Hygiene outdoor cushions before using them is essential to ensure comfort and health: between dust, mold and bacteria, hygiene is often more neglected than you think.
When placing tables and chairs in the garden, you immediately think of giving a pass to the floor, removing the dry leaves or removing the dust from the armrests. But the cushions? Those remain there, silent and deceptively soft, as if it were enough to shake them a little. In reality, it is enough to touch them to realize that something does not return: a strange smell, a stain that appeared from nothing, that suspicious rigidity that seems to say “you have not treated me well”.
It often happens to pull them out of the first sun, perhaps taken from the desire to relax a little, without even thinking about it too much. Still, a damp or dusty pillow can ruin all the pleasure of the moment. Before sitting, therefore, it is worth making a little check. If the fabric is opaque, if the padding creak under the fingers or if the smell reminds more of a closed wardrobe than a spring day, perhaps it is appropriate to intervene. Nothing dramatic, but not even to ignore.
Because sanitizing outdoor cushions is really important
There is no need to be maniacal maniacs to understand that the outdoor cushions peer everything: sun that fades, wind that brings dust, rain that bathes and does not always evaporate completely. Even when they are taken carefully, the humidity still finds a way to slip between the seams. And with her there are molds, Stantii smells and, in the worst cases, unwelcome invisible guests. After all, you lie down above, the children are leaning, sometimes even the face. And if the fabric was too much time indoors, perhaps in a box where they also stopped other objects, the idea of an ie getoons becomes almost obvious. It is believed that it is enough of a little fresh air to put them back in sixth, but the truth is that some bacteria and allergens also nestle where they are not seen.
Then there is the duration of the duration: a pillow kept well resists the weather, keeps the colors and remains soft. And honestly, what taste is there to sit on something that looks like a piece of coated cardboard? A little attention makes all the difference.
How to clean and sanitize outdoor cushions: the best methods
The temptation to launch everything in the washing machine and hope for the best is strong. But with outdoor cushions, you can’t always. The linings are often not removable, and some materials do not like hot water at all or intensive cycles.
Better to take a moment, observe the fabric, maybe read the label (yes, just the small one that always ignores). Each pillow has its own needs, and making mistakes method means risking having to throw it after only one season.
Don’t panic, though. There are several ways to sanitize them without stress and without ruining anything. Just a little common sense, some products that you already have at home, and the right time to devote.
Here then the most effective, simple and within everyone’s reach:
- Bicarbonate: It spreads on the dry pillow, let it act for 15-20 minutes and then aspires. Excellent for neutralizing smells and absorbing humidity.
- Water and vinegar: a warm mixture with a drop of neutral soap, to be buffered with a sponge. Rinse carefully and the fabric returns fresh.
- Steam cleaner: ideal for resistant fabrics. The hot steam penetrates deep and sanitizes without the need for detergents.
- Sun drying: fundamental. Never leave the cushions wet or in the shade: the sun dries them and disinfects them naturally.
- Preliminary test on a hidden area: always recommended. Each fabric reacts in its own way, better not to risk bad surprises.
What to do to keep them clean for longer
Once the cushions have returned fresh and soft, the real secret is to keep them like this. It is not necessary to become paranoid, but some precautions really save time and nerves.
For example, use waterproof pillowcases. They are not all rigid or plasticous as you imagine, some are even beautiful to see and were washed in a moment. Or take them every evening, even if there is no rain in sight. A breathable container, one of those who make the air pass but keep out the humidity, makes miracles.
Even letting them take air from time to time is a good idea, especially if they are not used every day. And a weekly sprinkling, perhaps while watering the plants, helps to keep dust and unwanted guests away.
We tend to think that, being outdoor furniture, they can be treated with less regard. But then there is enough an evening with friends, a snack in the garden or a moment of relaxation with a good book to understand how nice it is to lean on something really clean. Perfumed, even.
So why wait for them to become unmanageable? With a few gestures and a minimum of constancy, the cushions remain beautiful and welcoming throughout the season.
After all, ten minutes are enough to avoid an hour of washing tomorrow. And the pleasure, that, feels immediately.
Photo © Stock.adobe
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