Hello, we just bought our first sailboat after two years of dreaming and schemeing! The previous owner just had all the cushions professionaly re-upholstered but I smell mildew on them. This is terrible as we were so excited about having such nice cushions. Is there anything we can do to save them? Thank you-Angie
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dry cleaning?
Angie: I would check with someone that does dry cleaning on upholstery/furniture. They can give you advise if they can clean them.
Angie: I would check with someone that does dry cleaning on upholstery/furniture. They can give you advise if they can clean them.
Mildew on cushions
I experimented this and got great result: (1) Took the foam out of the cushion cover (2) Send the cover to dry cleaning (3) Put the foam in the shower and spray with Tilex Mildew killer (Grocery store) (4) Wait a few minutes and rinse with water (5) Leave the foam in the shower to drip dry (6) Use a fan to circulate the air will help it dry completely. May take a day. Make sure you close the door to contain the humidity. On the boat wipe the surface where cushion make contact with mold control (Grocery store). Stand the cushions on the side or take them home for the winter. Alex CS30
I experimented this and got great result: (1) Took the foam out of the cushion cover (2) Send the cover to dry cleaning (3) Put the foam in the shower and spray with Tilex Mildew killer (Grocery store) (4) Wait a few minutes and rinse with water (5) Leave the foam in the shower to drip dry (6) Use a fan to circulate the air will help it dry completely. May take a day. Make sure you close the door to contain the humidity. On the boat wipe the surface where cushion make contact with mold control (Grocery store). Stand the cushions on the side or take them home for the winter. Alex CS30
I cleaned myself
Angie, If you can smell mildew the problem is in the fabric AND the foam. There is no need to incur a large dry cleaning bill. I basically did what Mike has said and it worked great. First, take off the fabric and wash on a gentle cycle with detergent. After this let the fabric air dry...DO NOT dry in the dryer or you will shrink the fabric and they will not go back on the foam. Next, I filled a plastic "kiddie pool" (or very large clean garbage can) with water and a gallon of bleach... soaked the foam in this 30 minutes...removed, wrung out excess water and air dried (took a few days)....I was told by a professional cushion company that the bleach would dissapate in the drying and no need to "rinse" the cushions. Final result was a little bit of work yielded a big SUCCESS...best of luck with the project.
Angie, If you can smell mildew the problem is in the fabric AND the foam. There is no need to incur a large dry cleaning bill. I basically did what Mike has said and it worked great. First, take off the fabric and wash on a gentle cycle with detergent. After this let the fabric air dry...DO NOT dry in the dryer or you will shrink the fabric and they will not go back on the foam. Next, I filled a plastic "kiddie pool" (or very large clean garbage can) with water and a gallon of bleach... soaked the foam in this 30 minutes...removed, wrung out excess water and air dried (took a few days)....I was told by a professional cushion company that the bleach would dissapate in the drying and no need to "rinse" the cushions. Final result was a little bit of work yielded a big SUCCESS...best of luck with the project.
Thank You Sailors for your help with our mildew ?
We appreciated all the feedback and feel confident we can clean our cushions ourselves. Each evening we try to learn something about our boat and sailing in general and this forum has been terrific in helping us!
We appreciated all the feedback and feel confident we can clean our cushions ourselves. Each evening we try to learn something about our boat and sailing in general and this forum has been terrific in helping us!
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