Fabric in Focus: Antimicrobial and cleanable fabrics and vinyls

Fabric selection is an important consideration when specifying commercial furniture. Not only for aesthetics, but for functionality, depending on the use of the space.

The importance of cleanable, antimicrobial and antibacterial upholstery fabrics in healthcare, aged care and hospitality settings is well known, but these fabric properties are also beneficial for commercial and educational settings where there are high volumes of traffic, a mix of demographics using the space, and the presence of food and drink.

As specialists in the education sector, we often specify these types of fabrics in high-traffic, clinical or laboratory settings to ensure maximum durability and performance. Instyle and Laine offer a range of Crypton® fabrics suitable for the commercial environment that protect against stains, spills, and odours. Crypton® technology is engineered to achieve outstanding stain protection, durability, fire retardancy and microbial resistance. The Laine Crypton Collection features fabric designs with bold stripes like the 25747 2 Orange Red or more subtle pattern of the 25919 3 Navy and texture of 25511 1 Lime fabrics.

Similarly, Warwick offers the Tritan range of high-performance moisture barrier upholstery. These fabrics are easy to clean and have water repellent, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-dust mite properties suitable for commercial, educational, and healthcare applications. The Tritan range includes a large selection of classic plains fabrics such as Keywest and Lewis,  textures in the Fender range for added sophistication and a variety of patterned fabrics such as Anya, Coralie, Harmony and Josephine that added layers of colour and play.

Bleach cleanable vinyls are another ideal option for the healthcare setting. Applications include visitor chairs in doctors’ offices or chairs in a medical waiting room and hospital patient booths. Warwick’s Lustrell range and Instyle’s Zone Vinyl are both available in a wide range of colours. Laine’s Coated Fabric Collection includes Cotting Coated vinyls and have inherent sanitising and antibacterial properties. These vinyls (with one exception) are bleach cleanable.  It is important to always refer to the fabric’s care label for specific cleaning instructions.

In addition to fabrics with these inherent qualities, an alternative for consideration is fabric treatment. Treatments are applied by the manufacturer after the manufacturing process, and offer moisture barriers, antibacterial and stain resistant characteristics. Healthseal by Laine is a high-performance treatment that can be applied to most of their fabrics and has soil release, water repellent, breathable, antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Warwick’s OnGuard is another antimicrobial treatment that provides water and soil repellancy.  In addition, their HealthGuard treatment protects the fabric against dust mites, mould and bacteria and helps prevent odours.

At Watson Commercial we can assist with your fabric selection and specification to best suit your commercial application and visual aesthetic.

To contact our team, call us on 03 9873 8484

Learn more about Warwick’s range of  Tritan fabrics

Click to view Laine Crypton and Laine Coatings Collection