If you want your patio furniture cushions looking brand new each season, then you’ll need to maintain it occasionally. Patio furniture cushions are more comfortable to clean than people might think, as long as you have the right products.
When it’s time for some spring-cleaning, the first thing on your to-do-list should be cleaning your outdoor furniture. This is important if you’ve had your cushions outside throughout the winter season. Constant exposure to moisture can cause mildew to appear on your cushions.
The good news is a lot of cushions come with removable covers, and you can easily remove them off and put them in the washer. However, you can still keep you’re the cushions you buy for your patio furniture online clean even if the covers aren’t removable. Read on to find out how.
Materials Needed
- Scrub brush
- Bucket
- Garden hose
- Sponge
- Fabric protector spray
- Borax
- Vacuum
- Dish-washing liquid
- Warm water
- Towels
Cleaning Procedure
- Gather all the cushions and if the covers can be removed, place them in the washer following the tag instructions. After taking care of the covers, you can now face the cushions. Remove any dust or loose dirt from them with a vacuum cleaner. If they are tufted, make sure you run the vacuum over the seams, crevices, and buttons.
- Get a bucket, fill it with a gallon of warm water and add in one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. If there’s mildew on the cushions, you can add a quarter cup of borax to the mixture. Use a sponge to scoop the solution to the cushion and allow it soak for fifteen minutes.
- If after fifteen minutes there’s still dirty spots, add more cleaning solution and gently use a scrub brush to remove the spots.
- Rinse off the cushions with a garden hose. Avoid using a pressure washer; it can damage the fabric.
- Use a towel to absorb most of the water from the cushion, and then leave them up on air to air-dry. Make sure there’s no moisture remaining on the cushion, use a blow dryer if you need to; otherwise you’ll end up with another mildew situation.
- Once the cushions are dry, spray a fabric protector such as Scotchgard Water and Sun Shield on them to help resist stains and dirt. This will make it easier to keep your cushions clean over the summer when they’ll be put to use.
Tips for Cleaning
- Figure out the type of fabric your cushion is made of. You can find this information on the product tag hanging on it. The label should tell you what the stuffing and the cover are made from. It’ll also have basic instructions on how you can keep both clean.
- Your cushions aren’t resistant to oils or suntan lotions. Make sure you spread a towel on the chair whenever you apply creams to your body. Some lotions may even stain the fabric of the cushion. In time, they weaken PVC covered cushions as well as those made from Vinyl do.
- Nowadays, manufacturers usually treat the cushions sold in the market so they won’t fade if left out in the sun. The covers are generally made with acrylics, which mimics the feel of vinyl, canvas, or woven polyester. The fillings are usually polyester, as it doesn’t hold on to water.
- Unless the tags on the cushions specifically state that they have been treated with water repellant, then you want to store them indoors whenever not in use. Your cushions will still hold out if they get soaked occasionally from a rainstorm, but if you expose them to continuous heavy rainfall, it’ll ruin them fast.