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Textile and Upholstery Care in London
Most irreversible damage to a good textile is done by someone cleaning it. Water on silk leaves a ring that cannot be removed. Heat on wool felts it permanently. The skill in this work is knowing what to test, what to treat, and what to leave alone.
What we work on
Upholstered furniture
Sofas, armchairs, headboards, ottomans and dining chairs, cleaned according to the manufacturer's cleaning code where there is one:
- W: water-based cleaning only
- S: solvent only; water will mark it
- WS: either method is safe
- X: vacuum only; no cleaning agent of any kind
Where a piece has no code, which is usual on antique and bespoke furniture, we identify the fibre and test before deciding.
Curtains and blinds
- In-situ cleaning where the heading, lining and drop allow it
- Take-down, clean and rehang, including re-dressing the pleats
- Interlined and silk curtains assessed individually, these shrink and water-mark readily
- Routine vacuuming on the correct head as part of a retained arrangement
Rugs and carpets
- Wool, silk and mixed-fibre rugs, including hand-knotted and antique
- Dye-stability testing before any wet work, every time
- Fringe cleaning by hand
- Fitted carpet by extraction or low-moisture method according to fibre and backing
Loose textiles
Cushions, throws, bed hangings and table linen. Wall-hung textiles and tapestries are surface cleaned only, by hand.
Testing before treating
Nothing is cleaned before it is tested. We identify the fibre, check for a cleaning code, and test dye stability in a concealed area. On a rug, that means the back of a fringe or an edge under furniture, not a corner of the field.
We then tell you what we propose, what result to expect, and what we are not going to attempt. Where a piece is valuable, fragile or of historic interest, we will say so and recommend a textile conservator instead. That referral costs us a job and is the reason households with collections keep us.
For in-situ work we need the room available and ventilated, and drying time varies by method and by the weather, which, in a canal-side house in Little Venice, is a real scheduling factor rather than a formality.
Method, by fibre
Silk is the least forgiving fibre in any house. It water-marks, it loses lustre when it is agitated, and its dyes are frequently unstable. Silk is cleaned by solvent or by a controlled low-moisture method, never by extraction, and silk rugs are never wet-cleaned in situ.
Wool is alkaline-sensitive and felts under a combination of heat, moisture and agitation. We clean it cool, at a mildly acidic to neutral pH, and we do not over-wet it: wool holds water, and a rug dried too slowly develops its own problems.
Antique and fragile textiles are vacuumed at reduced suction through a fine mesh screen laid over the surface, which lifts soil without pulling at weakened fibres. It is slow, and it is the standard conservation approach for anything whose structure is no longer sound.
Synthetics and modern blends tolerate far more, and hot water extraction is usually the right answer. We still test, because a modern fabric on an antique frame can bring water to timber and glue that will not survive it.
Who this is for
Households with antique furniture. Where the frame matters as much as the covering, and water in the wrong place reaches joints and glue.
Houses with collections. Common across Kensington and Belgravia, where the right answer is often a conservator and we will say so.
Interlined and silk window treatments. Expensive to make and easy to ruin; the commonest avoidable loss we are called to look at.
Hand-knotted rugs. Where dye stability has to be established before anything wet happens.
Retained households. Routine vacuuming on the correct head prevents most of this work ever being needed.
Questions
Common questions
Can you clean silk curtains?
Yes, by solvent or a controlled low-moisture method, never by extraction, and never with water that could leave a ring. We assess interlined and silk curtains individually, because they shrink and water-mark readily.
Do you clean rugs in the house or take them away?
It depends on the fibre, the dyes and the condition. Silk rugs are never wet-cleaned in situ. We test dye stability first and then tell you which is appropriate.
What is the label code on my sofa?
W means water-based cleaning only, S means solvent only, WS means either is safe, and X means vacuum only with no cleaning agent at all. Where there is no code we identify the fibre and test before deciding.
Will you clean an antique textile?
We will assess it. Fragile pieces are vacuumed at reduced suction through a mesh screen rather than cleaned. Where a piece is valuable or historically significant, we recommend a textile conservator instead.
How long will it take to dry?
It varies by method, fibre and the weather. We will give you a realistic window rather than an optimistic one, and we plan around it where a room has to be back in use.
Coverage
Where we provide this service
North-west
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