I was at a job today and the lady wanted me to clean her dining room chairs that were upholstered in silk. I declined worrying I would ruin them. Can I use encap ds on silk?

Technically yes - from a pH standpoint. The pH is right about neutral in dilution.
And technically yes - from a low moisture standpoint. Low moisture cleaning works well for silk, which you could potentially achieve by whipping the Releasit into a foam and brushing the fabric gently, and toweling it off.

However, silk is one of the more problematic upholstery fabrics to clean. It can easily show water marking if it dries unevenly. And if the silk is old, it can easily tear when it's wet.

Plus it is probably an expensive piece, so the cost of replacing/repairing is likely greater too if you were to damage it.

If you have questions about cleaning silk, you probably made a wise choice to avoid it. It is one of the more technical fibers to clean.

To quote the old Kenny Rogers song...
"You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em.
Know when to walk away; know when to run."

Sounds like you may have dodged a bullet.







Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Glad I left it alone.

The lady was crazy anyway. She wanted me to clean 10 chairs for $3 each. Can you believe that?

Get this, while I'm cleaning the carpet she pulls out her bottle of oxy clean and starts spraying the carpet.

I yelled, "Whoa, what are you doing?"

Her response, "These are bad areas I thought this would help."

I'm thinking to myself, "Oh right, Albertsons carries better spot remover than Excellent Supply."

So I said, "First of all, that stuff you have there is crap. My spot remover is 10 times better than that. Secondly, you dont mix chemicals. I know what I'm doing, let me do my job."

This was after I had been there 2 1/2 hours already so I was a little fed up. I couldnt believe it. I was hoping some crazy chemical reaction would take place and it would bleach the whole thing. But it didnt.

Did the upholstery have any tags on it? Test on the inside of a leg and see what happens. How dirty is it? Probably I would clean it with a spray bottle of encap and a microfiber cloth. Watch for colors on silk. When in doubt, use dry cleaning solvent unless the materiak is an X.

Here is some info I found doing a search or you can do a search for Pemberton's cleaning tips.


Silk is a luxurious natural fiber that creates beautiful upholstery. Silk furniture is an investment that you want to protect! It is important to clean silk furniture with great care and attention to detail.

Caring for Silk Upholstery
Begin by vacuuming the entire piece of furniture well to remove all loose dirt.
Generally, silk upholstery can be cleaned with a soft cloth dipped in a solution of cold water and mild laundry detergent such as Woolite. However, exercise extreme caution and be sure to test a small, inconspicuous area first as many types of dyed silk will discolor easily.
When in doubt, have your silk upholstery cleaned professionally.
Additional Tips and Advice
Be cautious not to overwet the fabric and use moving air to quickly dry the silk.
Do not place your silk upholstery in direct sunlight, or in close vicinity to a heating/air conditioning sources.
Clean spills promptly, blotting at them with a firm, lifting motion; never rub the stain as this will force it deeper into the fabric.
Never use a hair dryer to dry a wet spot or spill on silk upholstery as the heat may cause shrinkage of the fabric.
Sometimes when cleaning silk upholstery water marks will remain that are nearly impossible to remove. If this occurs, you may want to consider using a dry-cleaning method.