I have a Hunter 240. I had posted a question: has anyone ever washed the cabin cushions themselves? Although they are marked "dry clean only", the cleaners wouldn't guarantee me anything except how much I would have to pay for the job! With a little trepidation, I began with the farthest cushion... I unzipped the cover and placed it in the washer, washed it on a delicate cycle with extra rinse, using minimal detergent (soap left on fabric attracts new dirt). When the cycle was done, I placed it in the dryer FOR 5 MINUTES ONLY just to get out any wrinkles. I hung it, inside out, over some chairs outside in the sun, for a couple of hours. While it dried, I sprayed the foam rubber cushion with Lysol spray just to give it a freshening and guard against any future potential mildew. (I threw away the plastic sheeting that covered part of the foam rubber.) When the cover was dry to the touch, I put the foam rubber back inside the cover. At first, you think it won't fit, because the rubber doesn't slide easily over fabric. But if you scoot and pull for a few minutes to line up the seams with the corners, it goes in just fine. I washed all 10 cushions this way, spent nothing but some time, and they look and smell fresh and new. Just wanted to pass this along to y'all. Happy sailing!
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Same here
Hello Judy, Against all recommendations... I had a replecement cover in a plastic bag for one of the sette cushion when I bought the boat. That sette cover was dirty (after 13 summers) so I decided that since I had a replacement I would try to clean the dirty one. This is what I did. I took the cover off the cushion, took this to my whirpool bathtub with a dose of Oxyclean. Let it soak for 30 minutes and started the bubbles in the tub for 10 minutes. Took the wet cover in the sun for drying period of 2 days. It came out sparkling clean and in perfect condition. This cover is original from a 1991 boat and was clean in 2004. it worked for me. Since then I did all other covers.
Hello Judy, Against all recommendations... I had a replecement cover in a plastic bag for one of the sette cushion when I bought the boat. That sette cover was dirty (after 13 summers) so I decided that since I had a replacement I would try to clean the dirty one. This is what I did. I took the cover off the cushion, took this to my whirpool bathtub with a dose of Oxyclean. Let it soak for 30 minutes and started the bubbles in the tub for 10 minutes. Took the wet cover in the sun for drying period of 2 days. It came out sparkling clean and in perfect condition. This cover is original from a 1991 boat and was clean in 2004. it worked for me. Since then I did all other covers.
FWIW...
the thin plastic you threw away is wrapped around the foam to make it easier to get back into the cover. You can use old dry cleaning bags, cheap plastic drop cloths or anything like that. You can also by some silicon spray that pros use, spray the foam and it will slide right in.
the thin plastic you threw away is wrapped around the foam to make it easier to get back into the cover. You can use old dry cleaning bags, cheap plastic drop cloths or anything like that. You can also by some silicon spray that pros use, spray the foam and it will slide right in.
Too funny!
As a professional cleaner that runs 30 cleaning crews it always cracks me up to see the different do-it-yourself ways that people clean upholstery and carpet. What we don't hear often is how many times it didn't work and people have ruined their fabrics. I see it every day! I think Judy's approach was fine, because she could risk throwing the cushion away if it didn't work. The only thing different that I would have done would have been to put the foam back into the cover before it dried. Less chance of shrinkage.
As a professional cleaner that runs 30 cleaning crews it always cracks me up to see the different do-it-yourself ways that people clean upholstery and carpet. What we don't hear often is how many times it didn't work and people have ruined their fabrics. I see it every day! I think Judy's approach was fine, because she could risk throwing the cushion away if it didn't work. The only thing different that I would have done would have been to put the foam back into the cover before it dried. Less chance of shrinkage.
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