Dear Apartment Therapy, I was lucky enough to find a barely used Twilight Sleeper Sofa from DWR at Housing Works in NYC. It came with a few minor stains that weren't that big of a deal, and I always thought I would just buy a new cover for it — it turns out that the cover is much more than I paid for the sofa. My cat and I have added to the stains over the past few years and now that I am getting ready to move, I thought it would be the perfect time to clean it. I was wondering if any of your readers have had experience with washing the cover and what their results have been. I am especially worried about a washed cover fitting over the mattress! Many Thanks, Chris
Three words: DRY CLEAN ONLY!
Even if they recommend machine washing it I wouldn't take my chances - if it does shrink you're screwed.
view Modfan's profile
you should never wash a slipcover. even if it doesn't shrink (which it very well could) it could easily shift its shape in one direction or another, making it fit incorrectly or not at all. dry clean only.
view twelveindustries's profile
/\/\ Ditto MOdfan
view bepsf's profile
"my cat and I added to the stains" HAHA! What about spot treating and hand washing/air drying? This is how I clean the covers on my sofa cushions. There weren't any stains on them, but they needed freshening. I soaked them in woolite & cold water, rinsed them in cold water, put them in the washer on spin cycle only and hung them out to dry completely. No shrinking or pulling them out of shape at all.
view dmh's profile
call a professional cleaning service - I can recommend Chem-dry
view the mem's profile
I would echo the DO NOT WASH sentiments. I did. It shrunk. And like you said, the cover is nearly as much as/or more than the original piece.
How much would taking some wholesale fabric to an upholsterer or even a clever dry cleaners to have them copy the pattern and zip up something?
view MissMatlock's profile
You want an upholstery cleaner. Macy's has a service, I'm sure there are other reputable ones as well. They'll clean on site.
They may not get everything out, but at this point I doubt anything would.
view misha bk's profile
You might be able to have one custom made that wouldn't cost as much as from the manufacturer.
view josie6's profile
At my furniture shop, we use Denatured Alcohol.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17631&cookietest=1
You can find it cheaper at your local hardware store.
view gabriel_s's profile
Oh dear, I'm afraid this can't be done, so you should immediately ship that nasty dirty sofa to ME! ;^)
(No, I didin't really think it would work.)
I don't know how well it would work but if you don't go with a professional cleaning service (which is the best idea for expensive furniture like that) then I have used Carbona carpet cleaner (red bottle in the supermarket cleaning products aisle) -- it has an attached scrub brush and I think it works well on both carpet and upholstery stains, particularly pet stains (which is why I have it around.) If the stains are mostly pet or food (organic in nature) you might also use Simple Soution, which I think is the best enzymatic cleaner I have ever used. Good luck!
view SherryBinNH's profile
Anyone know where that shelving unit is from and how much it is? I love it!
view valery's profile
I have washed it multiple times in the machine without much of a problem, on warm. I spray it with stain remover and it comes out clean. The zipper is cheap and starting to wear out from repeated use.
view mazor's profile