A care guide for design clients: what to put in it

Why a care guide is worth the hour

CIDQ's definition of interior design asks designers to select materials with maintenance and cleaning requirements in mind. The care guide is where that thinking reaches the client. Without it, the first spill on a solvent-clean sofa or the first lemon on a marble counter is a lesson learned the expensive way, and the call comes to you.

Keep it specific to the house. A page of generic tips gets ignored; "the kitchen island is honed marble: no vinegar, use coasters" gets read. Always defer to the maker: quote their instructions, and link to their page.

Upholstery: the cleaning code

Upholstery fabric usually carries a cleaning code, listed by the fabric house or furniture maker. Put each piece's code in the guide with what it means, using the maker's wording. La-Z-Boy's care page defines the common ones:

• WSpot clean only with a water-based shampoo or foam upholstery cleaner.
• SSpot clean only with a water-free dry cleaning solvent.
• XNo foam or liquid cleaner of any kind. Vacuum or brush lightly to remove soil.
• W-S (or WS)A mix of the two. Check the maker's own instructions for the piece before using either.

Performance fabrics often have their own routine. Sunbrella, for example, says to blot (not rub) spills with a clean, dry cloth, gives a bleach-and-mild-soap solution for mold and mildew, and says the fabric should only air dry. Copy the routine for the actual fabric on the piece.

Counters and stone

Quartz and natural stone need different notes, so say which one each surface is.

• QuartzCaesarstone says to always put hot cookware on trivets and hot pads and to avoid strong chemicals, solvents, and strong acids or alkalis. Cambria says its quartz needs no sealing, polishing or reconditioning, and recommends a hot pad or trivet.
• Marble, limestone and travertineThe Natural Stone Institute warns that products with lemon, vinegar or other acids may dull or etch these stones, and recommends coasters under glasses, especially alcohol and citrus.
• SealingThe Natural Stone Institute is clear that sealing makes stone more stain resistant, not stain proof. If a surface was sealed, say with what and when, and when the fabricator suggests doing it again.

Paint

List each room's paint by brand, color name and code, and sheen, and say where the leftover cans are. Sherwin-Williams recommends touching up with leftover paint from the original project, notes that flat and matte finishes touch up more easily than satin or semi-gloss, and says to keep leftovers sealed in a cool, dry place. Benjamin Moore puts it the same way: the flatter the finish, the easier to touch up, and labeling the cans helps later. Label every can with the room.

Wood floors

NWFA's consumer site advises against wet or steam mops, which it says do more damage over time, and recommends keeping humidity in check to avoid cupping, splitting and gapping. Name the floor's finish and the cleaner its maker recommends, and note when it was finished so your client knows when a recoat might come up.

Everything else

Rugs (fiber and whether it can be professionally cleaned), window treatments (dust, vacuum or professional clean only), lighting (bulb type and color temperature), and metal finishes on hardware and faucets (what cleaner the maker allows). One line each is enough.

How to lay it out

By room, then by item: what it is, the maker and code, and the care line. Put the two or three "never do this" notes at the top of each room. Link each line to the maker's care page, so the full instructions are one tap away.

Questions people ask