old country house blog

BAD…TO WORSE….

Let me preface this by saying that 
I know we are talking about a sofa here.
No one is dying here and everyone is in one piece.
I have perspective,
 trust me there are plenty of “real” issues to keep the balance.
That being said…
I am JUST SICK about my sofa.
I think It is ruined.
and I think…..

I ruined it.

….this is what I did:
first, I just took all the cushions off, the two that got muddied and
the other two so they would be the same amount of faded, 
if indeed they did fade.
I decided that I could put a pillow in front of the body of the sofa 
slipcover and did not want it to look shabby, which is what could happen if I washed it.
The cushion washed okay. 
     The stain required two runs through it never came out and in fact, the mud got on the nice clean cushions so I ended up with 4 kind of dirty looking cushions.
Oh and did I mention, the color no longer matched the body of the sofa.

PLAN B
Now I decided to read all of the suggestions and some recommended using tide powder and making a paste and applying that to the stubborn area,
and letting sit for 1-3 hours.
Someone else suggested oxyclean and the online chat rooms swore by it so I decided to combine the suggestions, make a paste out of oxyclean and apply it
for one hour.
In the meantime I put the body of the sofa in the washer 
with oxyclean. 
The body washed up fine, I dried it for 15 minutes and then put it back on damp so it would stretch back on and then I put the cushions in the 
washer with the paste.
When they finished I went to check on them and found that the area I
 had pasted, was MUCH whiter than the rest of the cushions, like it was stained
white…or like when you spill bleach on your jeans.
no problem, I tried to tell myself, I ran it through TWO more times, with oxyclean in the whole wash. 
I then took the wet cushions outside and lay them on a big sheet in the bright sun, to dry and hopefully bleach out all over.
When I put them back on, I found that the white stain is still very prominent and
on one of the cushions, there is a hole developing along the zipper from being washed and beaten up for two days.


This is as far as I have gotten. 
I put the cushions back on and I really can’t imagine that this is going to get better. New slip covers from Pottery Barn, which is where the sofa is from, are 
1/2 the cost of the sofa. I can’t do that.
I just am so bummed.
I wish so bad I had just turned the sofa cushion over!!! No one would have been the wiser and I would not have a blotchy, shrunken, pilly, holey
sofa that I got 3 weeks ago.


12 thoughts on “BAD…TO WORSE….

  1. Oh my. Surely, of all the people out there in blog world you are not the first to have problems like this…I don’t think everyone else has been telling the truth about their white slipcovers. =/ I definitely would call PB and see about a replacement since it is basically new and you have only washed it a few times. Can’t hurt. 🙂 I feel your pain over your pretty slipcovers and your wallet. Ouch. I think we’ve all had something similar happen at some time or another.

  2. I know you say you’ve put it through a lot over the past couple days as far as washing goes but holy cow…it shouldn’t be ripping at all! Id call them and see what they say. That’s a lot of money to spend for something that cant take the washings(especially when the purpose of a white slip covered sofa is to be able to wash it as much as you need to).

  3. I am sorry it didn’t work for you–I have never used Oxyclean so I don’t know what’s in it with out reading the label. My assumption is Oxyclean must contain a bleaching compound to leave such a whitened area. What concerns me most is the fabric should not be ripping after several washes! Can the fabric be repaired? Is it holes or tearing at seams? If the seams perhaps you sew it? And apply the Oxyclean paste to the cushion to even out the whiteness. Once you get the cushions an even “color” you could then do a tea wash or dye wash on both cushions and cover to get a more uniform color match.

  4. I am an owner of all white furnishings 3 large dogs and two cats.and 3 kids. My love.for.white slip covered couches is second to only my husband. I always use.bleach..and hot water. I have all IKEA ..and really have no rippage until 45 or so washings. I’m so so sorry this happened..and really think PB can send a replace cover…also if all else fails, try IKEA..maybe try have a somewhat fit. You didnt ruin them…BTW, the digs did. And your.perfectly normal in your.reaction:)

  5. I echo the call PB calls. And the idea to do a tea stain.

    If that fails, try Big Lots. I’ve gotten new slipcovers there for a fraction of what I’ve paid elsewhere. You might have to go a few times to find exactly what you’re looking for, but in the meantime, you’re bound to find a bunch of good deals.

  6. I have a white slipcovered sofa and chairs, two large golden retreivers, teenager in the house and red Georgia clay to deal with. I bought a relatively inexpensive slipcover ( compared to Pottery Barn ) at Target and I have washed the couch covers a gazillion times and they have not torn or gotten holes. PB should not be falling apart this soon even after many washings. My chair covers are even older than the couch slip ( I have replaced that once in 12 years – I mean … it is white!) and they have just started to wear and pull apart at the seams. The stain isn’t PB’s fault but their product should hold up better. The point of white slips is to wash them – a lot!! A lot of people in ATL have the Ikea couches and white slips ( because we have an Ikea) and also Ballard slips because they are here and I don’t know of anyone having them wear that much in 3 washings. And is all else fails… you are a great artist – buy some textile medium, mix up some paints and swirl on a subtle whitish on white pattern to camoflage the spot. You can do it!!! Marcie

  7. At this point, the fabric can’t take much more. Oxyclean will start causing holes; especially if you use it to spot clean areas over and over. Since the discoloration is limited to the cushions, I would grab the sewing machine and make covers for those. You could actually just remove the one stained panel and re-sew a new panel in. If the fabric is plain canvas, then you should have no problem matching it up. Heck, Home Depot sells huge pieces (known as painters canvas), for about $10! I’m rooting for you though as I have 4 kids and know absolutely how you feel right now.

