Cleaning of tapestries and large scale textiles

The cleaning of tapestries is undertaken on an automated installation designed for this purpose by Chevalier Conservation and the company Chassitech in 2001.
This highly technical equipment takes into consideration and respects the object as a whole whilst providing a tested result.
An example of a typical treatment consists of five phases: removal of particulate soiling, cleaning, rinsing, extraction and drying. Throughout these different phases, certain parameters (water and air pressure, temperature of the water, level of suction…) can be adjusted according to the density and the condition of the object.

view an example before and after cleaning

watch a tapestry during the cleaning treatment (only in French)

find out more about the cleaning of tapestries

Cleaning of textile upholstery

Generally speaking, tapestry woven chair covers are usually cleaned in an aqueous bath (deionized water and surfactant) as they are often heavily soiled.
After removal from their support, they are sewn with long stitches to a screen in order to counteract any dimensional change during cleaning.

Chairs upholstered in other fabrics than tapestry are cleaned with non aggressive solvents without being removed from their supports.