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Fabric Care and Cleaning
Experience the beauty of your fabric for longer. Chances are you took time and care in choosing the fabric upholstery. Whether it’s the focal point of the room or an enhancement factor, the longer it maintains it’s color and character, the happier you’ll be.
DuPont™ Teflon Fabric Protector makes it easier for you to maintain your furniture. However, regular care will keep all your fabric upholstered furniture looking new longer.
Fabric care is easy and inexpensive. Here are some tips:
Weekly vacuuming or light brushing helps to remove soil and prevents the embedding of dirt between the fibers.
Rotate and turn your cushions after vacuuming to prevent excessive wear and soil patterns.
Avoid placing newspapers on fabric since the ink could permanently stain the fabric.
Avoid the use of dyes, acids, corrosives, paints, inks, nail polish and removers around your furniture.
Never remove cushion covers for dry cleaning or machine washing even though they have zippers.
Keep upholstered furniture away from direct sunlight to avoid fading.
Periodic cleaning by an authorized technician will ensure that gradual buildup of soil, perspiration and oils do not cause permanent damage and shorten the life of your fabric upholstered furniture.
Leather Care and Cleaning
Experience the beauty of leather, one of nature’s wonderful durable goods. The tanning process gives it resistance to wetting and keeps it supple. Its high tensile strength makes it a flexible material that will stretch yet retain its shape. Best of all leather “breathes”, so it will assume your body temperature rapidly. Warm and inviting, leather furniture entices you to sit and relax.
Nature loves to be creative, so each piece of leather is individual. Shade can change throughout a piece, and these freckles of life are what gives leather its character.
Leather is susceptible to three types of damage:
Stiffness and surface cracking caused by the drying out of natural oils,
Fiber discoloration as a result of accidental spills or sun exposure, and
Scuffing and tearing usually caused during use.
As well, body oils, perspiration, skin acids and soiling build up can work into leather. All these problems can be addressed by simply using the special care products and directions outlined here to both clean and protect your leather. After all, you purchased leather furniture because of its reputations for a long life. Why not give it a long healthy life?
If you prefer to have your furniture cleaned professionally or if you have any other questions regarding the care of your leather upholstered furniture, call our Customer Solutions department.
Once Per Week
Dust your furniture weekly or when you dust the other items in the room. Lightly dampen a soft cloth and wipe the surface. One of the great benefits of leather is that you can fully remove dust particles from the surface, making it ideal for dust-sensitive people.
Four times a year
Fully clean your furniture at least every three months with Soft Cleaner, more frequently for furniture in high use rooms. Pay particular attention to clean all high usage and skin contact areas like seats, arms, front railings and inside backs.
Four times a year
After full cleaning, apply Leather Protection Cream to renew the original protection level. Be sure to reapply the Leather Protection Cream to all high usage and skin contact areas like seats, arms, front railing and inside backs.
These steps take very little time and make a dramatic difference in the overall appearance of your leather furniture. We want you to have a trouble-free, enjoyable experience with your leather furniture.
Additional Tips on Leather Care
Try to maintain at least two feet between your furniture and heating sources
Avoid placing your furniture in direct sunlight. All materials will fade over time when placed in direct sunlight. Authentic leathers are especially sensitive to sunlight.
Use a dampened soft cloth to remove dirt as well as the gradual accumulation of body oils and perspiration.
Apply Leather Protection Cream to help resist staining and prevent overall soiling.
Do not use any products not recommended by the manufacturer as they may negatively affect the leather’s surface.
Hard Surface Wood Care and Cleaning
Experience the beauty of wood, the strong, lightweight, natural product. Hard maple, pin, ash, red oak- each is unique in depth, richness of texture and grain patterns. Quality wood furniture creates a warm elegance and gentle comfort. If properly cared for, wood increases in value with age and develops its own patina or surface appearance of softness and mellowness.
Part of wood’s beauty is its imperfections. Knots, mineral deposits, worm holes and unusual grain patterns give it character. Each piece is as individual as a fingerprint and will take stain slightly different, even two boards from the same tree. This is inherent to wood and is not a defect unless it interferes with the product giving satisfactory service.
Manufacturers striving to obtain a particular look incorporate wood imperfects and other slight irregularities into the finished product. This is especially true of casual styles like country and colonial. If such production “flaws” are objectionable to you, perhaps you should be looking for a more formal style.
You may notice a gap in the center of leaf tables or at the ends where half-tops and filler leaves meet. Solid wood will expand and contract due to humidity conditions in the home. The extent of the gapping will vary as humidity conditions change. Expansion and contraction cause these gaps, which are natural characteristics of solid wood.
Wood Care and Cleaning
Moderate to serious damage of fine wood furniture requires the help of a professional.
For simple everyday wear try these remedies:
To remove cloudiness
Rub surface with a cloth dipped in a solution of one tablespoon of white vinegar to one quart of water. Rub with the grain until the surface is completely dry.
To remove water rings
Rub with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and cooking oil. Rub with the grain.
To remove heat marks
Coat the area with mayonnaise and let stand for one hour before wiping off.
To remove burns
Rub affected area with finest grade steel wool, rubbing lightly with the grain until all burnt material is smoothed off. Follow with application of furniture polish.
To remove candle wax drippings
Gently scrape off excess wax. Apply a warm (not hot) iron over a white cloth to absorb residue. Follow with application of furniture oil or polish.
To remove dents
Wipe dent with warm water. Apply a compress of paper soaked in warm water to swell the wood fibers. Let sit for 30 minutes, and then apply a warm (not hot) iron over a white cloth until the dent is gone. Follow with application of furniture oil or polish.
Additional Tips on Wood Care
Keep furniture away from heating and air condition sources to prevent loss of moisture in wood, and out of direct sunlight to avoid bleaching of wood.
To prevent gouging and scratching use felt backing on lamps, ashtrays, and accessories.
Always use place mats under plates, hot pads under service dishes and coasters under hot and cold drinks.
Do not set synthetics, rubber or plastic directly on wood finishes as they may contain chemicals that will damage the finish.
Do not place newspapers and magazines on wood surfaces as the ink will bleed into the finish and eventually damage the wood.
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