  8. Oh Leslie, I feel your pain. I agree with Mollie’s mom, use your creativity to doctor them in some way- maybe even sew patterned fabric panels over the cushion fronts. At the same time, mount a campaign to find a replacement slip cover on ebay, big lots or target. It will be okay eventually.

  9. Lesli….the Ikea ektorp covers fit the Pottery Barn Couch. I have the svanby beige and I love it. I’m sorry that has happened to your new couch. Try looking for slipcovers on eBay.

  10. WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!! So I had the bright idea to purchase a full sized PB sofa from a discount PB shop in Layton, UT with the full understanding that there would be no tag or paperwork that would accompany said sofa. And I bought it in cream. And I have four children. What was I thinking??? I will tell you. LOL I actually was able to keep the sofa (uncovered) in pristine condition for the first year and nine months before I totally ruined it.
    We moved from Salt Lake to Seattle and lost sq footage and the sofa that was purchased for the formal living room now became the sole sofa in our tiny living room. So, I thought I would outsmart the inevitable accident and slapped a flat sheet over the cushions to protect them from some unforseen accident. Since I allowed no children in the living room with any drinks or food or pen or marker or crayon or anything that could transfer colour, I thought I was safe. Oh no. It wasn’t in the stars. LOL
    So I fell asleep on my lovely sofa and my five year old came to me with a blue pen that she had taken away from her ten year old brother, who had the pen in the living room. She handed me the pen and I was so exhausted, I fell asleep w it in hand. And when I woke, I found ink on my arms and hands and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. THEN it dawned on me. I jumped up off of the sofa, praying that what I suspected, just wouldn’t, just couldn’t be true. Atlas, there on my sofa cushion, was a huge blue blotch from a permanent pen. Before I panicked too much, I looked on the internet and tried hairspray. It was recommended over oxy (If I had had oxy on hand, we would be in the exact same boat) and guess what. It didn’t work. It simply bled the ink out into a little blue river, making it’s way across the rest of the cover. Bad to worse.
    So, I took to the sink and spot soaked it w hairspray. I tell you, I must have used nearly a whole $20.00 can of Big Sexy Hairspray. Well, true to name, I simply received some Big Sexy ink spots that “Stayed and Played”! I truly hope you are laughing w me at this point because I think we feel each others agony right about now. LOL What else could a girl do but try some dye? So after some research and some blogger that said she had dyed her PB chair slipcovers using iDye, I cross referenced with Tulip and Rit dye as well as some other crazy methods such as using spices, mustard and even berry. So I ordered the iDye on Amazon and bought an extra pouch just to make sure that it took. Hang on ladies, we are getting there.
    After following the directions as close as possible for something as bulky and large as a slipcover and zippered pieces, I was pretty proud of myself because hallelujah, it looked like it was working. Um, yeah no. This dye dyed everything BUT my slipcover. It dyed the metal on my white washing machine, it dyed my laundry room door (don’t ask, I don’t know) and it dyed me. As for said slipcover, well it’s light grey, dark grey, even some green splotches in there somewhere. But not an ounce of Gunmetal Grey is to be found.
    I have decided that I will not be beaten, oh no! Round three is right around the corner. I just need to get up the gumption to tackle the huge scope of this next project, “Fix my PB slipcover”. What am I going to do you ask? Wait for it… I am going to paint the darn thing. 😀 Did you know that you can paint any cloth thing w latex paint? That’s right, Bher or whatever it is called, Martha Stewart, anything. Just think of the colours one can achieve. Well, hypothetically anyhow. And besides. It looks good in my head. LOL
    You simply mix the paint w fabric medium (Joann Fabric) and acquire a spray bottle, dampen the material w water, then sponge the paint on. You let the first coat dry for 24 hours, then do another. They say that your fabric turns out slightly like leather. Not super leathery, but a pleasant leather feel. You can actually look on Pinterest for “Painted armchair” and you will see a beautiful teal chair armchair (wingback) w black legs used as a ladies sitting chair. This blogger has the best tutorial that I could find and it’s actually quite beautiful.
    To make a long story short, I think you should patch your slip cover from the inside out and join me in a painting party. 😀 I have decided I am going to find the most beeeutiful colour of red and get to painting. I am actually quite excited! Hope your slipcover issue works out, I would love to hear about it. Oh and btw, the Ektorp slipcover from Ikea only comes in a loveseat sleeper size w two cushions or the full with three seat cushions and three back cushions. Sigh! Curses, PB! Mine is falling apart as well, along the seaming by the zippers. 🙁 Good luck!

Comments are closed.