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Job storiesJuly 7, 20263 min read

Job story: cleaning a sanctuary full of pews between services

Upholstered pews collect years of body oil and dust. Here's how we cleaned a full sanctuary and had it dry before the next service.

Upholstered church pews being steam cleaned in a sanctuary

Churches are one of our favorite jobs. Nobody thinks about the pews until the light hits them a certain way, and then it's obvious — the seats are darker than the backs, and the aisle end of every row is darker still.

What's actually in the fabric

Body oil, hair product, dust, and a decade of hands on the same six inches of the pew back. Oil is the part a vacuum can't reach; it needs a solution that emulsifies it and hot water extraction to carry it out.

Working around the schedule

  • Start Monday so there's the widest possible window before the next service
  • Work row by row so the sanctuary is never fully out of use
  • Controlled moisture — upholstery gets a fraction of the water carpet does
  • Air movers down the aisle to finish the dry

Same approach works for banks, waiting rooms, and any commercial seating that gets sat in every day. Ask us about upholstery protectant while we're there — it buys you a lot of time before the next clean.

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