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Can sofa cushion covers be washed? Here’s what you need to know.

The sofa or couch of your living room represents the overall expression and the feel of the space. If the cushions and throws are not clean, they destroy the look of your living room. So, if you want to keep updated and refresh the overall vibe of your living space, you need to take care of cleaning and maintaining sofas and their pairing items like sofa tables, etc. If you are struggling with the question, Can sofa cushion covers be washed?” The answer to that question is complex because of the multiple factors discussed later in this blog post. 

Factors helps to decide “Can sofa cushion covers be washed or not?”

1.  Read the label 

If you are wondering whether sofa cushion covers be washed, the first and most important step is to check the label to see if they can be cleaned by washing. These labels are attached to the different spots of the sofa to which the cushion cover belongs. Most of the time, these small labels are attached under the seat cushion of the sofas. However, these labels can guide you on how to clean or wash these sofa cushion covers. 

2. The fabric of sofa cushion covers

Sofa cushion covers are available in different types and textures, so it depends on the type of fabric whether these sofa cushion covers be washed are not. Here, you also need to be well aware of the key element, which is whether the fabric of the cushion cover of the sofa is shrinkable or not. If the fabric of your sofa cushion cover is shrinkable, then it is hard for you to reuse it. Some fabric ideas relating to sofa cushion covers are given below which help you to evaluate the right fabric type that belongs to your sofa cushion cover. Knowing the fabric type can also help you to wash sofa covers without shrinking. Few example of sofa fabric are given below.      

Velvet sofa cushion covers

This sofa cushion cover is loaded with lush texture. It can be washed but not preferred to be washed in a machine. You can wash it out of the machine with your hands.

Cotton sofa cushion cover

It can be washed with water, maintaining the temperature from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. You can get idea of cotton sofa cushion with the following picture.

Can cotton sofa cushion covers be washed
Image credit : Pexels

Polyester sofa cushion cover

Normally, it can be washed in machines, maintaining the temperature from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. However, the fabric types mentioned above may vary based on the textures, so the best way to clean or wash them is to follow the label information attached to them.

3. Cleaning Codes

There is a tag attached with the name of the label code to each type of fabric, also known as the cleaning code. These cleaning codes are the best and easiest way to evaluate “Can sofa cushion covers be washed or not?” because the product maker knows well about its product’s pros and cons. Let’s dive a little more into the details.

W

W is the first letter of the water alphabet, which indicates that you can only clean the sofa cushion cover with a water-based solution. There are many products available in the market for cleaning sofa cushion covers. So, don’t take the risk of cleaning it with a dishwasher or hand wash.

S

This alphabet indicates that you can only clean this sofa cushion cover with a liquid-based solvent without using water with it. The ingredients of this solvent typically contain some value of alcohol.

S-W

These alphabets create more options for you. You can clean your sofa cushion cover with a water-based solution or a solvent-based solution, or you can use a combination of both liquids.

X

This code indicates different impressions according to its presentation. It means you can’t have the option to clean the sofa cushion cover with any solvent; you can only vacuum it or brush it.

The above-mentioned detail indicates that if the sofa cushion cover has cleaning codes attached to it, then you don’t have the option to wash these covers. The only choice is to clean them, but sometimes cleaning codes are labeled to guide you. If you want to clean the cushion cover, then follow these codes. Otherwise, you also have the option to wash them. If you conclude that cushion covers belonging to your sofa can be washed then other questions will be raised as given below.

sofa cushion covers can washed by kit
Image credit : Pexels

How to wash sofa cushion covers through the washing machine   

Once you have decided that your sofa cushion covers are washable, the next question that comes into mind is how to wash these sofa cushion covers. Following are the best and briefly explained ways to wash or clean the sofa cushion covers. Every sofa cushion fabric is not washable or machine washable, but, if the fabric belonging to your sofa cushion cover is machine washable then you can easily wash it by following the below given professional cleaning steps.

1. Vacuum the sofa

In the first step, you need to vacuum the whole sofa, especially the sofa cushions after putting off their covers. This step is useful in removing unnecessary crumbs and loose threads and avoiding them getting stuck in the machine.

2. Remove and put these covers in the machine   

In the second step, you just need to put off the sofa cushion covers and then throw them into the machine. In the next step add dye-free cleaner and use a gentle cycle to wash these covers.

3. Put the covers back on the cushions

Once you have washed the covers with the machine, in the next step you need to put them back on the cushion after drying them.  The step is normally ignored or people become lazy with this step, but if it is not timely followed your whole effort may be wasted.  The drying process will be explained more in the next heading.

can sofa cushion covers be washed machine
Image credit : Pexels

Can sofa cushions be dry in the dryer?

If you want to dry your sofa cushion covers in the dryer then you must be well aware of the label attached to these cushion covers. This is because some fabrics of the cushion cover may shrink, and you can’t be able to put them back on the cushion. However, there are two types of dryers commonly used, if the label attached to the cushion prohibits you from using a dryer, then you may use an air dryer to avoid shrinking the fabric of the covers.

How to wash sofa cushion covers without a washing machine?

You can easily wash the sofa cushion cover outside the machine. Infect this method is the most recommended method. This method is proactive because there are fewer chances of damaging the fabric of the cover in this method. By using this method, you have more chances to preserve the original texture of the cover fabric. You must know the fabric type before washing because it is impossible to brush every type of fabric (wool) while washing without a machine.

In this process you need to dip down the sofa cushion covers in the laundry tub for approximately 30 to 45 minutes by adding relevant laundry cleaner. Then in the second step, you may brush these covers if required, otherwise, wash them with fresh water. As a last step, you can either dry them through a dryer or you can dry these covers in your home-based gardening space. This same process is recommended for you to wash couch cushion covers without a washing machine.  

Final thoughts

If you put some effort timely into maintaining the cleanliness of the sofa cushion covers, then you don’t need to wash these covers for a long-term period. It is compulsory not to ignore these cleaning labels attached to the sofa cushion covers before deciding whether these can be washed or dry-cleaned. 

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