Fabric never changes what we charge. A velvet sofa is $125 and so is a polyester one. What fabric changes is method — how much moisture, what temperature, which chemistry, how much agitation and how the piece is finished. Get that wrong and you don't get a disappointing clean, you get permanent damage. This is what we look for on every fabric we work with.
The fabrics we clean most
Natural fibers
Cotton
Comfortable, breathable and extremely common on slipcovered furniture. Cotton absorbs readily, which means it takes cleaning solution well but also holds water, so drying is slower. The two risks are shrinkage — particularly on loose covers, which is why we never machine-wash them for you — and browning, where natural cellulose compounds migrate to the surface as the fabric dries. Controlled moisture and even drying prevent both.
Linen
Beautiful and unforgiving. Linen wrinkles, watermarks easily and browns more readily than cotton. It's very common on Long Island dining chairs and headboards, usually in cream or oatmeal. The technique is low moisture, even application, and careful feathering at the edges of any treated area so there's no hard line where wet met dry.
Wool
Naturally soil-resistant and genuinely durable, but chemically sensitive. Wool felts and shrinks when heat and alkaline chemistry are combined, and it can lose dye. It needs neutral-to-slightly-acidic solutions at moderate temperature. Wool blends appear frequently in bouclé and on higher-end designer pieces.
Silk
The one we'll usually decline to wet-clean. Silk waterspots almost instantly, loses dye readily and weakens when wet. Antique silk upholstery in particular should be dry-cleaned in place by a specialist, and we'll tell you that rather than take the job.
Synthetic fibers
Polyester
The workhorse of modern furniture and the easiest fabric we clean. It resists shrinking and fading, releases water-based soil well, and dries quickly. Its weakness is oil — polyester is oleophilic, meaning it attracts and holds oily soil, which is why polyester sofas darken at headrests and arms. That responds very well to a proper pre-conditioner with real dwell time.
Olefin and polypropylene
Almost completely stain-resistant to water-based spills and very common on family sectionals and outdoor-rated furniture. The catch is heat sensitivity: olefin can distort under high temperature, so extraction runs cooler than on polyester.
Performance fabrics
Crypton, Sunbrella and similar engineered fabrics now cover a large share of new furniture across the Island. They resist staining genuinely well, and they respond excellently to hot-water extraction. What damages them is household spray cleaner, which leaves residue that permanently dulls the finish and defeats the treatment you paid extra for.
Rayon and viscose
Soft, with a silk-like sheen, and the most water-sensitive synthetic there is. Rayon loses strength when wet and watermarks severely. It's frequently blended into velvet. Low moisture, always.
Constructions rather than fibers
Some of what people call fabric is actually a weave or finish, and that's often what dictates method more than the fiber itself.
- Velvet — cut pile. Crushes, watermarks, needs directional grooming.
- Bouclé — looped yarn. Traps soil, snags on anything stiff.
- Chenille — soft caterpillar-like yarn. Absorbent, needs controlled moisture and thorough grooming or it dries matted.
- Tweed and textured weaves — hide soil well, hold it deeply, need patient dry vacuuming first.
- Microsuede — brushed nap. Shows direction, so finishing matters as much as cleaning.
- Suede and nubuck — napped leather. Never liquid-conditioned; treated dry.
No tag? We test. A missing or illegible cleaning code doesn't stop us — we test in a hidden area on the deck or under the skirt, checking for colour transfer and how the fabric responds to moisture before anything visible is touched. If a fabric fails that test, we'll tell you it shouldn't be wet-cleaned rather than proceeding and hoping.
How to identify what you have
Start with the tag. Manufacturers put a cleaning code on a label under the deck, beneath a cushion, or on the underside of the frame. That letter is the single most useful piece of information about your furniture — our codes guide explains each one.
Failing that, feel and look. Pile that flattens under your hand and changes shade is velvet. A nubby looped surface is bouclé. A dense, slightly peach-skin texture is microfiber. A raised nap that shows finger tracks is microsuede. Visible slubs and a crisp handle suggest linen. A warm, slightly irregular surface with natural variation is likely wool.
You don't need to work it out yourself. Send a photo through the form above when you book and we'll tell you what you have and how we'll approach it.
Same price, every fabric
Whatever your furniture is covered in, the price is fixed by the piece: sofa $125, loveseat $99, sectional $150 or $220, dining chairs $20, mattress $99. We serve every town in Nassau and Suffolk — build your quote above and take 10% off.
What the work actually looks like
Real jobs photographed on Long Island — not stock images. This is the hand tool, the technique and the standard of finish you get in Long Island.
Book it in about a minute
Add your pieces above, tick anything extra, and the price is done — 10% off, applied automatically. No callback needed to find out what it costs.
Everything else we clean
Towns we serve across Long Island
Same prices in all 178 of them, with no travel charge — here are a few, or see the full A–Z list, Nassau County or Suffolk County.
Questions Long Island homeowners ask
Does fabric type change the price of upholstery cleaning?
No. Price is set by the piece, not the material — a three-seat sofa is $125 whether it is velvet, leather, bouclé or polyester. Fabric changes the method: moisture level, temperature, chemistry and finishing. Getting that right takes knowledge rather than extra time, so we do not charge for it.
How do I know what fabric my sofa is?
Check the manufacturer's tag first — usually under the deck, beneath a cushion or on the underside of the frame. It carries a cleaning code that tells us most of what we need. If there is no tag, send a photo through the booking form and we will identify it, or we will test in a hidden area on arrival.
Which upholstery fabrics can't be wet-cleaned?
Silk is the main one — it waterspots almost instantly, loses dye and weakens when wet, so antique silk should be dry-cleaned in place by a specialist. X-coded fabrics cannot take any liquid at all and are vacuum-only. Suede and nubuck are never liquid-conditioned. We will tell you if your piece falls into these categories rather than proceeding and hoping.
Why does my polyester sofa go dark at the headrest?
Polyester is oleophilic — it attracts and holds oily soil. Body oil transfers at the headrest, arms and seat fronts and builds into a dark film that ordinary vacuuming cannot touch. It responds very well to a proper pre-conditioner with real dwell time, which is what emulsifies the oil so it can be rinsed away.
Are performance fabrics like Crypton or Sunbrella safe to clean?
Yes, and they respond excellently to hot-water extraction. What damages them is household spray cleaner, which leaves a residue that permanently dulls the finish and undoes the stain treatment you paid extra for at purchase.
Can you clean wool upholstery?
Yes, with the right chemistry. Wool felts and shrinks when heat and alkaline solutions are combined, and it can lose dye, so it needs neutral-to-slightly-acidic products at moderate temperature. Wool blends turn up often in bouclé and on higher-end designer furniture.