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...I managed to pour a beer down the back of the bloody thing.
Having taken the cover off the cushion I see:
IKEA KRAMFORS:
No Wash / No Bleach / Iron Medium / Dryclean / No Tumble Dry
It's graphite grey thick woven fabric, looks a bit like hessian but contains several different fibres woven together. Having set fire to a few fibres it's mainly plastic, perhaps polyester or rayon? There is also a section or two that is almost papery, like you'd find in a package for a duvet or something. Looks like it could tear really easily.
Not only is there beer, but there's many other old sticky-looking splodges like from spilled sugary drinks or something [not me!] The sofa was secondhand and I rather like it, it's just really really grubby. The white covers inside the grey ones [extra between cushions and fabric] are revolting! really grey and gross.
SO:
Surely I can wash this, by hand, with cold water and a little detergent. Perhaps I should use just a little washing-up liquid or shampoo* not powder in case it attacks the fabric? I would also use squashing, not wringing or twisting - just tread it or press down with my hands in case my weight is too much.
I'm guessing I should then NOT spin it, but soak the water out of the cover using a towel, hang it up for an hour or so and then refit it when it's just a little tiny bit damp to prevent shrinkage.
I intend to wash not only one cushion cover, but the entire thing to ensure the colour is the same. It doesn't matter if it gets slightly lighter or something, as long as it's all the same colour afterwards.
An tips? Help etc etc? Obvs we can't afford a dryclean or I'd just give it to a pro. It needs cleaning, but if I ruin it I'm in a lot of trouble!
*this is how I handwash my wool jumpers and it works fine. Treading with shampoo and a jolly good rinse.
Dry
Clean
It
Only
Well, some information online says that "dry clean only" is often used as a catch-all but I can't find out why or what makes the difference.
Is it really that simple? Things so often aren't!
Also - I can't pay for cleaning - can't afford it, so trying to figure out how to DI(M)Y
Not hugely expensive to get it dry cleaned
https://www.123cleaners.com/dry-cleaning/sofa-covers-cleaning
Just leave it? I assume you have a Woodburner so before long your home will have the sought after aroma of a country pub.
The issue will be how much it shrinks. It'll probably wash fine but you may find you can't get the bloody thing back on!
>Not hugely expensive to get it dry cleaned
Wrong country, sadly, but thanks 🙂
>Just leave it? I assume you have a Woodburner so before long your home will have the sought after aroma of a country pub.
Good answer. Sadly there is no woodburner, but I could try rubbing some peanuts into it and setting fire to a little kindling in the corner. Nice 🙂
>The issue will be how much it shrinks. It'll probably wash fine but you may find you can't get the bloody thing back on!
I think you're probably right. The cover is a tight fit, so even if it shrinks just a little it might be buggered I guess. I have no frame of reference for this, maybe my wool jumpers have shrunk a couple of percent and I didn't even notice.
Thanks for the tips.... I'll consider my options.
ho hum...
I'd wipe sofa as you have described, then cover the smelly stain in bicarb and leave to soak & dry. Then hoover it off. Wash the covers on cold wash, gentle spin. As soon as they're done ,low heat iron and refit them damp.
Btw ,I'm impressed with the attempt to burn the sofa , for a test. 🙂
Ironing helps the fabric spread out does it?
Shit. Now I need an iron 😛
Ours says dry clean. Cat was sick on it...It's a second hand sofa and the back had been chewed by house rabbits.
Into the machine on a delicate cycle 30 degrees with non bio. It was fine.
Got a smaller cushion you can do a test wash with?
If it helps, an Ebay listing for replacement covers shows the material content as :
62 % cotton, 13 % polyester, 25% viscose
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Baby wipes will probably be the solution.
But FWIW, our sofa says 'Dry Clean Only' but as it was getting on a bit and looking a bit grubby, we thought we'd try washing the covers in the washing machine at home and they came out fantastically. Since then it has been washed many times (we subsequently had twins so it has seen all sorts of action). I have steam cleaned the fabric on the frame (which is not removable), rubbed down marks with a damp sponge wetted with washing up liquid etc. It's had red wine on it (came out without issue).
We got it from Next about 15 years ago and it is still going strong 🙂
we thought we'd try washing the covers in the washing machine at home and they came out fantastically
By way of balance...also did this. Came out clean, but didn't fit back on right.... zip at the back didn't do up properly but could kinda hide it...
As above, a couple % shrink is the issue
A car upholstery product?
Edit: whilst in situ.
If you really must wash it: use a quick/cold cycle, then put it back on the sofa while it's wet.
fabreeze and a throw,get another 10 years out of it
Riiight.
Thanks for all the help, being me I screwed up though. When taking it off, there was a strip of really strong velcro I didnt see along the back/seat line and I tore the shitty papery fabric the entire length of a seat without even feeling it - I thought the velcro beside it was coming away.
So now it's being sewn up, and at the same time dry-cleaned [cheaper to do both at once]. And yes, I am in the shit.
Next time, leave the cushions on and get a Rug Doctor machine out on hire.
I'm sure a lot of things marked 'dry clean only' can be washed, just carefully. I've got a couple of olive drab coloured flying jackets, the ones you see in black worn by security blokes. It says on the label dry clean only, but the bloody things are made from Nomex, a close relative of Kevlar, are fire-resistant, and apparently can only be damaged by repeated exposure to concentrated bleach!*
One has already gone in the machine with the rest of my washing on a cool wash, came out perfect.
*According to the Du Pont web site. So I'm cynical about these labels.
Oh dear!
Edit: Ah. Just saw your most recent post 😐
[s]I think it's the shrinkage that might do you in. I don't have experience with that one sofa, but I once machine dyed some grubby white Ikea Tullsta armchair covers. They shrank loads and despite lots of wrestling and stretching them back, they never quite went back on correctly.[/s]
's alright nach, I survived.
I think the fact that I spent at least 5 minutes making a Valentine's day scribble means that I escape with only a thrashing, as opposed to being confined to sleeping on the thing.
I was intending to take all the useful advice here to heart, but seeing as I had to go to bloody shop anyway I opted to spend my beer allowance on it.
As usual STW is a hive of useful information. When I invariably spill beans on it* in the future we can try the washing instructions so helpfuly volunteered here 😛
*as I also managed to do with my only signed copy of a Pratchett book, lol
Update - came back the right size, smelling slightly of (eeerm) man-mayo* and with the nasty chocolaty stain** transformed into.... a large powdery white stain. Then MissStripes ripped the other flimsy bit while fitting it.
Maybe I should just put the beer on the table next time.
*it did not before, I assume it's the solvent and will dissipate?!
**wuzzunt me