How To Clean Outdoor Cushions Treat Mildew And Stains By Hand And Without Borax
Enjoy clean outdoor cushions all year long by washing yours at home. Treat mildew and stains with vinegar by hand or in the washing machine, without using any Borax
If youre anything like us, then as soon as the sun shines, youll head straight for the garden or whatever outside space you have. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, a good book and some clean outdoor cushions and your next few hours are sorted.
Whether you have a covered balcony turned plant paradise, or a fancy-pants patio space in your backyard thats filled with the very best garden furniture, youll know just how great it looks when its set up perfectly and filled with enough soft furnishings to make it feel like an outdoor living room space.
- Create your perfect outdoor living space with our feature for inspiration.
However, if youve had your throws, cushions and poufs for at least a year and through all the seasons, youll know all too well just how grimy and dirty soft furnishings can get with all the elements hammering them
Think mould, mildew and mud not to mention pet hair and other stuff if you have furry friends or kids around yours or not. Cushions go through hell: We sit on them, we nap on them, we hug them, we drop them, and we could go on, so knowing how to clean your outdoor cushions is a must for their survival.
Prevent Future Mold Growth By Exposing To Sunlight And Air
To prevent future mold growth you must make your home environment less friendly to mold. Where possible, increase sunlight in the room and decrease humidity. You may need to open windows more often or invest in a dehumidifier. Vacuuming the couch or furnishings more regularly will also help remove spores. If you do not change the conditions in the room, the mold will return.
Removing Mildew From Cushions
To remove mildew from your outdoor cushions, first, determine whether you have fabric or acrylic cushions.
Fabric Cushions: To clean fabric cushions, dilute a 12 cup of bleach into 1 gallon of water. Use a spray bottle to apply the mixture, then clean the mildew off of the cushion with a scrub brush. Once you have removed the mildew, rinse the cushion with water, and leave the cushions out in the sun to dry for the afternoon. For deeper mildew, youll want to repeat the process several times.
We do have one word of warning. Not all outdoor cushions can tolerate cleaning with bleach. All Summer Classics cushions are designed to resist fading in the sun, and they can be cleaned with bleach. For cushions from other manufacturers, it is very important to do a spot test before using bleach on your outdoor fabric. To do a spot test, use the mixture on a small, inconspicuous spot to make sure that the color doesnt fade with the bleach.
If your fabric fails the spot test, never fear. There is a less harsh mixture that you can use. Pour a 12 cup of Lysol into a gallon of hot water and use this solution to scrub your cushion. You can then rinse it off with a mixture of 1 cup lemon juice and 1 cup salt dissolved into a gallon of hot water.
Acrylic Cushions: For acrylic cushions, mix 1 cup bleach and 2 cups of detergent into a gallon of water. It is easiest to apply with a spray bottle. Let is set for about 30 minutes before rinsing with water.
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Expose Moldy Furnishings To Fresh Air And Sunlight
Taking your furniture outside and exposing the upholstery to sunlight achieves several objectives. First, moving the upholstery to an open area means you are not brushing off mold spores inside your home, something which isnt safe as it might encourage further spread and actually increase the number of areas that are affected.
Secondly, if you can get the furniture outside on a nice day, the natural light and breeze can help in removing the mold. The sunlight and wind help to remove moisture from your upholstery and create conditions in which it is hard for mildew to survive.
Choose a nice day with no chance of rain or high humidity and place your furniture outside, in the sunlight. If the furniture is too large or heavy to take outside, remove any part or attachment you can, like couch cushions, and clean them outdoors.
If cleaning your upholstered furniture outside is impossible, put down sheets of paper towel or something similar to catch any mess you make. After you are finished you will need to clean up thoroughly and remove any mildew infected materials.
How To Clean Mold From Wood With Vinegar
Vinegar is capable of killing 82% of the various mold species out there and is an excellent DIY wood deck cleaner. For the remaining mold species that vinegar alone cant kill, many people have found great success in pairing white vinegar with baking soda. Use one of these home remedies for mildew and mold to eliminate it from wood surfaces.
