What's the best way to clean cushions?

[Fore Sail]

Hi gang,

I got a 78 Catalina 22 that needs a major cleaning and the cushions have a lot of mildew on the inner part of it. I need advice on the best way to clean them. Thanks and all the best!

Monte

 

[Joe Diver]

With no information on how your cushions are constructed....

My cushion covers zip off. I washed them at home in warm water, just a little bleach to kill the mold. Did this twice, adding Snuggle to the rinse water after the second wash. Hung them to dry rather than machine dry in case of shrinkage.

For the foam cushions, I used Lysol spray on them heavily to kill as much mold as I could, then let them air out. I could have made a solution in the bath tub and soaked them like a sponge, but they would have taken days to dry I'm sure.

Combined with a good surface cleaning of the cabin, my boat sure smelled good for a while!

 

[Fore Sail]

Thanks Joe, I have a 1978 Catalina 22. Did I understand that you put the cushions through the washing machine?

All the best, Monte

 

[Fore Sail]

Best way to clean cushions

Thanks Joe, I have a 1978 Catalina 22. Did I understand that you put the cushions through the washing machine?

All the best, Monte

 

[Joe Diver]

Just the covers....the foam core I hit real heavy with Lysol.

 

[Sail123]

Clorox & A Garden Hose

I also just cleaned my cushions. I was afraid the 1983 zippers from mt Mac 25 might fail, or I would never get them to look right again, stuffing the foam inside, so I washed the imitation leather bottoms with a mild concentration of Clorox in warm water. That knocked down the mildew. I then hit em hard with a garden hose with a power nozzle. A pressure washer may be better. I really filled these with water. While I washed them, I had someone stomping heavy on them, walking on them. I did this till they looked clean, and clear water came out of them. Let dry (weeks)

The city water has enough chlorine in it to help kill mold and such.

I washed all but one, so I could compare results on a before and after, and the results is amazing.

I need to do that last one.

Note, I did not spend any time trying to Clorox scrub the tops of the cushions, as that may bleach out the colors.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Any ideas about how to loosen zippers on the cushions that won't move?

 

[adirondackbob]

Monte, I've used the upholstery attachment on a rug shampoo-er to wash the cushions in our C30, which were in pretty decent shape when we bought the boat in late 2009 but which gave the cabin that lovely mildew smell. I brought the home for the winter, shampooed them, and stored them on shelves in my garage with plenty of air circulation. Made a huge difference.

Bob

 

[taylort100]

There was another thread about mold and mildew in general. Soemone had a recommendation for using borax that came from a mold expert (actually a biochemist). It works really well. Chlorox gives the apearance of killing mold, but it often just bleaches the surface and the spores can regrow later. Instead, use a borax solution (dilute). It prevents reappearance of mold. Also, you can use it in the washing machine to do covers etc. We've fouind this to be really effective, when used with standard laundry soap and the recommended amount of borax(on side of package). Enough is left on to prevent reoccurrence and it does no damage to the fabric.

Tom (C380, #120)