Many upholstery fabrics are significantly m ore delicate and sensitive than carpet fabrics, as they are sold based on comfort and soft texture, as opposed to carpet which needs to be more durable since we walk on it. Obviously, an ignorant cleaner can do a lot of damage if they use an incorrect method or chemical. Further

complicating the matter of upholstery fabric cleaning is the lack of​

comprehensive and accurate information being circulated. While

the major carpet manufacturing mills now proactively cooperate with the cleaning industry to exchange information and cleaning recommendations, the upholstery cleaning fabric makers have been much slower to date to follow suite.

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The reason for this is the extensive knowledge required by a cleaner to properly use effective methods. One properly trained cleaner can use the same chemistry, equipment and process as another poorly trained cleaner and get very different results. For this reason, many fabric manufacturers are hesitant to recommend any process that has potential whatsoever to cause damage in the wrong cleaning technicians hands, sot they instead largely  recommend a safe, but inferior cleaning process across the board to limit their liability. 

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Your best bet is to rely on an IICRC trained and experienced upholstery cleaning experti. Remember, the people who sell furniture or carpet are less likely to give you accurate information. Why ? Because they are not required to have extensive day to day skills in cleaning. As far as they are concerned, cleaning is an after market service and therefore only a peripheral concern. For the most part, they are only required to be good at closing sales deals on new furniture. In most instances, they should direct your inquiries to a certified cleaning company rather than hold themselves out as a seasoned expert qualified to give advice.

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