Hi all, I am planning on making new cushion covers for my boler, but I was wondering what others have done. 80% of the covers on my existing cushions are in good shape, just old and smelly, the rest are bleached or otherwise damaged.

I'm trying to decide if it is better to steam clean the existing ones, then cover over the existing fabric, or to remove the existing fabric and somehow launder the foam before recovering, or to just get new foam cut and start from scratch? I don't want to spend a fortune here, but I want to do it right the first time. What have other's done?

The least expensive part of any cushion is the foam. Cutting them is not very easy though. If you decide to go that way, I have heard from many that the best way is with an electric knife (an old one purchased from a flea market or thrift store).

It is also one of the hardest parts to clean properly. Yes, I reused my old foam. Truthfully, though, foam is one of the worst source for allergens...according to an allergist. Just think of it as a sponge that soaks up everything....

... better yet, do what I do and don't think about it. ;)

If you decide to wash them, just make sure they are 100%, totally, without a doubt dry. Otherwise you will have a mildew problem.

Before I'd put any water on them, I think I would vacuum them very well, leave them in the sun for several days, them vacuum them again before recovering them.

Just my opinion.

A little hint I remember seeing in a sailboat renovation book regarding covering foam cushions: before installing the covers, put the foam in a garbage bag. The bag makes it much easier to install the covers (I can vouch for that) and provides a barrier between a person and the foam that should help reduce an allergy problem.

It is better if the garbage bag is somewhat larger than the cushion, but not gigantic, however since garbage bags are so thin, I doubt it would make much difference, especially if the covers are of a heavy material.

New foam for my cushions would cost about $280, so I think I'm going to try to clean them up well, then put the new covers over the old ones.

Years ago my daughter and I stuffed foam into slipcovers and that was an event to say the least. I happened to find this place in Tulsa, Ok. that sells foam but they also taught me how to get it down to size so it is easy to cover it. This slip film is very thin sheet plastic and somewhat tougher than painters drop sheets but I think any thin kind could be used. I have used the slip film because it was sent along with the foam I ordered. This method works like magic for me. Another note... One time I got the foam inside the cover and then needed to remove it after I had already removed the slip film. I finally came up with the idea that I could just cover the whole cushion with the film plastic and when the air was sucked out of the foam the cushion cover was loose enough to remove without a tug-of-war. I did whatever I needed to do and started all over with putting the foam back inside the cover. It is good to have a 2nd person to turn the vac on and off or if the foam is large like my twin beds were. On doing this with the old foam you might want to consider leaving the slip film over the foam and just making a hole so it can reinflate itself. See the last statement made on these instructions from ATRIM.COM below.




http://atrim.com/Page4.html

STUFFING FOAM CUSHIONS
THE EASY WAY, THE WAY
FACTORIES DO (VACUUM).


FREE SLIP FILM WITH CUSHIONS


TANK TYPE VACUUM OR SHOP VACUUM


+ =
AND SLIP FILM GIVES A FINISHED CUSHION



1 - WRAP SLIP FILM AROUND FOAM LEAVING
SLIP FILM ABOUT 12" BIGGER THAN THE FOAM,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GLUE OR TAPE THE FILM.
THE SLIP FILM WILL SEAL ITSELF WHEN YOU
START VACUUM.

2 - TAKE HOSE FROM VACUUM AND PUT
NEXT TO FOAM AND TURN ON VACUUM.
THE AIR WILL START DRAWING OUT
OF THE FOAM AND SEAL OFF THE FILM.

3 - ONCE THE AIR IS OUT OF THE FOAM AND
THE CUSHION IS SHRUNK DOWN. LEAVE THE
VACUUM ON AND SLIP FOAM INTO THE COVER.



4 - WHEN YOU HAVE FOAM IN THE COVER,
SHUT OFF VACUUM AND REMOVE HOSE.

5 - CUT BACK SLIP FILM SO FOAM CAN GET AIR
AND RETURN BACK TO ORIGINAL SHAPE.

6 - TO FINISH THE JOB JUST ZIP UP OR SEW UP
AND YOU ARE FINISHED.

YOU NEED TO REMOVE THE SLIP FILM FROM
THE BACK OF THE CUSHION SO THE FOAM CAN
BREATH. YOU CAN REMOVE ALL OF THE FILM BUT
IT WORKS VERY WELL AS A VAPOR BARRIER TO
PROTECT FROM SPILLS, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW
IT'S THERE.



HOME Page

The first thing we did is get new foam. Foam does not last forever. Ours was thirty years old and getting rather flat (and stinky). Also I think, for me, it really made the trailer feel new, fresh, and ours. I also think it is worth the expense to get the best quality you can find. Foam with less density is cheaper and lasts like it.

