I Wish They Made Slipcovers For Sectional Couches
When you have four kids and only one main spot to sit in the house, chances are that spot will take a pretty good beating. If you are fortunate, that spot will be very easy to maintain and keep clean.
But if you're me, the likelihood is that that spot will be nearly impossible to clean. It will require at least two people and at least an hour or two of dedicated work.
Such is the case with our couch. It's a wonderfully comfortable sectional. The whole family can pile on it together and have plenty of room. And it's brown. You'd think brown would be a good color for covering up stains, but it really isn't. Either that or our kids are just exceptionally good at making messes.
In order to get the couch really clean, we have to take the covers off all the cushions and throw them in the washing machine. Easy enough, except for the back cushions that are just stuffed with filling. That is where it gets really tricky.
So Eric and I worked together to get all of the covers off. He took the difficult job of pulling all the filling out of each cushion while I just unzipped and pulled out a whole piece.
Can you see all those stains?
I had no idea that the insides of couches were so unappealing.
It took two loads, but we got all the covers washed. They turned out great too. Almost every stain came off, thanks to whatever magical formula Eric whipped up for the washing machine. Sometimes it's better not to ask.
Then we had the fun job of getting all of the insides stuffed back into the covers. When Eric was on his last cushion, we realized there was a whole lot of filling left over. So we both stuffed more into the "finished" cushions until it was all used. For some reason, Eric didn't really like my idea that we just throw the leftover filling in the garbage. He was probably right to feel that way.
This was definitely not a fun tackle, but it really was a needed one. And hopefully it's not one we'll need to repeat any time soon.
Stop by 5 Minutes for Mom to see what others are tackling this week.
11 comments:
Wow! What a big job! Maybe you should figure out a way to develop slipcovers for sectionals and you could make a mint ;-)
What a monumental tackle, good for you!
Wow, what a job!!
If you're feeling up to it, I've got a couch that could use a good cleaning like that too. lol
My Tackle It Tuesday
Oh wow!!! That is a HUGE job. I cannot believe you did it. I would have gotten to the filling and given up declaring we needed a new couch as soon as we could afford one.
Awesome job!! I wish I could do that:-)
seriously impressive. my couch desperately needs cleaning, but i can't bring myself to go through all that :-/
What a big tackle! I bet it was really nice to sit on a clean sofa last night!
Wow!! That was one tough job, but I bet all your hard work paid off at knowing your couch was super clean!! Great job!
I have a suggestion for the next time you take out all that loose stuffing, this is what I did: I made a pillowcase to contain the stuffing inside of the regular cover. You can use old sheets, they are perfect for the job. I got a couple at the second hand store for really cheap and it won't matter what they look like. Make a big pillow case using the regular covering for sizing, stuff the stuffing in and hand sew it shut. Then stuff that inside the outer covering. I figured the pillowcase will not need washing, just the outer covering. Makes things a lot easier!
If you kids (or the parents) like to eat on the couch, I'd suggest covering the cushions with an old sheet. So much easier and less wear and tear on the couch fabric.
Now that's a big job!! But I bet you were happy with the results once it was finally done!! That's how I felt with my storage area project I posted for my tuesday tackle! It was a bear to get done, but I was so happy it was done!! I hope you feel that way too! Hope it stays clean to for you!!
Onna
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