Re: Performance Fabrics
It's not a review at all, its just informational.
Don't confuse "Performance" with longevity, because they are all man-made fabrics and most are either 100% Polyester or close to it. All man-made fabrics pill - but they are inexpensive relative to the really good fabrics. And they ware water-scrub-able so when they get soiled, soap and water clean them up, and you can even use a soft scrub brush on them. Cleanable does not equal durability.
Every fabric has a rub rating, which is the number of times you can make a swipe at it with a device that puts pressure on the material before the fabrics shows wear. They are called double rubs - and its a lab machine that makes one stroke forward and one back, that's one rub. Light duty fabrics are around 15,000 , moderate duty 30,000 to 40,000 and heavy duty 70,000 to 80.000. Some commercial grades will get up around 200,000, but they lose their hand and can be stiff and scratchy. Unfortunately, the upholstery makers almost never put the rub ratings on their materials, either in dealer tools or the web sites, so its an arduous task to find them out that involves calling the supplier, then they have to call their fabric buyer - and sometimes the fabric buy has to call the mill. It's not unusual to have to wait three days to get a call back on them.
Dogs have dirt on them - and skin oils, (we have 'em too) so a Performance fabric is really where you want to be as it doesn't require a major investment and you can keep it looking nice. Leather would be much better, though.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
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