Medical grade is a spec, not a fabric.
We fit medical grade upholstery room by room — the exam table gets a different cover than the consult chair — on site, after your last patient.
Five things the cover has to do
There is no single “medical grade” stamp. Medical grade upholstery is a short list of properties, and a cover that misses one is not fit for a clinical room, however good it looks.
01Non-porousA vinyl or polyurethane face that fluids sit on instead of soaking into.
02Disinfectant-safeRated for the EPA-registered wipes your staff already uses, bleach-based ones included if that is your protocol.
03Fluid barrierA backing that stops anything that gets past a seam from reaching the foam.
04Flame ratedFoam and cover built to the flammability code your building or insurer asks for.
05Abrasion ratedMade for commercial seat traffic, so the face does not wear through at the front edge.Every room is cleaned differently
The exam table is wiped after every patient; the consult chair, hardly at all. One cover for both either costs too much or fails early, so each room is specified on its own.
Exam table
Exam table reupholstery- Cleaned
- After every patient.
- Cover we fit
- The heaviest medical grade vinyl, a fluid barrier and a sealed welt at the head end.
Draw & procedure chairs
Treatment seating- Cleaned
- All day, arms most of all — alcohol and disinfectant.
- Cover we fit
- Disinfectant-rated vinyl on the arms and seat, matched across every chair.
Waiting room
Waiting room furniture- Cleaned
- Once a day, and sat on hardest.
- Cover we fit
- Abrasion-rated vinyl in the practice colour, so the row still reads as one set.
Consult room
Chair reupholstery- Cleaned
- Rarely, and never for fluids.
- Cover we fit
- Leather can stay here — protected leather wipes clean — or a vinyl that matches it.
What we fit — and what we will not
Samples come to the practice, so you choose under your own exam-room light.
Medical grade vinylThe default for exam tables, draw chairs and anything wiped between patients.
Polyurethane-coated fabricA softer hand than vinyl and still wipe-clean — good for waiting rooms.
Protected leatherA pigmented finish that wipes clean — consult rooms and offices only.
Woven fabricIt holds whatever it absorbs, so we do not fit it in a clinical room.A family practice, recovered in an evening
A family practice in Midtown East: a cracked exam table, draw-chair arms gone tacky from alcohol wipes, and waiting chairs that were still fine.
01We ask what you wipe withThe product on the counter decides the grade of cover, so it is the first question on every visit.
02Match each roomA black medical grade vinyl for the exam table, a grey one for the draw-chair arms — see how colours are matched.
03Recover on siteThe table top and the chair arms were recovered in the rooms; the waiting chairs were fine and were left alone.
04Open on timeThe work ran after the last patient, and the rooms were ready for the first one — see after-hours service.Same piece. The right cover.
Both from practices like yours. See more before and after work.
Before
After
Before
AfterMedical grade upholstery questions
How a practice cleans is set by its infection-prevention team; APIC is their professional body. We build the cover to that routine.
What makes upholstery medical grade?
Medical grade upholstery does five things at once: it has a non-porous face, it stands up to hospital disinfectants, it has a fluid barrier under the face, it meets the flammability code for the building, and it is rated for commercial seat traffic. A cover missing any one of them is not medical grade, whatever the label says.
Is medical grade upholstery the same as vinyl?
Most of it is vinyl, but not every vinyl is medical grade, and some polyurethane-coated fabrics qualify too. What matters is the rating, not the name of the material.
Can leather be used in a medical office?
Not on anything that meets fluids — exam tables, draw chairs, procedure seating. In a consult room or a physician’s office, protected leather wipes clean and is a fair choice. See protected leather.
Will the new covers match the furniture we keep?
Yes. Colour and grain are matched to the pieces that stay, so a recovered chair does not stand out in the row. See material matching.
How is medical grade upholstery priced?
Medical grade upholstery is quoted per room rather than off a price list, because the right cover depends on what each room is cleaned with and how often. We quote after seeing the practice, in person or from photos.
Tell us what you wipe with.
We will tell you which cover each room needs, and fit it after hours.
