How to Protect Your Furniture from Sun Damage
The bleaching or drying of upholstery due to sun exposure is reflective of a chemical process called photodegradation, wherein the molecules of a material are altered by “photons,” or particles of light.
The long, sun-filled summer days of the Pacific Northwest provide a pleasant change for Clark County residents, who naturally get accustomed overcast and rainy days of the rest of the year. Yet simply due to the fact that most other months do not offer as much sunlight, many SW Washington homeowners are not used to thinking about the effects of sun on their upholstery. However, the culmination of ultraviolet exposure to furniture does not discriminate between months, and over time, will build up to cause furniture fading and potential fabric cracking.
For this reason, now is the perfect time to take preventative measures to protect your furniture.
Ways of Blocking UV Rays
Curtains or Drapes
The old-fashioned way was to install heavy drapes, the kind made out of the same material as your bedding comforter. These kinds of drapes are completely opaque, and while they do an excellent job at protecting all your furnishings from UV rays, blocking all the sun out of your home can get a little depressing.
Why not enjoy the summer sun? Installing light, translucent, airy drapes can also serve to protect your furniture, while allowing you to enjoy the warm light of those long summer days.
Another excellent option is to install heavy drapes to simply help frame your windows. You can keep them elegantly tied to the side most of the time, and have it be more translucent curtains that you occasionally close. The effect can be very regal.
Window Tinting
Did you know window tinting can also come in the option of completely clear? That’s right. It is entirely possible to have completely normal-appearing windows, coated with a totally invisible solar shield to block out UV rays.
Fabric Protection Treatment
Luckily, many upholstery fabrics as well as carpet fibers are originally treated by their manufacturer to with a special product to reduce possibility of staining. Yet, over time, this protectant wears off, inevitably leaving your fabric unprotected.
Heaven’s Best offers a superior upholstery protectant that, in addition to guarding the material from spills and everyday soiling, will also reduce sun fading!
Upholstery & Carpet Care Services in Vancouver, WA
The foremost factor that can cause a room to show its age is faded upholstery. Taking these steps to protect your upholstery from the effects of sunlight is helpful, but it is also important to keep in mind that in most cases, some photodegratation over the years will be pretty much inevitable if you do not reapply a protectorant to your fabric.
If you are interested in protecting your upholstery from more than just everyday spills and stains, but also sun fading, contact Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning in Vancouver, WA today!
