Hope your husband is OK. You might try using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser very gently on the fabric.

Aww! No shoes in the house, esp the bedroom!

Old, soft toothbrush with vinegar gets crayon stains out of clothes. Might work on this.

My sympathies, Annie. You probably hadn't even had a chance to scotchguard it yet. All I know is "blot, don't rub".

And I now really know for sure that you are way nicer than me. I would not have been crying. I'd have been hollering and gesticulating and complaining about him being a 2 year old in a huge big body.

Your poor husband! I'm sure he must feel just awful. I don't have any suggestions, you might contact a professional. Maybe someone here will know what to do.

tina

oh no, that's heartbreaking, I once got a big dent in my brand new car, literally one hour after picking it up from the dealership.

So sorry Annie. I am sure your husband is so sorry but I am sure you are positively heartsick! My DH just is so nonchalant about being careful. I walked into the library this morning and he had an old, dusty, dirty radio on my beautiful new chair. I could have crowned him. I can not wait to convert our walk in closet into a mudroom. It just can't happen fast enough.

I am so sorry that happened. I don't have any suggestions but I just wanted offer my sympathy. I second the "blot, don't rub" advice.

In a similar situation, DH tracked grease on a very visible area of our new carpet. Panicked, he rubbed the spot so hard that he ruined the nap of the carpet. I have to admit, I inwardly groaned every time I walked over the spot.

Good luck with your cleaning.

Annie, perhaps before trying any remedies on your own, contact a dry cleaner or professional cleaning service for advice (they may give it for free!). I think the more you mess around with various concoctions without knowing if they'll work, the more you risk causing permanent damage to the fabric. If it's the rubber from the shoe, it's different from a stain from, say, oil or red wine.

Thank you all for your suggestions and commiseration.

I've never tried the magic eraser...I'll have to get one and see what it does.

We tested a spot that doesn't show with rug/upholstery cleaner and it didn't seem to do any damage, so I went ahead and worked on the black stripe. It seemed to come up pretty well with very gentle rubbing. In fact it was coming off in little tiny black bits, almost like erasures...which since it's rubber, I guess that's what it really is. It's not like a juice stain or grease stain that soaked in. The mark on the skirt is completely gone. The part that went up into the front of the chair seat was much darker. It is largely gone though I can still see the stripe as I know where to look. It's still drying but it looks 95% better. Fortunately, the fabric has so much nap that it looks like a brush mark in the nap. Also fortunately the ottoman is in front of the chair so you really have to look behind it to see it.

After it dries completely, I may want to do a little more but I'm much more relaxed now about it. And I think I'll keep my dear hubby, clodhoppers and all.

But he promised me, no more shoes in the bedroom. Of course we came back from working outside and wanted to see what the chair looked like, so there he goes heading into my room with his clodhoppers on! An alarm went off...it was me screaming at 120 db!
;)

Annie, perhaps before trying any remedies on your own, contact a dry cleaner or professional cleaning service for advice (they may give it for free!). I think the more you mess around with various concoctions without knowing if they'll work, the more you risk causing permanent damage to the fabric. If it's the rubber from the shoe, it's different from a stain from, say, oil or red wine.

Annie,
I feel for you. If you cant find something to remove the stain, I suggest you contact the upholsterer who did your chair. Take pics, or maybe they'd come and look at it. My sister had the bottom of her like new sofa tore up by her young dog. She left the house briefly and threw a bone to occupy her (the ONE time she didnt crate her) and unknown to her, the bone slid under the sofa. All across the bottom was so shredded, right down to the frame. She found an upholsterer who came out and looked at it, and used fabric from the pillows to repair it..it looks just amazing. Good luck!

oops double post

This post was edited by massagerocks on Sat, Feb 22, 14 at 16:45

Annie, if indeed your upholsterer has extra fabric, could he replace the damaged area? I think I would also check with him first about cleaning it. Those folks know their fabrics!

So sorry, Annie!

Thanks so much, everyone. I really appreciate your support.

The mark is there, but it looks like a brush in the texture of the fabric, so I can live with it. I did make DH promise to pay for reupholstering the front if necessary, but I don't think it will be necessary. I notice the mark because I know where to look, but I doubt anyone else will...

mtnrd, thank you for telling us about no shoes in the house. I told DH that someone was sure to reprimand us about that, and so glad to not be disappointed. But his clodhoppers are the high tops and not easy on, easy off so I gave up with that. I even have a basket full of shoe covers in the mud room, figuring if I can't get him to take his shoes off, maybe I can get him to put the covers on. Hah!

mitch, I felt your pain when you said you dented your new car. Ow!

holly kay, your DH should meet mine...they probably have a lot in common!

deee, I fear I will think of DH every time I look at that mark on the chair, just as you do the mark on the rug. I suppose, some day when he's gone and I'm left behind, I'll be wishing he were back here with me to make even more marks on my stuff...

So glad to hear the chair is not ruined. It is such a disappointment to have something just perfect and then, wham! Love your attitude, though. As DH and I are getting older and losing friends now and then (at the point when late 70s doesn't seem very old), I am thinking that way more and more.

Your shoe covers idea made me giggle. I may try that! Ha.

To offer levity to the situation--my husband sat in our brand new dark brown leather couch with paint all over his behind. His method of cleaning the paint off the leather was to scrape it off with steel wool. In 6 years of having two children their messes have not topped that.

I hope your chair and husband recover. :(

3apples yow! Talk about wanting to crown him!!!

I sorely miss my Mom...we were so close... but this incident reminded me of the time when I was a teen. I made myself a denim tent dress. I worked so hard on it getting the top stitching just right. Then I hand embroidered a design around the neckline in the front...had to select the design, transfer it on, do all the stitching. I loved it.

After I finished it, before I ever wore it, and unbeknownst to me, Mother was late for something or other and wanted something quick and easy to wear so she decided to wear my tent dress...in rushing around she went downstairs for something or other and proceeded to get white paint on the front of my dress. Despite her best efforts to clean it, the stain remained. I never was able to wear it except for knock around. I know as a kid I ruined many of her nice things including a pink lampshade that had a bite taken out of it! I guess it's what happens.