Cleaning fur and fur-trimmed items
ur is the skin of an animal with the hair still
on it. Leather, on the other hand, is the skin of an animal
with the hair removed. Both skins go through the tanning
process which preserves the skins so that they will not rot or
putrefy.
Because fur is the skin of an animal, it
can be cleaned by the Royaltone fur cleaning process by
immersion in any drycleaning fluid that has been chemically
conditioned with an additive like Royaltone Detergent Plus
Conditioner, in much the same way that leather, which is also
the skin of an animal, can be cleaned.
The detergent plus conditioner, when added
to any drycleaning fluid, will insure that the fur pelts will
not dry out or stiffen in the cleaning just as it does in
leather cleaning.
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Use of detergent plus conditioner and
special spotters makes it possible to leather-clean fur and fur
trims while still attached to the cloth item instead of using
the older non-immersion method which requires detaching fur
trim and using powder, sawdust, ground corn cobs or chopped nut
shells to try to clean the fur in a drum and cage tumbler.
Instead, follow the same procedure
described previously for spotting and cleaning leather in the
chemically conditioned drycleaning fluid.
The following procedures should be
followed when cleaning fur and fur trimmed items using the
Royaltone fur cleaning system and detergent plus conditioner
immersion cleaning method:
Acceptance and inspection
Always examine fur carefully before
accepting the fur for cleaning. Look for worn, torn, yellowed,
discolored, bald, abraded, stained, matted, dried out, stiff,
brittle or cracked skins. This should be done in the presence
of the customer and any problems noted and discussed before
accepting for cleaning.
If the skin is dry, hard, stiff, brittle
or cracked do not clean it!
If the skin is torn, it should be repaired
by gluing a patch on the skin side of the fur using a permanent
glue. Of course, the customer is charged extra for the cost of
the repairs.
Spotting furs
Spot furs using the special leather
spotters. Cloth linings can be pulled away from the fur skin
and spotted as normal for cloth.
After spotting, the fur should be hung to
dry thoroughly before cleaning. Never clean furs when they are
wet as the moisture in the fur combined with the agitation in
cleaning and the heat of drying could cause the fur skin to
stiffen or draw up.
Drycleaning furs
Clean furs that are in good shape for
three minutes or less on batch or filter using a six percent
charge of the detergent plus conditioner for all furs except
rabbit fur which should be cleaned in a two percent charge. Use
a medium to high level of drycleaning fluid.
After draining the cleaning fluid, tumble
for one half minute and then extract for one minute. Tumble dry
at 120°F or less until dry. This should take approximately
20 to 30 minutes.
White furs and light colored furs should
be dried on a cool cycle at 100°F or less to prevent
oxidation or yellowing of the fur caused by excessive heat.
If the fur appears to be exceptionally
delicate, one or all of the following steps can be taken to
protect the fur in the cleaning cycle:
1. Use a high
level of cleaning fluid.
2. Turn the
fur inside out.
3. Place the
fur in a bag.
4. Reduce the
cleaning tumble time from three minutes to as little as no
cleaning tumble time with the fur just soaking in the cleaning
fluid.
5. After
draining the cleaning fluid reduce the tumble and extract times
to as little as none by just letting the fur drain in the
wheel.
6. Reduce the
tumble dry time to as little as none and air dry in the machine
at 100°F or less.
Press finishing furs
Touch up the lining with the hand iron set
at a very low heat setting with no steam. Never steam a fur on
the form finisher or on the press, do not let live steam
contact the skin or it will shrivel up and get hard!
Comb the hair carefully with a comb or
carding brush just to get hair all going in the same direction.
Do not use pressure to pull on the fur hair with a comb or
brush.
This fur cleaning method applies to all
types of furs including mink, fox, raccoon, beaver, sable,
opossum, bear, sheep, goat, rabbit, etc. It can be used to
clean any item made of fur including coats, jackets, capes,
collars, cuffs, trims, mittens, rugs, hats, seat covers, etc.
If the item is made of animal fur, it can be cleaned by this
method quickly, easily, thoroughly and safely.
Frank Lucenta is president of Royaltone
Co., Inc., a firm that manufacturers the products he developed
to make it possible for any cleaner to safely and profitably
dryclean, wetclean and finish any suede, leather, fur and
trimmed cloth garment. He also wrote related instruction books
that document the process, entitled “Handling Leather and
Suede” and “Cleaning and Finishing Leather and
Suede.” He also teaches small groups of plant owners and
managers how to identify, accept, spot, dryclean and wetclean,
press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs using his
Royaltone procedures and products. The next Royaltone Leather
training session is scheduled for June 10-11 and Sept. 9-10 at
the Royaltone Suedemate Leather Cleaning Center in Tulsa, OK.
For more information on training sessions or on spotting charts
in either English or Korean, call (800) 331-5506, (918)
622-6677, fax (918) 665-6017, or e-mail frank@royaltone.com. Information is also available on the Royaltone
web site, www.royaltone.com.
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