Leather of the band & upholstery symbols
December 3, 2005 | 12:00am
Dear Home 911,
I was browsing through a furniture store abroad last month when I noticed the tags, much like fabric symbols, on the upholstery with symbols like "W," "S," "X" and "S-W." What do they mean? I’m thinking of having our sofa reupholstered in leather, but people tell me that leather gets too warm when the weather is hot. Is it hard to remove spots from leather upholstery? – Melvin
I have barely three-month-old sofas in Italian leather with ballpen-ink stains. How do I get rid of the stains and how do I properly maintain the sofas so they’ll last long? – Jaqueline
A man who looks at furniture is a man after my own heart. I can spend hours just looking at the pieces in a home store the way people spend hours looking at birds, admiring their plumage. If only they allowed food to be brought into such stores, I’d bring a large bucket of popcorn and soda to watch.
"W" means to spot-clean using only the foam that forms from a water-based cleaning agent such as a mild detergent or upholstery shampoo, not the liquid itself.
"S" means to spot-clean using a dry-cleaning solvent. If you use a water-based product for such upholstery it might shrink or spot or set the stain permanently. Remember to always use gloves when using these solvents and open the windows.
"S-W" means you can spot-clean the upholstery with either a solvent or water-based foam.
"X" means don’t even give it a try because you can only vacuum the upholstery, so call a professional.
I, too, have heard that thing about leather, but I think it’s true only with "leatherette" or "pleather" if you like – such nice euphemisms for saying we can’t afford the real thing. Leather can be tricky to deal with. According to the handbook Remove Tough Stains, to clean leather use a moisturizing bar soap for general cleaning by lathering it onto a soft, damp cloth. Do not wet the leather or rinse, just buff it dry with a clean cloth. If the leather is light colored and the stain is dark, mix lemon juice and cream of tartar to make a paste, then rub it into the stain and leave for about 10 minutes. Apply a second layer of paste and scrub gently, then remove the residue with a damp sponge.
For other leather stains, here’s a quick guide – and please test it first on a hidden area:
Mildew: mix a cup of rubbing alcohol with a cup of water. Dampen a cloth with it and wipe the area clean.
Ink: spray the stain with hairspray and wipe it off with a clean cloth. If the ink is an old stain and won’t budge, consult a professional.
Grease stains: use a clean cloth to remove as much stain as you can without spreading it. Sprinkle the stain with talcum powder or cornstarch, and let it sit for at least four hours before wiping off the powder.
Salt stains: mix three-parts white vinegar and one part water, moisten a cloth with it and wipe the stained areas.
Jaqueline, to maintain leather, use leather conditioners such as saddle bar soap, which contains lanolin derived from sheep’s wool, castor oil and cod-liver oil. Rub a little oil on the surface and then wipe off. This should prevent the pickup of grit. As always, test on a hidden area first.
How do you get rid of lizards crawling on the walls? They are everywhere! Although they do not do much damage – in fact, they get rid of ants in the kitchen – they still gross me out. Any advice? – Lizzie
I think I answered this before and said you really can’t get rid of lizards unless you trap them, in which case you have to use fly papers or Scotch tape and stick them on walls or wherever they crawl. This poses a problem though since lizards love crawling on ceilings (lucky for them they have suction caps on their feet) – what if you stuck a fly paper there and it trapped five squiggly lizards and then the paper fell on your head?
A solution on the Internet says you can cut onions and put them in corners to repel them as they hate its smell. I wonder how they knew lizards hate that smell – did they complain? Unfortunately, you might also get rid of your housemates with the stink.
There’s a belief in the provinces that at 6 o’clock, when the bells rings for angelus, you won’t find any lizard on the ceiling because they too come down, presumably on their knees if they have them, to pray. Just pray for them to disappear.
How do you clean oil leaks from the car on a cement garage floor? Our garage looks so dirty. – Wilma
The Book of Cleaning by Ralph Treves says you should sprinkle sawdust and a grease solvent, allow it to soak in for an hour to absorb the grease and oil and then sweep it away. Scrub the garage floor with a stuff-bristled brush and mineral spirits (turpentine or varnolene), and repeat the process until the soaked-in oil is removed. Then use a solution of laundry detergent with one cup of chlorine bleach to eliminate stains. This can be done only on concrete or brick floors, not on asphalt as it may soften.
Where can I recoat my Teflon pan in Metro Manila? – Jerry
I don’t think they do that. I’ve been asked this question before and made some inquiries and have come up with zilch. But our readers may know of some and wait till the next column. In any case, Teflon, which is a brand name by the way, and other non-stick pans are now affordable because of so many brands on the market. It may be easier for you to buy a new one. If it’s a good brand it should last you a long time – unless you use a knife to clean your pans.
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