# Cleaning boat cushions



## BillA98272 (Feb 14, 2013)

Slowly working on this old boat and I'm a newbie. Time to clean v-birth and seatee cushions. I'm not sure if hosing them down is a good idea. The boat has sat since 2008 and they have been kept dry. There isn't any real mildew smell or anything like that. They are a heavy upholstery material not sunbrella and not sure what type of foam is inside. Anyome have pointer on cleaning them?

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## sailak (Apr 15, 2007)

We have taken ours to a local business that does carpet and upholstery cleaning and had very good results. The cost to get the v-berth mattress cleaned was $80. I figure they have the knowledge, experience and equipment to do the job so it's worth the cost. It's a once in a while thing, I don't need the skill.

I'll save my skills for the routine maintenance and repairs on the boat.


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## mark2gmtrans (May 14, 2013)

As long as the foam inside is not deteriorated you can take them to the car wash that you put quarters in and pressure wash them. Use some nice smelling Gain Joyful Expressions type stuff, the detergent and then the fabric softener, and make sure you rinse them out well with the pressure washer. Then when you are done, take them and prop them up somewhere in the nice sun and let them dry, you can squish the water out of them first, but they should dry in a nice day. I do this with boat cushions, car seats and interior carpet,my foulies, and my coveralls from work, and other things you would not think it would work on, of course I have my own pressure washer, but the quarter car wash will be just fine and a lot cheaper than $80.00 each. Just don't lay them on anything nasty, like the concrete floor in the was bay, or anywhere you will get grease on them.


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## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

I don't think I'd pressure wash those. A cockpit cushion, yes. But not the interior cushions. For those, I'd probably take the covers off the foam and hit them with an upholstery/rug cleaner.


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## mark2gmtrans (May 14, 2013)

jimgo said:


> I don't think I'd pressure wash those. A cockpit cushion, yes. But not the interior cushions. For those, I'd probably take the covers off the foam and hit them with an upholstery/rug cleaner.


You might not, I would, have, and did more than once and they came out looking great. You cannot hold the tip really close on them, and yes they will get soaked, but foam will dry out very nicely.


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## jimgo (Sep 12, 2011)

If that had been tried on my old cushions, the fabric wouldn't have survived and it would have taken months for the foam to dry (since transporting them back and forth to the boat was difficult due to their size). Glad you had better luck.


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## mark2gmtrans (May 14, 2013)

jimgo said:


> If that had been tried on my old cushions, the fabric wouldn't have survived and it would have taken months for the foam to dry (since transporting them back and forth to the boat was difficult due to their size). Glad you had better luck.


That was why I said that as long as the foam was not going to dissolve, I guess I should have said that about the fabric too LOL. I was going under the assumption that the cushions and covers were worth washing to start with, but if they would come apart obviously you would just have to go the other way and have new covers made. I know a couple of people who have had to have new covers and cushions made, a couple of them went with memory foam cushions. One couple, who have a Morgan Out Island 41' which they bought used, and every single cushion in it was just rotten, it was not cheap, but the memory foam is soooo comfortable.

I am glad you were able to get yours done and not have to replace them.


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## XDLaser (Jul 15, 2013)

you can probably get away with hosing them down and washing with a mild detergent, mix a small amount of detergent into a 5 gallon bucket, hand wash, spray them down, then let them dry out really well before you put them back in the boat


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

When cushions are washable (can't tell from the description), I use Woolite. If that isn't good enough, you probably need new covers.


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## dvuyxx (Jun 23, 2009)

If the covers are removeable why not put in the clothes washer on gentle? Just air dry afterwards. Sometimes foam takes too long to dry and can get musty. Better to air out the foam and spray with a deodorizer like Febreeze or sprinkle with baking soda.


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## Philzy3985 (Oct 20, 2012)

My boat was un-used for almost 2 years, and smelled dirty. I practically soaked mine with a couple bottles of febreeze spray at night, and left them out in the sun the following day in the driveway. It was an anti-mildew spray too so I felt alright about it.
In the middle of the drying-day I took a shop vac to them, very slowly, thinking it was getting out dust and dirt and helping to suck some of the moisture out. By the end of the day everything was dry and back in my boat, smelling good, and feeling better.

I will note:
A) Pulling the interior cushions on a 30' boat took up the entire bed of my truck and all of the floor space in the garage. 
B) Don't let any dogs that shed nearby for the whole process. 
C) If I wasn't pressed for time & money I would've had a professional carpet/upholstery cleaning company do a whole thing with them.
D) It's been almost a year and I'm very pleased.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

I used to wash our cabin cushions each Spring using a steam cleaner (smaller one used for upholstery) as I did not want to soak the foam. Works great.

This year the wifey took the covers off and washed them on gentle cycle and air dried them, testing one first to see if they would shrink or not. They didn't.

After, I treat them with 303 or Scotch Guard fabric protector.

For the cockpit cushions I like soft scrub with bleach, usually done on the pier so I don't remove any wax from the cockpit coamings


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

You can rent one of those carpet cleaning machines, and get the upholstery attachment. This is what they use to clean car interiors (seats and carpets). The machine will spray the upholstery with hot water and detergent and vacuum it out, leaving the cushions relatively dry. 

I've done a few car interiors with those machines, and next time the boat needs doing that's what I'll use.


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