Warning: Serious Risks When Cleaning Embossed Velvet

by Jim Pemberton - Fabric Pro Upholstery Specialist

Embossed Velvet Delivery Damage

Note the damage where the plastic wrapping pressed down and changed the look of this fabric. Notice the "alligator hide" pattern in the fabric:

Warning&##x3a; Serious Risks When Cleaning Embossed Velvet

Two dining room chairs were brought to me for inspection recently. Their texture had been damaged because of the way they were wrapped and packed, and a local fine fabric expert was asked to see if he could restore the texture.

Is this problem correctable?

Here are the issues involved:

#1 - The Fabric:

The "Alligator Hide Effect" that you see is created by embossing the fabric. An embossed fabric is created by pressing the fabric through heated rollers to create a pattern on the fabric, in this case a natural fiber velvet.

#2 - The Problem:

The distortion caused by pressure, friction, and potentially humidity trapped in the wrapping material cannot be restored by grooming. The use of steam, which is often an effective correction tool, permanently removes the raised pattern.
You can see the evenly dark area where the cleaner removed the crushing by using steam, but also removed the embossed pattern.

The Solution?:

Unfortunately, there is no solution to this specific problem. The shipping damage cannot be corrected, and the manufacturer is responsible for replacing these items, as the problem was caused by the manner in which the chairs were packaged.

What About Same Fabrics When Soiled?

If the fabric is heavily soiled, you will have little choice but to use water based cleaners and gentle agitation to clean it effectively. Careful grooming will remove cleaning tool marks and restore the softness, but the pattern will be gone. Abrasion and soiling from normal use will have already removed most if not all of the embossed pattern. Your best course of action is to warn the customer of what has occurred, and let them know you can clean the fabric but that the pattern will not be restored.

You can preserve the embossed pattern in non contact areas, such as the back of the seat, by only vacuuming the fabric, or using dry solvents for those areas.

Is Dry Solvent Cleaning an Option?

If the fabric is lightly soiled, and the pattern has not been damaged by use, dry solvent cleaning is unlikely to remove the embossed pattern. This type of cleaning would be useful after a minor fire damage loss where only a very light smoke film settled on the fabric, but not soot.

Dry cleaning might also make sense on a fabric that is minimally soiled and a caring cleaner had suggested dry cleaning before soil levels become unmanageable.

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