Furniture made with Haitian cotton in 100% natural unprocessed cotton and it contains brown cotton seeds in yarn. These seeds give the fabric natural and elegant look. For this reason unbleached Haitian Cotton can’t be steam cleaned or cleaned with water or just any upholstery cleaner. You should never try to clean Haitian cotton with homemade cleaning solution or any cleaning product from your local grocery store.

When water or alkaline cleaning product is applied to the fabric, the cotton seeds will burst and cause browning. This will permanently damage your sofa. We have been able to find only 1 cleaning solution for Haitian cotton that can be purchased in Toronto. This cleaning product can only be bought from professional carpet cleaning supply store and small amount of stores carry them. One of them can be bought from Kleen Kuip. The product is called “Haitian Cotton Shampoo” and is made by Esteam.

While cleaning and using this chemical you should have safety gear. A NIOSH respirator mask is needed as well as chemical goggles and rubber gloves. While cleaning the areas should be well ventilated and pets and children should be away from the area.

It generally takes more time to clean Haitian cotton furniture than any other fabric. Therefore it can be costly to get it professionally cleaned. In fact some years ago when Haitian cotton furniture was very popular among Torontonians, there were no cleaning products on the market to clean. This caused furniture to be damaged by professionals when they tried to clean them. For this reason you need to hire a reputable upholstery cleaning company like Vivid Cleaning. We have the expertise to clean all your furniture.

Cleaning Haitian cotton is not very complicated. It doesn’t require expensive equipment. All you will need is a wet vacuum, horsehair brush, gloves and foaming soap dispenser and Haitian cotton shampoo.

Materials you will need:

-ESteam Haitian Cotton Cleaning Solution

-Foam Dispenser

-NIOSH Respirator Mask

-Chemical Goggles

-Rubber Gloves

-Horsehair Brush

-Wet Vacuum

Here are the steps to clean Haitian cotton furniture:

1. Vacuum your sofa.
2. Put on gloves and open windows to let room fresh air in. The cleaning solution has a strong sulfur odor. Do not clean if you don’t have adequate ventilation. Using a nosh respirator is recommended. Don’t let kids or pets in the area where you are cleaning.
3. Mix the shampoo with water for a dilution ratio of 1:4. Pour the mixed solution in a foaming soap dispenser.
4. Start with one area and spray dispense foam on to horsehair brush and brush it on to fabric. It is recommended to work parallel to the weft yarn for best results and avoid any discoloration.
5. Spread the foam evenly on the entire section and scrub it in with the brush. Areas that are dirtier require more foam applications. Move on to the next section.
6. After you have applied foam to entire cleaning area, go over the entire sofa with wet vacuum.
7. To help with drying process put on any fans you have.

Don’t worry if stains do not disappear completely as you clean. They might disappear during the drying process. Once it is dried completely and the stain is still visible you can apply more cleaning foam with brush to the area. You do not want to make the fabric wet. Therefore use only the foam to clean. Always test the cleaning solution first in an inconspicuous area to see if any discoloration occurs. If there is any discoloration get it cleaned professionally.