CARE & MAINTENANCE Tips for the maintanance of Sofacompany furniture 1 Januar 2017
CONTENT Upholstered furniture... 4 Materials & Impregnating... 10 Leather & Maintenance... 12 Qualities of our textiles... 16 Wood & Maintenance... 20 At Sofacompany we carefully comply with and respect, the EU s high standards. This means that we have removed potentially harmful substances from the production processes and consequently minimised the risk of allergic reactions. A heartly welcome to our mini guide. We have gathered a number of good tips for the care and maintenance of Sofacompany s furniture. With this guide in hand, you have some of the most important information so you can: 1 2 choose the right furniture and materials based on precisely your needs, and give your new furniture the absolutely right amount of LOVE so you can enjoy each other for as long as possible. Once you have read the guide and if you have any questions, we are ready to answer them in our customer service 030 88775909. WELCOME 2 Januar 2017 3 September 2018
4 Januar 2017 UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE 5 Januar 2017
WHAT DO YOUR NEEDS MEAN IN REGARD TO YOUR CHOICE OF FURNITURE? Of course, you must choose furniture that meets your taste and needs. But since all furniture requires a certain degree of maintenance, it can be good to know, what our various materials require in order to live up to your expectations in regard to appearance and function. You can read more about this in the mini guide. All types of textiles can fade and they are especially susceptible in direct sunlight. Should your furniture be placed in direct or partial sunlight? If the answer is yes, then we recommend that you choose light coloured textiles and/or a good colour-fast upholstery such as wool. Dark clothing can rub off onto light coloured furniture fabrics. For example, dark denim fabric can smudge. Rivets and zips in clothing can make holes and pull threads out of the upholstery. U pholstered furniture s need for care is connected to how much you can use it. The most important maintanance is to vacuum. It is a good idea to vacuum your furniture regularly - preferably once a week. This removes dust and dirt, which could otherwise penetrate the fabric and leave a mark. Always remember to use a soft nozzle attachment on the vacuum cleaner. Do not rub the fabric too hard when you vacuum or use stain remover as this can provoke pilling or possibly discoloration. Impregnating the fabric protects against liquid penetrating into the fibres of the fabric. See our recommendations regarding impregnating in the section regarding this. Remember to shake and beat your cushions and pillows regularly in order to ensure an even distribution of the padding in the cushion and, in doing so, maintain the shape of the cushion. All cushions have a tendency to change shape in line with them being used. Often, soft cushions that fold and wrinkle slightly is part of the comfortable look which is a part of the design. If you want to keep the shape of this type of cushion, almost daily beating will be necessary. If possible, switch the back and seat cushions at regular intervals. This extends the useful life of the cushions and ensures even wear over the years. Make sure you regularly smooth out wrinkles and folds on the sofa lightly with your hand. Depending on the sofa model and construction, wrinkles in the upholstery will be a natural consequence when you use the furniture. All textiles form lint on the surface, which are also referred to as pilling. This is not a mistake, but a natural feature of the material. The most tiles are fibers of layer and layer or overfuse fibers of the upper surfaces of the cover. UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE 6 Januar 2017 7 September 2018
A ll textiles make lint on the surface, which is also called pilling. This is not a defect, but a natural characteristic of the material. Most of the lint you can see are fibres from blankets and clothing or excess fibres from the surface of the furniture itself. Pilling can give the upholstery a tatty appearance, just like fibres in other colours from e.g. clothing and dust, which can get entangled in the fabric and thus highlight any lint. If you find lint on the furniture, we recommend that you carefully use an electric lint remover, which is a small machine for precisely this purpose. If you get stains on your furniture, there are different things you can do depending on the nature of the stain: NON-FATTY STAINS: Initially, carefully dab the stain with a clean, lint free cloth or sponge, wrung in clean warm water. Work on the stain from the outer edge inwards. FATTY STAINS: These can be removed with suitable stain removal agents. We always recommend that you test the products on a small less visible place before you use them on the actual stain. We recommend Guardian textile cleaner. IMPREGNATING We recommend that you always impregnate our textile furniture, as it gives an effective surface treatment and protects from stains etc. Impregnating does not change the appearanceor breathability of the fabric, but provides invisible protection. The Sofacompany recommends Guardian textile impregnation. NOTE: Leather should not be impregnated. Many of our furniture comes with an installation manual. It is important to follow these instructions. A good rule is that you regularly tighten the screws on all furniture that has been screwed together. 8 September 2018 UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE 9 Januar 2017
THE MATERIALS CAN BE SPOT CLEANED AND YOU COULD PERHAPS IMPREGNATE THE FABRIC REGULARLY SO IT BECOMES EVEN MORE DIRT-REPELLING FABRIC UPHOLSTERY: Furniture upholstery in nylon and polyester gives a durable, maintenance-friendly surface. Therefore, it is a good choice for families with children and for other purposes where the furniture has to cope with a lot of use. However, synthetic fabrics have poor absorption, which means that they do not easily get stained and discoloured. The materials can be spot cleaned and you could perhaps impregnate the fabric regularly so it becomes even more dirt-repelling. The Sofa Company recommends Guardian textile cleaner for this purpose. The Sofa Company recommends Guardian textile cleaner for this purpose. VELOUR: Polyester fibres are hard-wearing and easy to maintain. A fabric like velour changes colour when the pile is pushed down and when the light hits it from different directions. This adds an exciting effect and is not a defect. It can be easily brushed into place. FABRIC UPHOLSTERY CONTAINING WOOL: Wool is incredibly durable, dirt-repelling and tensile. Wool feels comfortable when you are seated for a longer period at a time, as it absorbs moisture and heat from the body. It is also dirt-repelling. Wool does not need to be impregnated as often, as it contains lanolin - nature sown natural impregnating. In the beginning, wool fabric can have some excess fibres from the surface. This is called pilling. This is of no significance tothe quality. MATERIALS & IMPREGNATING 10 Januar 2017 11 September 2018
