{"id":6309,"date":"2016-08-08T12:47:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T11:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/?p=6309"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:27:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T12:27:25","slug":"what-is-the-martindale-rub-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-the-martindale-rub-test","title":{"rendered":"What is the Martindale Rub Test?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the\u00a0Martindale Test?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The ‘Martindale Test’ or ‘Rub Test’ is a measurement of the durability of upholstery fabric for its suitability for general domestic or commercial use. It is an internationally recognized test\u00a0and gives the most true to life results. \u00a0Using a Martindale machine, a piece of fabric is stretched between two discs, one which oscillates sandpaper or wool across\u00a0the fabric until signs of distress show. The Martindale number is the amount of times the discs can oscillate before the fabric shows signs of\u00a0distress.<\/p>\n

What does the Martindale number mean to me?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

10,000 or less –\u00a0<\/strong>Decorative
\n<\/strong>Use on cushions or accents.
\nNot suitable for general domestic use or furniture upholstery.<\/p>\n

10,000 to 15,000 – Light Domestic
\n<\/strong>Use on occasional use furniture.
\nDry clean only.
\nFabrics made from delicate yarns such as cotton silk.<\/p>\n

15,000 to 25,000 – General Domestic
\n<\/strong>Use on main house furniture.
\nSuitable for every day use.
\nNot suitable for recliners or a seat\/back that puts high level of stress on the fabric.
\nNot suitable for high use furniture.<\/p>\n

25,000 to 30,000 – Heavy Duty
\n<\/strong>Use on heavy use domestic furniture.
\nSuitable for high levels of every day use.
\nSuitable for recliners and motion furniture.
\nSuitable for light commercial use.<\/p>\n

30,000 or more – Commercial Grade
\n<\/strong>Use on heavy duty commercial\/domestic furniture.
\nSuitable for any commercial environment.<\/p>\n

Anything above 50,000 is regarded as the same and makes no meaningful difference in the durability of the fabric.<\/p>\n

Is the Wyzenbeek test the same thing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No, the Martindale and Wyzenbeek tests are two completely different tests and cannot be compared to one another. The Wyzenbeek test is used primarily in North America and tests the fabric by rubbing the taut fabric with cotton duck fabric or abrasive wire back an fourth in the warp and filling directions. This back and forth motion is called a double rub.<\/p>\n

\"Source\"

Source: https:\/\/www.stoneycreekfurnitureblog.com\/understanding-fabric\/<\/p><\/div>\n

What if I have pets and kids?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Martindale test measures for abrasion only and does not take into account UV light, chemicals, dirt, surface treatments or pet claws. When choosing a fabric such as velvet, even a hard-wearing stain-resistant velvet will be susceptible to scratch marks from sharp objects and pet claws and stains from heavily pigmented liquids such as red wine. Always keep in mind that the weave, fabric composition, pattern, furniture design, maintenance and usage will all affect the longevity of your chosen fabric.<\/p>\n

\"Souce\"

Source: lapofluxuryinteriors.com<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

Whats next?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now that you have a good understanding of what all those tricky numbers mean you are ready to take the next step and pick the perfect colour and fabric for your sofa or chair. If you need help choosing the right colour for your sofa, head over to our blog on Which Colours to\u00a0Use in Your Home.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the\u00a0Martindale Test? The ‘Martindale Test’ or ‘Rub Test’ is a measurement of the durability of upholstery fabric for its suitability for general domestic or commercial use. It is an internationally recognized test\u00a0and gives the most true to life results. \u00a0Using a Martindale machine, a piece of fabric is stretched between two discs, one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[443],"tags":[855,736,853,851],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6309"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10698,"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6309\/revisions\/10698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}