We cleaned a few rooms of carpet last week for a customer in Guilford. She was very happy with the carpet cleaning and asked us to look at her white cotton dining room chairs for upholstery cleaning. Unfortunately, she had tried to clean these chair cushions herself, and they turned brown. This happens when you try to clean, or even “spot” white cotton or wool with an alkaline cleaning product. Wool and cotton contain cellulose fibers, and these fibers turn brown when you use the wrong type of cleaning product/spotter. It is called cellulosic browning. Bottom line, if you have white cotton upholstery, don’t try to clean it yourself because you may damage it, and it may not be reversible.