12 Januar 2017 LEATHER & MAINTENANCE 13 Januar 2017
T he exclusive Aniline leather is somewhat vulnerable to the affects of use, which will result in a patina after being used for some time preferably before you begin using the furniture. We recommend that you treat Aniline leather with Guardian s leather care set. This helps to protect against spills and stains extends the useful life of the leather and retains the suppleness in the leather. ANILINE LEATHER Aniline leather is the most natural leather used on furniture. This type of leather does not need surface treatment and protection, which is why all natural marks are visible on the skins. This also means that the skins continue to breath. Only skins of the highest grade are used for this type of leather, i.e. skins with few blemishesor natural scars. The Sofa Company uses purely solid coloured European Aniline leather and the surface is naturally treated with oil. This adds to thecomfort and exclusivity of the leather and it has a soft, wonderful and supple appearance. It also never feels either cold or warm. You may find that the leather changes colour when leather cream is applied. This is only temporary and the sofa will return to its original colour once the leather has absorbed the moisture in the cream. We recommend that you avoid placing leather furniture in direct sunlight and close to sources of heat such as radiators or wood-burning stoves as much as possible, as this dries out the leather. You can keep the leather clean on a daily basis with a clean, soft cloth wrung in clean water. Avoid rubbing too hard on the leather. Avoid using cleaning agents as well as sharp objects. If you spill liquid on leather, make sure you quickly dry it off. You can also vacuum your leather furniture once a month. A good tip is to use the soft nozzle attachment so you do not scratch the leather. NOTE: Leather should not be impregnated but needs leather care. LEATHER & MAINTENANCE 14 Januar 2017 15 September 2018
16 September 2018 QUALITIES OF OUR TEXTILES 17 Januar 2017
PILLING Pilling is the formation of small fibre balls (lint) on the surface of fabrics. This is an ordinary occurrence on blends of polyester and natural fibre where the balls of lint stick to the individual polyester fibres. In the beginning, wool fabric may have some excess fibres (pilling). Normally, this is of no significance to the quality and can be removed with an electric lint remover. The pilling scale goes from 1 to 5 and is a two-fold scale, which means that 2 is twice as good as 1; 3 is twice as good as 2, and so on. A pilling of 1 means that a lot of lint appears on the fabric, and at 5, the least possible lint appears. We recommend that pilling should be at minimum 3-4 in private homes. COLOR FASTNESS Colour fastness is an expression of the textile s ability to resist sunlight. The colour-fastness scale goes from 1 to 8, where 8 is the best. A fabric with a colour fastness of 3-4 is average. Furniture fabric with, e.g. colour fastness 5 is twice as good as a fabric with co lour fastness 4 and furniture fabric with colour fastness 6 is, again, twice as good as 5, etc. MARTINDALE Martindale is the term used to describe the durability of furniture fabric. For a sofa in a private home, the recommendation is that the martindale should be at least 15,000 in a room with low use intensity and at least 25,000 in a room with high use intensity. So this means that for each rise in colour-fast number, the colour fastness is twice as good. Cotton often has a low colour fastness, while wool for example, has a lower colour fastness. Before selecting the fabric, it is therefore important that you think about where the furniture will be placed and the kind of wear it will be exposed to. 18 September 2018 QUALITIES OF OUR TEXTILES 19 Januar 2017
20 Januar 2017 WOOD & MAINTANANCE 21 Januar 2017
THIS LIGHT LACQU- ER IS MORE GENTLE FOR THE WOOD AND REDUCES THE RISK OF SCRATCHES. THE WOOD IS LOVELY TO TOUCH AND, WITH AGE, REMAINS BEAUTIFUL. W ood is a natural product that adds beauty and character to a piece of furniture. Our furniture is made with veneered wood, which is more stable than solid wood. On the other hand, it changes color easily from the affects of light. Consequently, color difference can arise between the individual veneered pieces and their patterns and grain. Upon purchasing, our wood will have a fairly even color and markings. If you subsequently purchase a new product in the same species of wood, you may find that the two products differ in color. Our wooden products are given a light lacquer so that the structure in the wood is visible while the contours in the wood become partially evened out. This reduces the need for cleaning and enhances the durable quality of the wood. This light lacquer is more gentle for the wood and reduces the risk of scratches. The wood is lovely to touch and, with age, remains beautiful. We recommend that you give the wood a little extra love in the first few months. Many species of wood will change colour; mostly in the beginning and especially if they are exposed to too much sunlight. Therefore, you should not place something permanently on it if you want to avoid a colour difference on the surface. For daily cleaning, wipe with a clean, dry cloth. If there is a need for more cleaning, use a cloth wrung in lukewarm water to wipe the furniture. Always remember to dry afterwards with a dry cloth. Wood and veneer are very sensitive to moisture. You should not leave water or other liquids on lacquered surfaces as it can be absorbed into the microscopic cracks and cause damage. Use coasters and carving boards - the surface will then remain beautiful for many years. So that the wood can breath and to avoid cracks, we advise against covering the table top with plastic or oilcloth for more than 12 hours at a time. WOOD & MAINTANANCE 22 Januar 2017 23 September 2018
24 Januar 2017