Patio furniture seat cushions make our outdoor space comfortable and beautiful. Unluckily, they go through the tough weather abuse, and thus, needs to be cleaned regularly in order to remove dirt and stains. Here are some amazing tips on how to clean your patio furniture seat cushions off stains so that you don’t have to change them every season.
While most Patio furniture seat cushions are able to stand the sun damage, the top layer protection wears off in the years to come. When buying patio furniture seat cushions and covers for your furniture, pick up styles with zippers or look for snaps that usually make the fabric removal easier.
Pretreating stains on patio furniture seat cushions are very important. The stain remover type that you should use is determined by the stain type – tannin, protein, oil, dye, or combination of any of these. The crucial thing while cleaning the covers is giving the procedure its due time required for it to work.
Tree Sap– Often described as a combination mark, tree sap stain requires detailed treatment. Initiate the process by handling the waxy constituent of the stain. This can be started with the help of a pre-treater. You can also use any stain remover. Once it is pre-treated, rub it using a heavy-duty liquid detergent. Scrub the stain gently and rinse it with hot water. Wash the cover with hot water and see the magic.
Grass –For removing grass stains, it is necessary to pretreat the mark using a heavy-duty liquid detergent. Use a soft brush to apply the detergent onto the damaged area using a soft brush, rinse it properly and then let the cover soak in a solution made with warm water and all-fabric oxygen-based bleach for minimum one hour before washing it off.
Mildew–A growing organism, mildew has the tendency to attach itself to cellulosic like cotton, linen, and fibers. It weakens and damages the fabric by eating up its fibers. It is thus very important to eliminate mildew as it can spread and make its way to your home. In order to get rid of mildew, it is extremely important to treat the dirt or mark with a liquefied detergent. Allow it to sit on the fabric for a minimum of15-20 minutes. Then wash the fabric using hot water. You can also put chlorine bleach on bleached as well as white cotton to help restore whiteness. Oxygen bleach, on the other hand, is used to remove stains on colored fabrics.
Sunscreen– Pretreating, in this case, is extremely crucial. Use a dense liquid detergent or make a paste by mixing powder detergent in water and allow this mixture sit on the patio furniture cushion cover for minimum 30 minutes, it can be kept on overnight as well. Then clean it as usual.
To remove food stains, including sauces, coke, watermelon, etc., use the best suitable detergent, in accordance with the fabric type, to treat the stain.
Washing Patio Furniture Cushions
For patio furniture seat cushions that should not be washed in the washer, spread them a plastic tarp or on the patio, and then rub on a little elbow grease. You can also make your own soap by mixing water and detergent. This mixture should be applied top to bottom with the help of a soft scrub brush. Remember, it should be applied in small sections or the covers would bleed fast.
Keep rinsing until the time soil is not cleaned. Ensure that the cleansing agent solution does not desiccate the fabric. Rinse only once the stained part is washed thoroughly as multiple rinsing can take off the color.
In order to ensure that patio furniture cushions dry completely, spread them in the heat or sunlight. You can also hang them from the clothesline to ensure that all the water drips away. It is a possibility that thick cushions might take a few days to dry out, so wash these on a hot, sunny morning to avoid problems of mildew.