At One Place

Upholstery cleaning code S

Upholstery cleaning code S
Clean with solvent-based cleaners only — no water.
S

What it looks like

A letter S on the care tag of a sofa or chair.

What it means

S covers fabrics that shrink, stain or ring when they get wet: rayon, viscose, silk, linen blends and some velvets. Water leaves a permanent mark even where the fabric is otherwise fine, so blotting a spill with a damp cloth can do more visible harm than the spill. Solvent cleaners need real ventilation and must be kept away from open flames, and the safe route on a large area is a professional rather than a supermarket aerosol.

Defined by US furniture industry cleaning code convention. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.

Other product care symbols

Symbol Means
Upholstery cleaning code W Clean with water-based cleaners only.
Upholstery cleaning code W-S Either water-based or solvent-based cleaners may be used.
Upholstery cleaning code X Vacuum or brush only — no liquid cleaner of any kind.
Period after opening (open jar with 12M) How many months the product stays good after you first open it.
Cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability) The best-before date of a cosmetic product — it is best used before the date shown.
Footwear: leather That part of the shoe is leather.
Footwear: coated leather That part is leather with a surface coating no thicker than a third of the total thickness.
Footwear: textile That part of the shoe is a textile, natural or synthetic.
Footwear: other materials That part is made of something that is neither leather nor textile.

Common questions

What does the upholstery cleaning code s symbol mean?
Clean with solvent-based cleaners only — no water.
What does it look like?
A letter S on the care tag of a sofa or chair.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked