The Connections Bernards Ridge Edition April 2020

HANDYMAN Over the Hills GENERAL HANDYMAN JOBS Repairs • Remodelings Installations Interior/Exterior Painting, Kitchens, Bathrooms, Basements Mack 908-507-6979 handyman_over_the_hills@hotmail.com Fully Insured License #13VH10140900 CALL FOR ESTIMATE (908) 722-2345 WWW.DRAPERYCARE.COM Bedminster ON-SITE Drapery Care We dry clean window treatments right in your home, right where they hang – Work usually completed in one day. Fully insured. Fully bonded. WE RESTORE LEATHER UPHOLSTERY FINE ORIENTAL RUGS WE CLEAN DRAPERY & UPHOLSTERY HUNTER DOUGLAS SHADES WE GUARANTEE NO DAMAGE OR SHRINKAGE Professional stain removal is not just about removing a stain. The key is removing a stain without damaging the fabric. In other words, we don’t want to remove the original color or abrade the fabric or cause a color bleeding (migration) issue. We are as aggressive as we can be in removing a stain but stop short of ruining the piece. This is where experience comes into play. At Bedminster ON-SITE Drapery Care, we specialize in getting difficult stains out of fine fabrics. More often than not, the cus- tomer will already have tried to remove the stain before calling us. This involves a quick “how to” Google search for which home remedy to use. While sometimes this may work, it usu- ally does not remove the stain and often results in the stain becoming worse and/or becom- ing “set.” This makes it much harder or impossible for us to take out the stain completely. Let me state here that the pur- pose of this articles is not to teach the reader how to remove stains on their own. Without proper training and years of practice, one will invariably get into trouble. The purpose is sim- ply to relate a story and provide some insight into the challeng- ing world of stain removal. The loveseat in the pictures was custom made with high-end, natural fabrics. Natural fabrics, such as silks and cottons are, of course, more beautiful and lux- urious but are also much harder to remove stains from than syn- thetics. Furthermore, almost all high-end, custom made fur- nishings do not come with fab- ric protection since they are not mass produced in a factory but are hand made in a local work- room or by a local upholstery shop. Fabric protectant applica- tion is more of an afterthought. Fabric protection has come a long way and today the better products additionally guard against harmful Sun UV rays. Fabric protection should be applied when a piece is new and every 2-5 years thereafter depending on use. We provide this service and highly recom- mend it. This loveseat had been in stor- age and had water stains from a wet floor, which left a light brown ring around the skirt. There were also numerous pet saliva stains throughout the off- white areas as well as body oil stains from where dogs had rubbed along the corners. There were also lipstick or red crayon stains, which someone tried to remove on the platform (under the cushions) and a small, possi- bly red wine stain in the middle of one cushion. First, we thoroughly vacuumed the entire piece in order to avoid “mudding.” We pretreat- ed all the stains accordingly. Then, we dry cleaned the entire piece in order to protect the natural fibers from the water based spotters we would have to use and also to help prevent color bleeding. We then pro- ceeded to attack each and every spot and stain, one at a time, using a series of spotting chem- icals, heated, distilled water and rigorous tamping (not brushing) with a stiff bristled spotting brush. Stains must be addressed individually because of timing issues involving the use of spot- ting chemicals. After three hours of spotting, we complete- ly rinsed out the chemicals with hot, distilled water and then dry cleaning fluid using a fabric- specific extraction machine. The good news is that the stains are completely gone in the upper sections with just a little left in the skirt. The love seat is now nearly like new. The “after” picture is a little darker because the couch hadn’t com- pletely dried. The cost to clean and spot out the stains was a fraction of what the cost would have been to replace or re- upholster the entire piece. The work was completed the same day and in our customer’s home. THE CHALLENGES OF STAIN REMOVAL By Mitch Frieber, Bedminster ON-SITE Drapery Care At Bedminster ON-SITE Drapery Care, we specialize in getting difficult stains out of fine fabrics. home & design PAGE 60 theconnectionsnj.com