Wash Your Couch

Some of you may know this...but I finally learned how to “wash my couch”. We bought this very white couch because it was on sale (of course), and the saleswoman went on and ON about how well it was made and how we would keep it forever and just recover it and never let it out of the family tree and the secret to knowing if a couch was of good quality was to lift it and if it was very heavy, it was nicer....blah, blah, blah...So, we bought the couch. Now, a white couch with white and beige pillows does not exactly co-exist well with 2 adults (one messy), 4 kids, and 3 dogs. And, when we bought the couch, there may have already been a few “sit” marks. I can’t remember.

    Anyway, we buy the thing and I love it because it’s comfortable and that part is nice, but very quickly it gets a little “gray”. I then have some guys come clean our carpets and steam clean our other 2 chair and 1/2’s because I physically can’t stand the smell of them (they are glorified dog beds) anymore. When I ask the guys about the couch, they tell me it’s a special fabric and will be quite expensive to clean. Fine. So, a couple of years go by, and the couch is looking a little more gray. The carpet, however, MUST be replaced, so we decide to tile three bedrooms instead of re-carpeting them. After that expense, and super up-do to the home, our little white couch looks dingier than ever, but have you ever spent such a wad of cash that your wallet then closes for a season and you are not spending one more dime no matter how dingy? That’s kind of where I was on this project. Every time we were spending money on our home, the white couch would go back to the bottom of the totem pole.

    Out of desperation, I decided to wash the couch. I took all of the cushions off of the pillows and I sprayed every square inch with Resolve carpet cleaner (which also cleans upholstery). Wear a gas mask for this part. Then, I tossed the cushion covers and the little sofa arm pieces in the washer and turned it to “wool wash”, which basically is a short wash with no spin. When finished, I hung up the covers for about 12 hours and then when they were damp dry, I put them back on the pillows. They looked as GOOD AS NEW! Maybe better. I put them on the pillows damp to make sure no wrinkles got into the fabric as it was drying. Then, (put on your gas mask again), I sprayed every inch with 3-M scotchguard (which used to be poisonous, but I think they changed the formula, because it’s on the shelf at Walmart again).

    Finally, to change up our rather ‘blah’ couch, I made new pillow covers to go on the many existing cushions. The old cushions were tan and tan and white. The new (as you can see), have a little more “zing”. Oila! New couch!! I think all of the supplies were under $100. AND, we were about to spend thousands either recovering or just buying a new couch when the new couch was under our nose....it just needed a little fumigating.