or all the sofa body at once, then buzzing over the sprayed areas.

The bonnet driver will also drive a 7 inch Fiber Plus Pad, for stairs and furniture just fine.

Gary