CHECK OUT HOW TO CLEAN COUCH CUSHION COVERS
Last winter, while our daughter and SIL looked for a home, they moved into our lower level (aka the garden level basement). Their Bernese Mountain puppy, Russell, loves to visit us at the Gramptons.
Russell loved our Crate & Barrel couches. Elliott sat on his side of the couch with his pom pom blanket tucked under him. Russell was the only pup at his house, so he slept wherever he wanted. Russell loved his life at the Gramptoms. The two Bernese Mountain dogs staked their territory on our Crate & Barrel couches.
It was cute in the beginning, but then, like Clifford and Elf, Russell outgrew his dog bed. And he naturally migrated to the double-wide couches in our family room.
Within hours of Russell moving into his new seventy-year-old home, we began a deep clean of the upholstered couch cushion covers.
It was going to take a little bit more than Woolite Upholstery cleaner.
Bernese Mountain dogs are like toddlers… the perfect combo of cute and chaos.
STEPS TO CLEAN UPHOLSTERED COUCHES
- Start with a throw pillow cover to do a fabric test.
- If your couch does not have matching fabric throw pillows, use the smallest cover to test it.
- Confirm the upholstery has a zipper to remove the cushions.
- Unzip & remove all coverings from the sofa’s back, seat cushions, and throw pillows.
Start with a pillow cover. Our couches came with eight throw pillows in the same fabric.
I started with one of the matching throw pillows to make sure the fabric didn’t shrink or unravel during the spin cycle. Once that throw pillow test was confirmed, I removed the back seat covers and the seat covers.
After removing the fabric covers, I grabbed the vacuum and used the hose to clean around all edges of the exposed couch.
I was surprised to find very few crumbs. I was equally surprised to find several hair ties and … an athletic bra.
Sidenote: Ladies. You know that feeling when you cannot stand wearing anything tight by the end of the day, but you just don’t want to get off the couch?
Well, I just tucked that Athleta bra in between the seat cushions, and then I forgot it was there until I cleaned the couch covers.
There is something very satisfying when taking apart an upholstered couch to clean a vacume the surfaces.
I washed the pillow covers first, followed by the back cushions.
For all covers, I washed for a full cycle on cold setting.
I tossed the covers in the dryer separately on a low heat setting. I had no issues when I washed and dried the matching back, seat throw pillows.
When in doubt, I would choose a short, low-heat dry cycle and/or air dry.
Again, test your smallest cover. You can also air-dry them if you have shrinkage concerns.
The results were great. The fabric was brighter with no unraveling thread or snags. Again, you must test your fabrics. The covers just feel lighter – like a layer of grime had been obliterated by a wash cycle. And there’s something satisfying about knowing that, as we head into a new season, we are sitting (sleeping) on clean cushion covers.
Please pin for others to find! And make sure to check out a few favorite cleaning projects below. i would love it if you followed me on Pinterest or Instagram.
