![Protect Your Investment: The Best Way to Clean Drapes](/images/blog/on-site-explainer-blog.jpg)
Protect your investment, your drapes are expensive to replace. Drapes act as giant air filters. Left uncleaned, the fabric fibers in your drapes and any fire proofing will deteriorate. Theater drapes in particular are naturally flammable, the presence of hot lights, props and electrical sparks increase the risk of fire. Even drapes which are Inherently Flame Retardant will become flammable as the accumulation of dust will overwhelm the flame retardant properties as dust is highly flammable.
But How Do You Safely Clean Drapes?
- Vacuuming lacks a hard surface behind it, so provides a basic surface cleaning only.
- Steam Cleaning has same result, water is injected into the drape but is never fully removed
- Dry cleaning, the use of harsh chemicals, heat and fast spinning will damage fabrics
- Washing will shrink the drapes and leave them matted
Any cleaning method which uses liquids of any type will compromise the flame retardant properties of your drapes as flame retardant is water soluble.
If the drapes are not cleaned prior to flame retardant application, it will void the manufacturer’s warrantee and leave permanent stains.
Safest and best way to clean drapes is with non-immersion cleaning offered by On-Site Drapery Cleaners. On-Site is the only company who brings the drapery cleaning plant right to the theater. Most of our theater customers have productions every day, they cannot send them out for cleaning, repairs and re-application of flame retardant, that could take 3 weeks. Only On-Site offers Same Day, On-Site service.
Upon arrival, our staff will take down the drapes and bring them to our mobile drapery cleaning truck. We use powder and a giant drum to massage the dust from the drapes, we then use forced air 30 times stronger than a vacuum to remove embedded dust and soil. Drapes come out clean and with the nape fluffed up like new. Once complete, we re-hang the drapery and apply flame retardant spray. We then will re-test the fabric the next day to ensure that the flame retardant cured properly and then issue a certificate for Fire Code compliance. While on-site, we can also make repairs to drapes and tracks as our staff are trained sewers.
On-Site is the only company who will guarantee No Shrinkage, No Fabric Damage, and No Color Fade. With over 46 years of experience, On-Site has had the privilege of working with stadiums, theaters, K-12 schools, banquet halls, hotels, retirement homes and healthcare clinics. In the hotel segment, On-Site’s giant drum enables us to clean a significant amount of drapes in a single day. We are the only company who can take down, deep clean and re-hang your drapes in 2.5 hours. That means no need to take your rooms out of service. We also apply flame retardant to a wide variety of materials.
On-Site offers service across North America with operations in Canada, the Midwest, Northeast, South and Western States. Since or trucks are mobile, we come to you. Contact On-Site today for a no-obligation assessment.