What are 'Rubs' ??

Of all the questions we get asked by customers, probably the most common is 'What exactly are 'rubs' ?

Many of you will have noticed that each fabric we sell has a 'rub' value - this is mentioned on all product pages and also on all sample labels.

We could go on for hours explaining the intricacies of rub testing but life really is too short so here's a brief (-ish) explanation..

Any fabric sold for upholstery use in the UK must comply with British Standards. This is if you like a guarantee that what you are buying meets certain criteria - by the way, the toughest anywhere in the world.

To conform to these standards, fabrics must successfully pass a number of stringent tests. Chief amongst these is fire resistance (also known as BS 5852) - essential for all upholstered furniture. In addition to this basic requirement are a host of physical tests which cover light fastnesses, colour fastness to wet and dry rubbing, tear strength, tensile strength, resistance to pilling to name a few.

Then there is rub testing.

This basically replicates, under laboratory conditions, someone sitting down and shuffling about on a seat. For a fabric to be deemed suitable it has to complete 20000 rubs minimum without exhibiting unacceptable levels of wear. This is already extremely hard wearing. We only sell fabrics that meet this standard as a minimum, and also have many which go up to 100000 rubs - i.e., ultra tough.

If you are really interested in finding out more, here's a link to a YouTube video showing this in practice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyZGpqM2xBU - please note that one complete rotation of the rubbing 'heads' equals one rub.

After seeing this you'll never complain there's nothing on TV again!!