Cleaning old sofa

MrsPorridge

I've just bought a lovely art deco style 3 piece suite from a charity shop. It needs a little bit of TLC - am looking for tips on how to clean it. I can steam the main body, but luckily the cushion pads have zipped on covers. I need to clean these (some have a few dog hairs on). Am I OK just to take them off, give them a good brush and pop them in the washing machine? Or should I do by hand? I don't want them to shrink.

trailingspouse

Personally, I would wash by hand, very gently. Do it on a day when they can be hung outside so that you cut the drying time to a minimum. Do NOT put them in the tumble dryer!!

Alternatively, you could use hot soapy water and a rough cloth (something like an old face flannel) wrung out as much as you can - rub it across the whole surface, giving any stains etc a bit of extra elbow grease. You need to cover the whole surface otherwise you will get a tide mark. This is how I was advised to clean the fabric car seats in an old car we bought, and it worked very well.

Primrose

I wouldn,t out them in the washing machine under any circumstances and Id definitely wait for a good outdoor drying day, frustrating as this might be at this time of year.

Do you know what material is under the cushion covers? Could they be sponged in situ with tepid, barely warm soapy water?. Keeping the material stretched might help prevent shrinkage.

Most upholstery material isn,t really suitable for being washed but sometimes you can break the rules if you use only warm water, try not to get it too we and are able to dry it quickly without too much heat. A windy day is probably better than a hot sunny day in my experience.

Could you also steam the cushions? Try testing one under-side first to see whether it works.

MrsPorridge

Thanks both for some great ideas - I'll be having a go at the weekend when I have a bit more time.

queengoth

My parents took over a variety of grubby pubs over the years, mum always cleaned the land settling with a small amount of warm water and a large amount of washing power, use a stiff brush and barely wet the fabric, wipe off the soapy foam with a cloth to leave nearly dry then vacuum. Amazing the amount of dirt this shifts and in those days people smoked in pubs too lol