Cleaning Interior Cushions
- Thread starter Elie
- Start date
I recently ran my circa-1981 brown tweed ones through the washing machine on a hot cycle with laundry soap and a splash of Lestoil to help with the diesel smell. The threadbare spots didn't do well, but the rest is OK and it really killed the smell. If there is a tag somewhere on it or you can verify they are acrylic, they will not shrink, nor should they bleed. Search the internet, there was a chart from Sunbrella about what to use on various stains. Washing them will take out any stain resistant or waterproofing treatments (Scotchguard or 303) and those will have to be re-applied (which is possibly more important for exterior covers).
Smells also collect in the cushions and I washed mine by hand in the bathtub with a similar hot water solution to try and kill the smell. That was moderately successful, not perfect, but bearable to my sensitive nose. Wet cushions are very heavy and took days sitting outside on the back deck in the sun to dry. If needed, there is a process for getting the cushions back in the covers using plastic cushion silk and a vacuum cleaner to compress the cushions so you can get them back in. I think it was on the Sailrite web site. They sell the silk also.
Smells also collect in the cushions and I washed mine by hand in the bathtub with a similar hot water solution to try and kill the smell. That was moderately successful, not perfect, but bearable to my sensitive nose. Wet cushions are very heavy and took days sitting outside on the back deck in the sun to dry. If needed, there is a process for getting the cushions back in the covers using plastic cushion silk and a vacuum cleaner to compress the cushions so you can get them back in. I think it was on the Sailrite web site. They sell the silk also.
Dkeagle touched on a very important point. You must know what type of material you have so you will know how to go about cleaning your cushions. Some fabrics can only be cleaned with water based cleaning solutions while others by dry cleaning or similar processes only. If you're not sure, test your product in an inconspicuous spot before doing the entire project.
Getting the foam dry is pretty simple. put it in the washer and put it on spin. May have to balance the load with two similar cushons.
When I needed my cushions cleaned on my Hunter 380 I called the local chartering companies and found out who they use. It appeared a local cleaning company did offices and most of the chartering boats. They came down to the boat, picked up all the cushions, cleaned them and returned them to the boat and installed them. And the cost was quite reasonable. I'd use them again.
It sounds like some kind of polyfill - might be in its own inner pillow case and you won't have to mess with it. But you're right, you won't want to wash that.
On our '91 h30 we washed the covers and foam cushions in a tub with laundry soap and oxyclean. Did the foam cushion first and let dry, then washed covers and put them back over the cushions before dry to combat any shrinkage per the dealer's recommendation. worked well on covers but we couldn't completely remove 20+ years of boat smell from the foam.
I was always told for health and safety reasons you should NEVER dry clean bedding, matrasses, pillows, or cusions that are used in a closed cabin boat. But instead, the same place that does dry-cleaning can usually also do big machine laundry. This would be OK. And I suspect big machine laundry is easier on the fabric.
Washed ours in big laundry, cool water, they seem fine.
Washed ours in big laundry, cool water, they seem fine.
No it wasn't easy for me either because you have to squeeze them good to get the soapy water out and then rinse them and squeeze them several times to get all the water out before carrying them out of the house. I think I put on my foul weather boots and stood in the bathtub and walked the water out as best I could.
I would have like to have done them in the washer, but we felt that would be too hard on the old machine, Maybe I need to look into going to a laundromat if I do anymore. The bestsolution is to replace the cushions, but I save hundreds of dollars if I can get the smell down and bearable.
I would have like to have done them in the washer, but we felt that would be too hard on the old machine, Maybe I need to look into going to a laundromat if I do anymore. The bestsolution is to replace the cushions, but I save hundreds of dollars if I can get the smell down and bearable.
We cleaned and deodorized our large foam cushions in a large kiddie pool (smaller cushions in the bathtub) with white vinegar/Clorox mix first for two days, rinsed, and then a soapy soak/rinse and rolled the foam squeezing the excess water and allowed to dry in the sun... in one/two days they were dry but this was over the summer months... now they are covered in Ultraleather with Downy pads in the bottoms to breathe and they are as fresh as the day we cleaned them... we'll repeat this in several years again. Boat smells fresh and no odors to speak of... we use Hawaiian scents throughout... Admiral loves being on the boat now more than I... 
Forgot to mention... do not reuse the polyfill... throw away and get new polyfill and replace... you'll be glad you did... ours had 1/4" fill... we replaced with 1/2" polyfill and it has sure made a difference in the softness of the cushions.
Forgot to mention... do not reuse the polyfill... throw away and get new polyfill and replace... you'll be glad you did... ours had 1/4" fill... we replaced with 1/2" polyfill and it has sure made a difference in the softness of the cushions.
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