MARCH/APRIL 2018 35 BULLE TIN NO. 487 Damage To Cushion Covers What Is The Problem? In some cases removable household cushion covers can shrink, fray, become limp, or come apart during professional drycleaning. What Does It Look Like? The fabric, stitching, designs, seams, piping, or braided cord borders can look distorted and puckered. Also, the fabric can become very limp and some seams may fray and separate, creating a severely damaged cover. What Caused It? Some cushion cover fabrics and/or cording are made with heat sensitive fibers that relax and distort from the heat of drying during the cleaning process or the heat of steam fin- ishing to remove wrinkles. Furthermore, these fabrics can have coatings on the reverse side to impart body and/or help hold shallow seams together. When this coating dissolves in drycleaning, separation and unraveling of the fabric and seams can result. Can It Be Prevented? If the furniture itself, or the shipping cover, had cleaning in- structions that its components should be cleaned by profes- sional upholstery cleaning following special cleanability codes, then the damage may not have occurred. If the cush- ion covers are labeled as drycleanable or have no labels, then the consumer and the cleaner have no way to predict or pre- vent such damage during professional drycleaning. Who Is Responsible? When the consumer knows that the manufacturer recom- mends professional upholstery cleaning and still brings the covers into the cleaners, then they should assume the re- sponsibility if they are damaged. When no care instructions are provided to the consumer or attached to the furniture or covers, then the manufacturer should accept responsibility. Only if the cleaner sees a non-drycleanable care tag or gains knowledge from the consumer that the fabric needs profes- sional upholstery care following special cleaning codes could the drycleaner be responsible. Is There A Remedy? Once furniture covers become limp, shrink, fray or come apart there is no repair. By Jim Kirby, DLI Textile Analyst TABS T E X T I L E A N A LY S I S B U L L E T I N S E R V I C E This cotton velour cushion cover is fraying at the shallow border seams because the inner coating dissolved in drycleaning. The unsecured shallow seam allowance on this sofa cushion cover came apart during professional cleaning. This chair cushion cover shrank badly in professional moisture-controlled gentle drycleaning.