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Drying Couch Cushions?

About a week ago we came across a free sectional sofa! After shampooing the couch and soaking the cushions with Oxt Clean it's almost like new. However, I have had the cushions out on the porch drying for about 3 days now and the "core" of the cushions are still wet. Any suggestions on how to get them to dry faster? I'm afraid that they will get mildew inside them. Can they be put in the dryer?

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Any suggestions would be great!

Molly

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By (Guest Post)
May 5, 20050 found this helpful

If the porch is not heated, the cushions should be dried inside the house. There could be humidity in the porch which slows drying.

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By ronsan (Guest Post)
May 6, 20050 found this helpful

Use a hair dryer.

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Anonymous
June 19, 20190 found this helpful

Depending on the material the cushion is made out of, the electrical hair dryer can melt it.

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By Joyce (Guest Post)
May 6, 20050 found this helpful

If it is nice weather outside & sunny i would put them out there for the day bring in at night & put back out there the next day until they are dry.Works for me.

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By Allison (Guest Post)
May 6, 20051 found this helpful

We had the same problem once. I bought an electric knife and sliced the cushions open but not quite all the way, kind of like a hot dog bun. Then I propped the cushions open over the a/c vents in the house for a few more days and they finally dried out.

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Cutting them open this way did not affect being able to sit on them.

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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 170 Posts
May 7, 20051 found this helpful

Depending on the weather conditions, lay a thin towel or something like that on your car hood to protect it, and gently place the cushions. Make sure the car is in a sunny location. Turn them occasionally. Check with the owner of the car first, since some people don't like anything placed on their car. The hood of the car gets really hot in the sun, and anything placed on it will dry fast.

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August 28, 20060 found this helpful

I am having the same problem and nothing is working any other suggestions??

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By Dia. (Guest Post)
January 31, 20080 found this helpful

I put mine in the dryer on LOW head & check it every 15-30 minutes to be sure it wasnt melting... ;)
It was a tight sqeeze but it stayed vertical the whole time & air was able pass to both sides.

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I was very careflu not to let the cushion contact the back of the dryer.
Then I flipped it every hour-ish so the other side would be closer to the heating element.

The water was forced to the edges from the constant rotation... and then it dried.

Took hours.. but it dried.

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June 8, 20100 found this helpful

Well likely your cushions are too big for the dryer and the hood of a car will take just as long to dry, and slicing the cushion will affect the quality of the seat. I found poking a few holes in it then inserting a small straw works to help get air in the center.

A normal straw will be to small so I shaped thin cardboard straws then inserted them to allow the wind in them while they are outside. I've dried my cushions without the straws before and it took a 10 days. I've dried them with the straws and it took 4. Hope this helps.

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September 6, 20140 found this helpful

I'm more confused than ever

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Anonymous
March 25, 20160 found this helpful

Okay I think I got one. In my house we have a return vent for the air handler at floor level. I turned the fan of the air handler on and then placed the wet cushion in front of the vent.

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This way the air handler fan pulls air through the core of the cushion. I'm going to leave it like this for a few hours and then see if it is any lighter. Wish me luck.

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March 25, 20160 found this helpful

Okay I think I got one. In my house we have a return vent for the air handler at floor level. I turned the fan of the air handler on and then placed the wet cushion in front of the vent. This way the air handler fan pulls air through the core of the cushion. I'm going to leave it like this for a few hours and then see if it is any lighter. Wish me luck.

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August 8, 20160 found this helpful

My dog had an accident on 2 of my couch cushions. I took the covers off and washed them separately. I then took the cushions outside and sprayed them with the hose and put some upolstery shampoo on each and just stepped on them squishing the soap through, than I rinsed the same way. This was 6 weeks ago and they still aren't dry!

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They've been in the sun, by the dehumidifier, and I rotate them. I thought they had finally dried the other day and put them on the couch only to find out the bottom of the couch was soaked by morning....not sure how to get them to completely dry....I'm ready to toss the couch!

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December 1, 20160 found this helpful

6 weeks and they're still not dry!!?! I really hope that doesn't happen to me. My couch is brand f****** new and my buddy had an "accident" after a night out. I paid 2,000 less then 2 weeks ago for this couch haha

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Anonymous
September 10, 20170 found this helpful

Going through the same! I feel your pain

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Anonymous
December 16, 20160 found this helpful

Get a decent wet vacume and vacume it from all sides. wet vacume can suck water from far corners of foam depending on its type it will establish air pathways inside for speedy drying.

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Normally what takes 7 days to dry will dry out completely in 2 days if placed in an airy room.

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August 12, 20171 found this helpful

I am having this problem now. I figure the challenge is to move the water from inside the cushion to the exterior where it can evaporate. Here's what I'm trying right now, so... DISCLAIMER this is not a proven method (yet!) :)

I put towels above and below the cushion, and then... drove over it with my van :D I did this in stripes until I had driven over the whole cushion. The towels are soaked which means I got some water out. I'm going to let it sit in the sun until it's dry to the touch and then repeat, probably with more than one layer of towel. No sign of permanent change to the cushion's shape since the weight is only applied briefly. And it's fun!

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Anonymous
September 18, 20170 found this helpful

Funny!! But I am about ready to try it!!

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July 28, 20190 found this helpful

A few tons of rice will draw out all moisture

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October 9, 20180 found this helpful

I had the same problem; 3 days in full sun and wind and the damn 6 inch thich couch cushion was still damp at the core. Seriously ! ! ? So frustrating. I took 2 8x4 foot plywood boards, made a sandwich in my driveway with the cushion in the middle, and proceeded to run it over, and over and over...and over, until I felt satisfied. And it worked. After leaving it in yhe office propped up with a fan on it, it was a dry a day later. (!)

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July 28, 20190 found this helpful

A hoover can probably do the job. But you'd have to use a plastic bin bag in the Hoover so it collects the water. Use tape to strap on the plastic bin bag inside Hoover. Then Hoover all moisture out. Should work.

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August 1, 20200 found this helpful

Having same trouble and am going to give this a try. Also saw a guy on video use a giant syringe to inject deodorizer into cushion corners, put the cushion in a garbage bag as well and tightly around vacuum nozzle to duck the air out ( kind of like those space saver vacuum bags).

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Home and Garden Cleaning FurnitureMay 5, 2005
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