I agree with Maggie O. about the new foam. I do realize sometimes there is just not the $$ in the budget to do it right now. Even new foam that is not the most expensive will last a good while and like Maggie says it will be new and not stinky with who knows what. If you have to put off buying something else for the trailer and go ahead and get the new foam I really think that in the long run you will be glad you did. Won't have to worry about trying to clean the foam you have and then wondering if it really is dry before putting into the new cushion covers. Another thought would be to get the new foam and delay doing the covers for a little while. You can always make some covers like pillow cases with some very, very cheap fabric if you or someone else will sew them up for you. That would give you new foam and new fabric for covers until you can do it all. Pillow case type covers can be made to fit pretty snug and with the vacuum they should give a fairly descent looking fit. Wish you were in Texas as I have a full set of Casita cushions that have never been slept on that we don't need since we made major modifications. Good luck on whatever you do.:)

I'm going to give new foam another look. Realistically, the existing foam is 33 years old, and smells like it. I can put the $ I would have used on renting a steam cleaner, soap solution etc. towards the new cushions. Also the prices I got were from upholstery shops. I will look into other places to get the foam. I seem to remember Army&Navy having large pieces of foam. Cutting it myself would probably save a fair bit of $ too.

Any other ideas where to get foam from?

Another question...for the life of me I can't figure out how they got the cover on the top bunk piece. All the other pieces have zippers, but I can't find any on this one. (Is there a reason it's made like that?)

Hi Lainey
I got my Foam from Home Hardware.

Hi Ches,
Thnaks, I never thought of looking there.
Do you remember around how much you spent on it?

Lainey,

In the US there are fabric stores that carry upholstry fabrics (i.e., Hancocks) and, usually, have all sorts of sizes and denisities. I have always found them very, very reasonable. An upholstery shop would be the most expensive place.

It should be quite reasonable.

Lainey,

Here's just one source where you might get some ideas. You can probably do better in Canada somewhere, but this will give you an idea.

It allows you to pick the density and quality. I fed some info for a 24'' x 24'' x 4'' seat cushion, medium firm, based on a person that weighs 180 lbs. It came up with two prices: Standard was about $12US and Premium was around $19US.

I know you can get a better price. Check around at outlets, etc.

But just for fun: e-foamstore

I spent about $55.00 per roll.Roll was 4ft wide and i think 6Ft 6in long and 4in thick.I then bought mattres covers and put foam in cover.I find it very comfortable.This stuff was made for camping and RVs.

Thanks a lot for everyones input! :wave

Okay, here's what I'm thinking of doing (sorry so long.... :u) :

The naugahyde and zippers on the old cushions are in good shape, so I think I will take all the existing covers off of the foam and launder them. Then I will remove the fabric from them, leaving the zippers attached to the naugahyde side. (The naugahyde just happens to match perfectly with the main plaid fabric I already had that I was planning on using for the tops :cool ) I will buy new prefinished cording and some fabric for the verticals (to match the naugahyde) as I do not have enough of the top fabric to do all the sides too, and sew away!

This way it will save me a bit of time with the zippers, and save a bit of material by keeping the naugahyde (since it's in such good shape). I will wash the existing foam and use it for this year, then buy new foam next winter.

Please tell me what you think. Is this going to work? Does the naugahyde ever break down? Since it's 33 yrs old and still going strong I have a feeling it will be here long after we're all gone.

I get all of my foam from Rochford Supply Co. in Mpls. They are really cheap and sell all kinds of cool things. They have a website (rochfordsupply.com) and you can get a catolog. It is a HUGE warehouse and sell TONS of things that are not in the catolog, so if you need something-just ask. I went through my business, so I am not sure if they sell to the individual, but it would really pay to check it out. They have alot of sales on there foam too.
Hope this helps.
Deb:wave

I laundered my Scamp cushion covers; Put them back on the foam after the spin dry cycle. Didn't want them to shrink. It took some wrestling and strong hands, but it really wasn't too bad. I put them in the sun to dry. They cleaned up great. Thankfully the foam looked factory new.

I think the trick in stuffing was to squeeze the cushions to compress their width while sliding the covers on a few inches at a time on each side alternately. Try it with one if you have doubts.


john

I haven't read this full thread but your comment brought back the memory of someone else covering the foam in a garbage bag and then slipping it in the cover. I thought that was a great trick and worth a shot next time.

only peoblem with using the plastic is they are noisy when you sit on them. or do you take them out of the bag after they are in the cover? Can you even do that? I like the squeeze and stuff myself.