Recovery

Some problems can be solved

Compensation claims are always contentious because not only are they a drain on the turnover but they also imply an admission of guilt or incompetence.

However, skilled cleaners can often avoid the complaints that can lead to such claims because they know that sometimes results which may seem to be “disastrous” and that may not be wholly the cleaner’s fault, can be reversed with a little forethought and patience.

A common, but often reversible, fault is the loss of lustre and colour depth that may occur when a deep-dyed silk is cleaned in perchloroethylene. The silk will also lose its “scrunch” – when a handful of fabric is compressed, it should spring back with bounce and resilience.

The treatment for restoring overall colour to silk can also be applied to a variety of other fabrics, including deep-dyed cottons.

Skilled cleaners will also know that a patch of colour that disappears during stain removal may sometimes be “miraculously restored” by being treated with the antidote. This will work in around one in three cases.

However, even experienced cleaners can be caught out by pile damage to velvet. Cotton velvet is not usually a problem, but acrylic and modacrylic velvets are heat-sensitive and silk, viscose and acetate velvets are virtually untreatable if they become stained.

If the cleaner cannot reverse a result, and particularly if the responsibility lies elsewhere, being helpful and offering good advice can save the situation , as is seen in the case of the poorly dyed raincoat.

Colour returns to silk

Fault: This silk dress was labelled “dryclean only” but after processing in perc, the fabric looked faded, hung limply and had lost its bounce and body.

Cause: Perc removes the yarn oils from silk, producing the faults described. Hydrocarbon or cyclosiloxane would have had a better result.

Responsibility: The care label is inadequate in that it does not state which solvents to avoid, so the garment maker is mainly to blame.

Rectification: Recleaning the dress in the same solvent on a one-bath “delicates” cycle, with a little suede oil in the bath, will give a very different result. The suede oil will replace the yarn oils and help to maintain the original properties of the fabric. Use about one-third the amount recommended by the suede oil supplier for a suede.( picture shows the result)

Correcting stain removal fault

Fault: The cleaner applied an acidic tannin remover directly to the stained area without pre-testing and this created a very obvious area of colour loss.

Cause: Changing the acidity/alkalinity of some dyes also changes their colour, as has happened here.

Responsibility: The blame for the original staining lies with the wearer, but the cleaner should have tested the reagent before treatment.

Rectification: Changing the acidity of the fabric (in this case from acid to alkaline) will sometimes reverse this fault. The success rate is around 30% but it is always worth a try. The best way to reverse tannin remover damage is to add a few drops of protein remover, which is a mild alkali. If you are using pure chemicals, try weak ammonia (which evaporates completely without leaving any residue).

Fading spoils raincoat

Fault: After drycleaning, this black raincoat appeared faded overall, but the fading was worse at the wear edges. Re-proofing improved the appearance a little, but not enough to restore the original effect of a quality garment

Cause: Cotton outerwear needs to be very well dyed to maintain its appearance after wear and drycleaning. Proofing does not reduce the need for this. Drycleaning has removed both the proofing and the loose surface dyes, resulting in the drab appearance now seen.The greater degree of fading at the wear edges reflects the cloth’s sensitivity to wear abrasion.

Responsibility: The garment maker is responsible for the raincoat’s inability to withstand normal wear and drycleaning – there was no sign of wearer abuse.

Rectification: The owner was unable to get redress from the garment supplier and decided to get the garment re-dyed.

The cleaner rinsed the garment in pure solvent (to remove the drycleaning detergent and any traces of proofing). He advised the customer to take the garment to a reputable sample dye-house and to choose a navy or black over-dye.

The result was good and the cleaner retained the customer.