"Dry Cleaning" upholstery fabric

[mattl]

Looking for suggestions on how to clean upholstery fabric that is dry clean only.  I have a large sectional that is off white with some color in it.  I've tried using my hot water extraction system on it with terrible results.  It comes clean but the backing of the fabric seems to disintegrate and the material separates into bundles of threads.   Have one or tow sections that could use a good cleaning, Do not want to hire someone.

 

Any products or chemicals that garner decent results?  At some point I'm going to have to learn upholstery to recover these units.

 

[ea56]

I’ve used Resolve Dry Carpet cleaner on our wall to wall carpet with excellent results. I would suggest that you try using this on a small area and see if you are pleased with the results. For cleaning the carpet you sprinkle it on the carpet and brush it into the nap, let it set for about 1/2 an hr., then vacuum it up completely. This may do the trick for you. The important thing would be to have a good vacuum with strong suction and a good brush attachment.

HTH
Eddie

 

[mattl]

Thanks, would not have thought of that.  I do have a great vac with a brush, my Kirby has a "power" brush attachment that seems to work quite well, I think the suction rivals my small shop vac.

 

[rp2813]

There used to be a sort of frozen carpet spray in an aerosol can that worked well for this sort of thing.  It could have been "Chem-Dry" brand, but I haven't seen it in years.  I think "Sprayway" brand may be the same thing -- I've seen it at ACE in a retro-looking can. 

 

Spray some into a soft cloth and then gently rub onto/into the upholstery.  You should see residue in the cloth if it's working.  Use a dry cloth to go over it when done.

 

Eddie's suggestion is a good one too.  It may reduce the chances of any obvious changes to the appearance of the upholstery.

 

[circlew]

Capture

by Milliken is a dry powder cleaner. I used it on a chair and was pleased with the results.

https://www.captureclean.com/TopNavigation/AboutCapture/faqs/Pages/News.aspx

 

[ultralux88]

Capture

Is my suggestion as well, since things don’t get wet it typically avoids the damage! Just try in an inconspicuous spot first as they all say...

 

[ea56]

Capture is a good suggestion too. I believe that Capture and Resolve Dry Carpet Cleaner are essentially the same. Both are damp powders that you brush into the carpet or upholstery that you want to clean, let the powder set for about a 1/2 hr and vacuum the powder out completely. The soil gets trapped in the damp powder and is vacuumed up with the powder.

Eddie

 

[dermacie]

Patience is key ( I usually have very little) but I have a a very light carpet in my master bedroom that gets high traffic since there is a bathroom in there and It took a couple cleanings to get it right.

I also did not have good luck with an extractor, and ended up using my Kirby shampooer which is a foam type cleaner. It worked better in my application.

 

[mattl]

I tried the Resolve, it worked - sort of.  The fabric is cleaner, but even using a soft brush it did wear on the material, took some of the texture away, now it looks like some more worn areas, not bad but not as good as I hoped.  Is K2R still around in the formula from years back?  Everything gets "updated" and is not quite as good.

 

[askolover]

I haven't seen K2R in years!

 

[thomasortega]

You can try a steam cleaner.

Please note that here in the US some people use the wrong definition of steam cleaner.

The steam cleaner I mean is that machines that releases steam under high temperature and pressure, (It sounds almost like a CO2 fire extinguisher when you squeeze the trigger)

This would be enough to clean, without wetting the backing.
I've had impressive results with the Karcher SC2500C (same SC4 in other countries) I brought from Brazil when I moved here. I deep clean the whole house using only tap water, no mess, no fuss.