May 2020

Sandy Anderson

Important information regarding selecting, maintaining and disinfecting Douglass’ upholstery products

Q: Does Douglass carry bleach cleanable commercial upholstery?

A: Yes in both woven and coated (PVC’s and PU’s) selections!

Q: How to locate bleach cleanable options:

A: It’s easy to search on here.

    1) Open up the Performance tab along the left search bar  

    2) Check the Bleach Cleanable box then click on the search bar for results, or use this saved query for Bleach Cleanable.

Q: What is the proper way to maintain a Douglass upholstery fabric?

A: General instructions are as follows…

   1) Vacuum surfaces first to remove all dust and loose particles

   2) Clean any soil or stain areas

   3) Disinfect

Q: After vacuuming, what can be done to properly clean a Douglass upholstery fabric?

A: 1) Enter the pattern name in the keyword search bar above

    2) Hit the enter key, then select any colorway within the pattern

    3) Select the cleaning tab for instructions

Q: How to tackle disinfecting specific Douglass’ upholstery products using bleach?

A: By strictly following the below steps…

    - Confirm the bleach cleaning instructions on the website.

    - Protect and cover the furniture framework along with surrounding areas.

    - Work in a well ventilated area with gloves and eye protection.

    - It is imperative to follow the specific instructions and use the correct bleach to water ratios (found on the patterns specification tab)

    - After disinfecting the upholstery, it is imperative to rinse well multiple times.

    - Any bleach left on a fabric will assist in early degradation (shortening the lifespan) of the fabric.

Q: Can bleach and water be used to disinfect any woven fabric from Douglass?

A: The use of bleach to clean and/or disinfect any woven fabric is dependent on how the yarns are dyed. Douglass’ patterns, that are constructed of 100% solution dyed olefin or 100% solution dyed nylon, are bleach cleanable. Please refer to the website for proper ratios.

Specific notes regarding those woven patterns containing yarn dyed fibers…

    - DO NOT use bleach on any fabrics with the cleaning code “S” or “WS”

    - DO NOT use bleach on any Crypton® or Incase® fabrics

    - Check website first on fabrics with the cleaning code “W” to see if bleach is a recommended cleaning product to use. If not, please move on to the next question.

Q: Any suggestions to disinfecting woven fabrics if the use of bleach is not acceptable?

A: There are a few options, even though we have not tested them just yet, which may work when applied according to instructions. Please read the products particulars before purchasing to make sure they will properly address your disinfecting needs. As with any fabric cleaning or treatment product, ALWAYS test in an inconspicuous place first. Remember to not over-saturate as this could lead to color leaching out (bleeding) from the various yarns.

     - Crypton® Disinfectant and Deodorizer

     - Microban® 24 hour

     - Tide Antibacterial Fabric Spray

     - Clorox Healthcare Hospital Disinfectant Deodorizer

     - Isopropyl or “rubbing” alcohol applied with a spray bottle

Q: Can bleach and water be used to disinfect any vinyl or polyurethane product from Douglass?

A: The use of bleach to clean and/or disinfect any “coated” upholstery fabric is dependent on the pattern top coat along with the vendors recommendations (so as not to void the warranty).

Please refer to the specific cleaning instructions on the website or contact Douglass directly.

Q: Any suggestions to disinfecting Vinyl and Polyurethane fabrics?

A: There are multiple disinfectants listed are on the CDCs approved list (https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2) that continually expands. Our coated vendors have tested select disinfectants for use on their products that when used properly, do minimal to no damage.

Important notes:

     - Cleaners/Disinfectants should only be used in the dilutions recommended by the manufacturer and never in a concentrated form.

     - After each application, disinfectants should be thoroughly wiped off with clean water and dried with a clean towel. Any chemical residue left on a surface can cause discoloration and degradation to the surface of the fabric.

You can download a guide containing a full list of disinfectants that most our coated fabrics pass, or follow the links below to the list for the specific product.

     - Nassimi’s Writer’s Block Approved Disinfectants List

     - Nassimi’s Resilence Approved Disinfectants List

     - Spradling's Permablock Approved Disinfectants List

     - Spradling’s PBG+ Approved Disinfectants List

     - Morbern Approved Disinfectants List

     - Omnova Prefixx Approved Disinfectants List

     - Naugahyde/Uniroyal Approved Disinfectants List

Please remember, if you are in doubt or overwhelmed about taking the project on, there are professional cleaners that are just a Google search away who will provide on location disinfecting treatments in many areas.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding the disinfecting information provided, please use the contact form.