WHAT WENT WRONG
Professionally cleaning textiles and skins by hand
The prespect of hand cleaning items can be a little intimidating but a little bit of opractice can work wonders with confidence and skills, write Roger Cawood and Richard Neale
F
ollowing WW2, and before the advent of the unit shop, hand cleaning involved the use of both white spirit and water in conjunction with detergents and soap. Today, because of health and safety considerations, hand cleaning is largely confined to the use of water and liquid soaps or detergents. The only exception is limited localised stain removal using a proprietary post-spotter or (preferably) pure chemicals.
Items such as soft toys and small textile items, because of their construction, may require a hand cleaning process. Suede and leather articles contain tanning agents, leather oils, and leather dyes, which may not be fast to water, making them the most at risk from hand cleaning techniques (see our March 2023 article What Went Wrong - Skin Deep). Despite these risks, hand cleaning can be quite straightforward and most experienced cleaners will accept
Examples of items/products used in hand cleaning
Domestic/commercial upholstery hand cleaning equipment. The professional spotting table with vacuum, steam, water spray and hot air drying. Various types of suede brush. Proprietary leather cleaning products and hand wash products for textiles. Fullers earth or baby powder for absorbing oil/grease stains on suede. Various abrasive materials (for suede stain removal) fine sandpaper, wet or dry abrasive paper, emery board nail files. Fairy Liquid - use up to 20% solution in water for cleaning leather and pigmented leather.
Specialist leather cleaning products and preservatives. Micro fibre cloths.
30 LCNi | September 2024
certain items that they know they can successfully hand or surface clean, with little or no risk; but beware, there can be serious risks hiding around the corner to really spoil the day of any cleaner unwise enough to rush in to hand clean any item without properly evaluating its construction, make up, surface appearance and finish.
Today, many cleaners, having experienced difficulties cleaning suede and leather in the past, do not operate an ‘in-house’ service, instead sub-contracting items to a trade specialist cleaner. However, provided very lightly soiled or stained items are carefully assessed, a much better result is often possible by hand cleaning an item, because this can avoid common customer complaints (such as colour variation between panels on suedes or partial loss of pigmentation on leathers) which often occurs in total immersion cleaning processes. In addition, other items, such as boots, shoes and handbags, can be accepted, once the cleaner has acquired the basic knowledge, hands-on skills and confidence to perform the task.
Getting started
This is the first hurdle to overcome and is perhaps best achieved by the process of learning by experience. Start by acquiring a few old items, say from friends, relatives and/or charity shops. Items such as soft toys, a stiffened pelmet, ornamental mats and any textiles that do not lend themselves to dry- or wetcleaning can be used to practice on, as can suede and leather items, such as jackets, handbags, shoes and boots. In the case of suede and leather, it is a good idea to engage in a little background research related to the fundamental properties of both suede and leather. Acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills may take some time, so initially only accept the easiest and most straightforward
STRENGTH TEST: This simple strength test can be used to establish the strength of the fabric
items. For your first attempts at hand cleaning, soft toys such as teddy bears are normally very straightforward but always read any attached aftercare labels. The main risk here is with old/very old items, where the fabric may have started to deteriorate, so use a simple strength test before going ahead. Also, the filling can be very much an unknown quantity and could deteriorate when exposed to water so check by wetting a small area before going ahead and if in any doubt, do not accept it for cleaning. Always be on the lookout for loose trims, stuck on eyes and split seams/tears and so on. Items can be cleaned in a bowl or sink and should respond well using warm water and a soft brush, together with a specialist hand-wash, child-friendly detergent. Rinse thoroughly and if any product such as conditioner is used, ensure that it is also child-friendly. Finally, squeeze gently to remove excess water and hang to dry.
Leather and suede
Unlike textiles, leathers and suedes vary considerably in their structure, texture and density. This also applies to skins produced from the same animal and means that the cleaner cannot always rely on a uniform response to hand cleaning products and techniques, particularly when dealing with garments which are likely to have been
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