Micro Fibers Give Furniture Longer Life
For many years the furniture industry has worked to develop durable and price effective upholsteries for the general consumer market. Of course if money is no object, premium leathers and fine fabrics are available in a multitude of colors and textures. For the average person a much more usable and cleanable covering is usually required. When guiding consumers at the retail level I always inquire about traffic levels and expectations to create a happy experience. One of the commonly used fabric options of today includes micro fibers. When I was first introduced to this seemingly to good to be true option I did have my reservations, but time has proven the product to be a very good alternative.
The furniture industry was not the first to use this revolutionary material. The fashion industry as well as some auto mobile manufacturers have been benefiting from the easy to maintain and cleanable fabric for years. What make this material so different from traditional woven fabrics? Most fabrics are a blend of several types of fibers, some of which are ready to absorb spills never to release them. Also there is a lack of structure so stretching and wrinkling is very common. Many materials will unravel with time and have a worn look long before the rest of the item is ready to be discarded. Recovering is often not cost effective so the furniture meets an early demise.
Micro fiber on the other hand has a very long life expectancy and will make many of the spills and general stains a non issue. The fibers are woven into a canvas backing that gives a hearty structure and keeps wrinkling and stretching to a minimum. In addition the fibers are very short and this minimizes the chances of unraveling or fraying. The Martindale test is used to determine the amount of rubs a fabric can with stand before showing signs of wear, and even the most basic micro fibers have a far higher number than most cotton or blended fabrics. It is very common to see wear tests in the 20 to 25 thousand range which is many years of use. There are as with anything, degrees of quality and pricing to consider so pay attention to the wear test numbers which most manufactures will provide, usually on the back with the identifying color information.
As for the clean ability and maintenance, it always helps to use a hand tool and vacuum out dust and dirt which collects and eventually gets ground in. The nylon top fibers are very resistant to absorption and will release almost any food or drinks and even ball point pin marks. I advise a simple non detergent soap with a tooth brush to work out the tougher stains. For the really tough stains use quality upholstery cleaner and the material will dry to look like nothing ever happened. Overall, the look and feel is very pleasant to the touch and a great value for the dollar, and many of the major brands are offering a wide selection of colors and textures.
TAGS: Furniture Styles and Trends
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Hello! Good Site! Thanks you!