To kill mold with vinegar, pour undiluted vinegar into a spray bottle and spray the moldy area directly. Allow the vinegar to sit for up to one hour. Wipe the area clean with a damp towel and allow the wood to air dry. The smell of vinegar will linger on the wood for several hours but will dissipate naturally.
Even if you dont have any mold, vinegar is a great ingredient to use when you need to clean wood siding that may be covered with ordinary dirt and grime. It sanitizes while it cleans and leaves the surface bright and shining.
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How To Clean Outdoor Cushions
You may not realize it, but your outdoor cushions and pillows have to withstand a lot. Direct sunlight, pouring rain, dirt and dust, wine spills, greasy sunblock splatters, and the list goes on and on. While theyre constructed out of fabric made to endure harsh outdoor conditions, your cushions are still susceptible to stains and damage especially if theyre left out during winter or a rainstorm.
Weve put together a how-to guide below to help you clean up your cushions based on different types of stains and damage.
Clean Your Patio Cushions Before You Store Them
When its time to pack up your cushions for the colder months, be sure to check them for any stains or food spills. These will be harder to remove if theyre left all winter and can attract bugs. Also ensure that the pillows are thoroughly dry before you send them off to storage to prevent any mold or mildew. Waterproof storage bags are available if you dont have a completely weather-proof area to store them.
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What Is Mildew And How Does It Form
Before you start getting rid of your mildew, its worth building an understanding of what it is. Mildew is a type of mould that can form on the surface of organic materials like wood, wicker, and cotton. Primarily a plant disease that would naturally attack plants and crops, this type of mould has become extremely common in and around peoples homes. Unlike other types of mould, mildew only spreads around the surface of a material, rather than spreading up and out. This can make it easier to get rid of, but also means that mildew can spread very quickly.
Mildew will usually form when there is a lot of moisture around. In the case of outdoor furniture, this could be moisture from rain, in the air, or even water that you add into the environment. Once a spore from an existing mildew colony has made it to a damp organic surface, the mould will start to form. Thankfully, rather than causing significant damage to your furniture, mildew will usually look unsightly.
Two different types of mildew are commonly found. While this wont impact the work that goes into cleaning your furniture, it will make it easier to identify your mould if you know what to look for.
Mildew On Resin Wicker Furniture
PE-Resin wicker has become more and more popular as an outdoor furniture material due to its low maintenance, great look, ease of styling, and relatively low price.
Resin wicker daybeds and sectional sets have become ubiquitous on patios around the world.
Resin wicker is pretty mold and mildew resistant, but if mildew is present, it can be a real pain to get off due to all the little crevasses and locations that are difficult to get, and all the surfaces difficult to scrub.
How to Remove Mildew from Resin Wicker Furniture
Typically a good hose down will get much of the mildew off of resin wicker furniture. Remove all the cushions and spray down with a garden hose with a spray nozzle, or a pressure washer to attack all the troublesome little crags.
If that doesnt work, you can try wiping the areas down with a mixture of mild soap and water.
Let dry in the sun.
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Heavy Amounts Or Deeply Penetrated Mildew: Use Pressure Washer
If you have a pressure washer , and the mildew has penetrated the foam cushion or through the fabric of the pillow, then youll need a heavier duty option. Pressure washers can clean more deeply than a spritzer and vinegar, but its really easy to damage the cushion from too much pressure, so follow all the precautions below.
How to use a pressure washer to remove mold step-by-step:
Black Mold On Concrete In Basement
For black mold on concrete in a basement, start by ventilating the area well. Because youll be using bleach indoors, open a window and escape the fumes when possible. Create a cleaning solution thats one part bleach to four parts water and apply it to the concrete. Allow this solution to sit for fifteen minutes before using a wire scrub brush to clean the mold off the surface. Make sure you leave the area while the bleach is soaking to prevent breathing in fumes. Its important to wear protective gear during this process, including rubber gloves and a respirator. After youve scrubbed the area, soak up the cleaning solution and apply clean water. Scrub once more and remove all surface water. Allow the area to dry completely. If your basement area is relatively damp, use a fan to dry the floor quickly.
