Wetcleaning washing procedure
The washing procedure for wetcleaning suedes, leathers and trimmed cloth items
includes the following steps:
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• Prewashing to fix or set dyes.
• Washing to remove soil and stains.
• Prefinish rinsing to condition and soften the skins and to enhance colors; to
add body and firmness to the skins; and to impart repellency and added
softness.
Testing for dye colorfastness determines the serviceabililty of the leather dyes
in the wetcleaning process. Some suede or leather garments may be colored with
dyes that are sensitive to water. They could bleed if wetcleaned.
Be especially concerned about colorfastness when the garments contain
multicolored panels or multicolored suede or leather trims on cloth, or care
labels that specify, “Dryclean only by professional leather cleaner” or if the garments contain bright vivid colors like red, maroon, yellow or
blue.
These garments are prime candidates for dye colorfastness testing.
Colorfastness testing includes testing of all chemicals that will be used on the
garment in the dilation in which they will be used.
For example, to test the effect of the detergent water mix like Royaltone’s Prosuede Wet wetcleaning detergent/conditioner on color, mix it with cool
water under 100°F in temperature, in the same proportion that will be used in the wash water.
Apply this water/detergent solution to an unexposed inconspicuous area of the
suede or leather to be wetcleaned.
Allow about five minutes to see if the color is affected because the dyes are
sensitive to the water/detergent mix.
The test area can be blotted with a dryclean-absorbent cloth or paper towel to
see if the color bleeds onto it.
If the color bleeds, then the suede or leather should not be wetcleaned unless
it is prewashed using a dye fixer like Royaltone’s Leather Fix which is made to set the dye before wetcleaning with a
leather/cloth wetcleaning detergent.
The effect of the prewash solution on the leather or suede can also be tested on
a specific garment by following the same procedure described above and
substituting a product like Leather Fix in place of the wetcleaning detergent.
This procedure will determine if the garment should or should not be
wetcleaned. In most cases wetcleaning will be possible if the dye fixer sets
the dye in the test.
Prewashing to fix the dye
An important part of the leather wetcleaning process is to ensure that dyes do
not run. The purpose of the prewash cycle in the Royaltone wetcleaning process
for suede and leather is twofold: to set the dyes and loosen surface soils.
This is accomplished by adding a product like Leather Fix, which requires the
addition of four ounces per suede or leather garment to the wash water at the
beginning of the prewash cycle.
Fill the tub to a low level with cool water at a temperature of 100°F or less. Load the washer with up to one half of its rated poundage capacity
with dry suede or leather garments and prewash for three minutes to stabilize
the color in items that are water sensitive and might bleed in wetcleaning. The
dye fixer can be added to the wash water manually or by an automatic injection
system.
