We recently got a new couch from one of the other tenants in our building who was moving out. We were very excited to get this (for free!) because we have always wanted to take advantage of the space that we have with an “L” couch or sectional. We can finally sit all 3 of us on the couch, which is great, and we are really loving it.
One thing that has been bothering us is the couch cushions. They weren’t the cleanest, and had a lot of pilling in a couple places. (For those of you who don’t know, pilling is when small beads of fuzz appear along the surface of the fabric over time.) So, one day while procrastinating per usual, I decided to give the cushion covers a little refresh. Here is how it went!
First Step: Cleaning
First, I removed the cushion covers and washed them on a warm cycle with lots of detergent and lots of Downy Unstoppables scent booster! I could tell right after they came out of the dryer that it made a huge difference. They looked a lot fresher and brighter in color.
Second Step: Shaving Fabric
A great tool for “shaving” pills and fuzz off of fabric is this POWLAKEN Lint Remover and Fabric Shaver, which you can get for $10 on Amazon! It’s a great little tool for small projects, but is a little tougher when working with large pieces like couch cushions. It’s worked really well on my wool winter jackets and linen throw pillows. If your couch is ginormous, a higher quality machine is probably best (try this Steamery one, which you can get at Nordstrom for $50).
This machine is a safe, easy way to remove pills. It has razor blades inside the protective cover and has a small vacuum inside of it to collect the fuzz. Once you turn it on, all you have to do is run it over the fabric in small circles and watch the pills disappear! Once you’re done, you can remove the plastic casing and dispose of the fuzzies. It’s super simple, effective and easy.
Third Step: Touch-Ups
This step is optional, but because I had the tools, I decided to go for it. If you have fresh razor blades, you can use these to touch up small spots that the machine missed. I will usually either grip the razor blade with a cloth (or you can wear gloves) to protect yourself from getting cut. The razor blade does the same thing as the machine, just on a smaller, more precise scale.
Fourth Step: Refresh!
This step is also optional, but let’s face it, it’s the most fun. After shaving the covers and putting the cushions back on, I doused the couch with Febreze Fabric Refresher. (Did anyone else not know that Febreze only has one E in it? Totally thought it was Febreeze…)
The whole process (not including wait time for the washer/dryer) probably only took about an hour! It makes such a huge difference, and our couch looks as good as new!
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