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Does Bleach Kill Mold On Concrete
Yes, bleach can kill black mold. Although mold grows in most surfaces with moisture, you can use bleach to kill it and fungi growing on hard impermeable surfaces. You can also use bleach to kill mold that grows on impervious surfaces like tiles and tubs but not on porous surfaces. This is because mold on permeable materials spread their roots deep. When you use bleach to kill them, you will only be wiping it from the surfaces. This means that it will re-emerge after a short while.
Cleaning Mildew From Canvas And Fabric Cushions With Bleach
The most common product used to kill mold and mildew is bleach. It can be used on canvas and other fabrics, but you risk the chance of causing fabric discoloration. Additionally, if the solution is too strong, it can even cause canvas and other fabrics to deteriorate.
If you are not a fan of bleach, you can substitute 2 cups of white vinegar OR hydrogen peroxide for the bleach in this solution.
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Does Vinegar Kill Mold On Plastic
Yes, vinegar can kill mold on your plastic furniture. It has the ability to penetrate porous materials up to the root level and will kill mold spores both on the surface of the plastic and at the root.
Bleach can also kill mold on plastic but it is not as effective as vinegar because it doesnt go beyond the surface of the material so it will only kill mold on the plastic surface, not the root. As a result, even after cleaning a plastic with bleach, the mold can still return.
The Warmer Spring Weather Is Finally Letting Us Use Our Backyards And Patios
To clean mildew from outdoor cushions, follow these instructions:
First, conduct a bleachability test by adding 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular Bleach2 to ¼ cup water and apply a drop of this solution to a less visible part of the cushion. Wait 1 minute and then blot dry. No color change means you can safely bleach the cushion. Depending on the type of cushion you have, follow instructions below:
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S For Removing Oil Stains
How Do You Keep Outdoor Furniture From Molding
preventmoldUse white vinegar to eliminate green scum from patio umbrellas.
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How To Remove Mold From Concrete Floors In 5 Easy Steps
Last Updated on January 4, 2021 by Diana Rodriguez-Zaba
Mold is a common problem in most households, but it can also make you sick. Thats why its important to remove mold from concrete in your home.
Mold, just like mildew, is a growth that pops up in damp or shaded areas. That said, can mold grow on a concrete floor? Yes. Concrete floors, with their bumpy and porous texture, is a great place for mold to thrive. If you see mold start to take hold of your concrete surfaces whether on a basement wall, or patio you need to get rid of it immediately. Otherwise, it will spread and be difficult to remove.
Keep reading to find out the best ways to remove mold from concrete.
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Tips On How To Prevent The Growth Of Mold On Your Furniture
- Allow proper airflow damp places are the perfect spots for molds to grow. If there is no or minimal airflow, your cushion will be susceptible to mold growth. Start by ensuring that there is a positive airflow around. Get a dehumidifier to blow out hot air from the room. Your humidity level shouldnt exceed 55% during winter period.
- Regular Exposure to sunlight Molds thrive in dark places. While you may like the position of your cushion outside, if there is minimal amount of sunlight reaching the cushion, molds will start to grow. The best thing to do is to adjust the position of your cushion to allow more sunlight to reach it.
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How To Clean Mold Off Outdoor Furniture Cushions
Outdoor cushions and fabric accents bring a bit of indoor comfort to outdoor spaces, but these materials can be prone to mold and mildew. Its important to invest in cushions and fabric that are not just easy to clean but engineered to resist water, mold, and mildew from the start, says Sarah Dooley, director of upholstery at Sunbrella.
Check the fabric or cushion manufacturers website for recommendations specific to their product. Bleach will harm the color of some fabrics, but others, like Sunbrella fabrics, are engineered to not discolor. Test the underside of a cushion before cleaning to determine if bleach will not harm the fabric.
Mix bleach and water according to the bleach manufacturers instructions. Spray onto the fabric surface or use a cloth to wipe the mixture onto the fabric. Let the bleach stand on the fabric for five minutes, then rinse thoroughly with clean water. To avoid water rings, clean the entire surface area of the fabric. Some outdoor cushions come with removable covers that can be laundered in your washing machine. Spot-treat as needed before washing according to the furniture manufacturer’s instructions.
