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The Cutting Table · a common question

How do I wash the cushion covers, and at what temperature?

Also asked as:What are the washing instructions for the covers?Is that 30 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius?

A buyer in the US once read the 30 on our care note as Fahrenheit. It means Celsius: a lukewarm 86°F, gentle enough to keep a sage velvet sage and a cream cover cream.

Answered by

The Colorist of New Orleans ·

The quick answer

Wash cushion covers at 86°F (30°C) at most, on a gentle, delicate or cold cycle, with mild detergent and no bleach. Unzip the cover from the foam first and turn it inside out if you can. The 30 on the care note is Celsius, not Fahrenheit. Air dry instead of tumble drying, and iron on low if needed.

Sage green and cream velvet floor sofa under hanging planters and pothos, with wicker baskets, palms and a jute rugSave
An indoor jungle of hanging planters, palms and pothos frames a sage-edged floor sofa.

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Key facts

  • Maximum wash temperature is 86°F (30°C); the 30 on the care note is Celsius, not Fahrenheit.
  • Use a gentle, delicate or cold cycle; corduroy covers go on the gentle or delicate program.
  • Use a mild or extra-mild detergent, and no bleach.
  • Turning the cover inside out before washing is recommended.
  • Air dry instead of tumble drying, and iron on low if needed.
  • On floor sofas, the covers unzip from both the seat cushions and the mattresses.
  • The white non-slip bottom parts of a floor sofa must never go in the washing machine.

Have it made

Have Élodie’s workshop cut this for you

Describe the room at four in the afternoon: the floor, the wall, the one color you love. That is where a good fabric choice begins. — Élodie

Leave your details and the workshop will call you to confirm measurements, fabric, foam and piping. No prices, dates or payment on this page: it is a request, not an order.

Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you

Fabric
Use a gentle, delicate or cold cycle; corduroy covers go on the gentle or delicate…
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
The corded seam edge: matching, contrast or none.
Only for this request: no marketing calls or texts. Outside the US, add the country code.
In inches: length × depth × thickness, plus any angles or cut corners.

* Required. A member of the workshop team will call you to talk it through; nothing is charged and nothing is made until you have agreed on every detail with them.

We use these details only to answer this request and make your cushion: your name and contact details, the cushion details and photos you send, the page you came from and the ad or link that brought you, if any. The workshop that makes the cushions receives them. We don't sell them or share them for advertising, and we delete requests after 24 months. Privacy notice for requests.

Nothing is made or charged until you approve the details.

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Wash day for a zippered cover, in six moves

  1. Unzip and slide it off

    Ease the cover off the foam. On a floor sofa, unzip the seat cushions and the mattresses alike.

  2. Set the non-slip base aside

    The white non-slip base pieces never go in the machine. Wipe them by hand.

  3. Turn it inside out

    The face of the fabric then meets the drum less.

  4. Choose the cycle

    86°F (30°C) at most, on gentle, delicate or cold. Corduroy gets the gentle or delicate program.

  5. Mild detergent, no bleach

    Mild or extra-mild detergent is all a cover needs.

  6. Air dry, then press low

    Skip the tumble dryer. Iron on low if it wants smoothing.

Why 30 means Celsius, and why that keeps the color

Thirty degrees Fahrenheit would be ice water, so the question was a fair one. The number is Celsius: 86°F, lukewarm to the hand. The workshop gives the same limit for every fabric it sells, whether you bought a full cushion or a cover only.

The eye sits down first, and it notices a tired color before a stain. A cool, gentle wash keeps the sheen of velvet and the ridges of corduroy as they arrived. For more, read washing cushion covers without shrinking them, and let stain first aid deal with the soda first.

Which cover in your home is asking for the machine, my friends?

Cushion covers wash at 86°F (30°C) at most on a gentle cycle, then air dry: no bleach, no tumble dryer, and the non-slip base stays out.

Élodie
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    Can the cover go in the washing machine, and how?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes, it's removable and machine washable. Wash at 86°F (30°C) on a cold or gentle cycle with mild detergent and no bleach, air dry without the dryer, and iron on low. Corduroy goes on the gentle or delicate program.

  2. A common question

    How should I wash the linen covers on my floor sofa?

    The workshop's answer

    At 86°F (30°C) or below. The 100% linen covers go on a gentle cycle with mild detergent and air dry. The zippers let them come off, but the white non-skid bottom parts are never machine washed.

  3. A common question

    How do I wash the covers on a teddy or corduroy floor sofa?

    The workshop's answer

    Unzip the covers from both the seat cushions and the mattresses, then wash at no more than 86°F (30°C) with mild or extra-mild detergent, ideally turned inside out.

  4. A common question

    Can the covers go in the tumble dryer at all?

    The workshop's answer

    Air drying is best. If you do use a dryer on the fabric covers, choose the low setting, never high heat, and never put non-slip bottom pieces or rubber-backed covers in it.

Questions buyers ask next

Can I use a fabric protector spray on the covers?

You can apply one yourself once the covers arrive. Most of the built-in protection is washability, since covers unzip and machine wash at 86°F (30°C). The teddy fabric is water-repellent; velvet has no stain-repellent coating.

Do I have to turn every cover inside out?

It's recommended rather than required: most workshop answers suggest it, and one calls it optional. It takes seconds and keeps the face of velvet, corduroy or linen away from the drum.

What do I do with the white non-slip pieces of a floor sofa?

Unzip and remove them before washing, wash only the colored covers at 86°F (30°C), and wipe the non-slip pieces clean by hand. A little white dust shed from them early on should stop over time.