Laundry and dry clean
Laundry and dry clean
Outdoor cushion cleaning in Sydney is a spring job, because the damage happens over winter when nobody is looking. Cushion covers are cleaned from $15 and larger lounge covers from $40, with prices rising by size. Most outdoor fabric is solution-dyed acrylic, which cleans well, but mould and sunscreen need different treatments. For a quote, email info@washmate.com.au.
Sydney entertaining moves outside from October and stays there until autumn. The cushions that have sat on a balcony or under a pergola since April come out grey, speckled and faintly musty, and a scrub with a brush usually makes the fading worse rather than better.
Three things at once. Damp settles into the foam and stays there, because outdoor cushions are thick and dry slowly. Mould grows in the seams and piping where water sits longest. And UV keeps working on the colour even in winter, so the fabric fades unevenly depending on which side faced the sun. Add pollen and leaf tannin and you get the grey-green film people try to scrub off.
Yes, and most come up far better than expected. Solution-dyed acrylic has the colour locked into the fibre rather than printed on, so it tolerates proper cleaning well. The important part is the process: the right chemistry for the mould, controlled temperature so the cover does not shrink away from the foam, and full drying so nothing goes back damp. Covers that have perished from years of sun are a different story, and we will tell you.
Foam is the part that holds the problem. If the inner has been wet repeatedly it may carry mould through its whole thickness, and no amount of cover cleaning fixes that. Outdoor foam should be quick-dry reticulated foam that lets water pass through. If yours is ordinary upholstery foam that has been rained on, replacing the inner and cleaning the cover is usually the right answer. We will say so rather than cleaning around the problem.
These are the stains that arrive once the furniture is in use. Sunscreen transfers from skin to fabric and leaves orange marks on pale covers as the chemical filters react. Insect repellent containing DEET can soften some synthetic coatings. Red wine, sauce and sunscreen together make a summer cushion look far worse than it is. Most of it comes out when the cover reaches us before the mark is baked in by sun. Our summer stain guide covers the first ten minutes.
Never use chlorine bleach on coloured outdoor fabric. It strips the colour unevenly and weakens the fibres so they tear at the seams next season. Do not pressure-wash a cushion cover, which forces water into the foam and drives the weave apart. Do not scrub mould with a stiff brush, which spreads the spores across the fabric. And do not store cushions damp over winter, which is how the problem starts.
Bring cushions in or under cover when it rains, and stand them on edge afterwards so both faces dry. Store them over winter in a dry place rather than a damp shed or an uncovered balcony box. Clean them at the start of the season rather than the end, so the fabric goes into summer without last year’s mould already in the seams. It is less work than it sounds and it doubles how long a set lasts.
Cushion covers are from $15 and larger outdoor lounge covers from $40, with prices rising by size. Picnic rugs and outdoor blankets are from $45. Heavily mould-affected or faded covers are quoted after inspection, because the condition changes the work and sometimes the honest answer is that it is past saving. Pickup and delivery runs across Sydney metro seven days from $15 per order, covering the whole set. See the pricing page.
Most households clean one or the other and end up with a mismatch, because outdoor and indoor cushions get swapped around all summer anyway. Sending both together means one pickup fee and a matched result. Our couch and cushion cover guide covers the indoor side. If it is fabric, ask. Send a photo or a list and we will quote it, or see our dry cleaning service.
Market umbrella canopies and fitted furniture covers can usually be cleaned if they come off their frame, and they are quoted after inspection because size varies enormously. Shade sails are generally too large and too structural for garment cleaning, and we will say so rather than taking the job. The test is simple: if it unzips or unclips and fits in a bag, send a photo and we will tell you.
Outdoor pet beds collect everything a cushion does plus hair, and they are usually the smelliest thing on a patio by the end of winter. Removable covers clean well. Beds with sealed, non-removable filling are a different proposition and often past saving once mould is through the inner. Send the cover rather than the whole bed where you can, and we will quote after inspection.
Early spring, and the reason is practical rather than promotional. Outdoor cushion cleaning in Sydney is busiest in October because that is when courtyards come back into use, so booking before the rush means a shorter wait. More importantly, cleaning at the start of the season removes a winter of damp and mould before summer heat bakes it further into the seams. Cleaning in autumn, just before storage, is the second-best option.
Yes. Most outdoor fabric is solution-dyed acrylic with the colour locked into the fibre, so it tolerates proper cleaning well. The key is controlled temperature so the cover does not shrink away from the foam.
With the right chemistry for the fibre, not a stiff brush, which spreads spores across the fabric. Mould in the seams and piping is normal after a Sydney winter. Mould through the foam itself usually means replacing the inner.
Cushion covers are from $15 and larger outdoor lounge covers from $40, with prices rising by size. Picnic rugs are from $45. Heavily affected covers are quoted after inspection.
Usually, if the cover reaches us before sun bakes the mark in. Sunscreen is an oil stain with chemical filters that turn orange on pale fabric, so it is treated as oil first and discolouration second.
Early spring, before the entertaining season. Cleaning at the start removes a winter of mould and damp, and sends the fabric into summer clean rather than leaving the problem to set for another year.
Outdoor furniture spends winter collecting damp and spring looking tired. A clean set of covers resets the whole courtyard. Cushion covers are from $15, outdoor lounge covers from $40, pickup and delivery runs across Sydney metro seven days from $15 per order, and every price is confirmed after inspection. Book online, email info@washmate.com.au or call 0403 861 744.
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