A number of years before hubby and I got together, he purchased some second hand furniture. It's really nice looking stuff, but an overstuffed couch and chair that have been used for a good decade and a half at least, tend to lose their ability to effectively support a person, especially when there are four rowdy kids and a dog who enjoy said furniture.
Having a tight budget, we knew our options were limited. We were desperate, so we checked one of those rent-to-own places that we've frequently purchased items through. We only go if we know we can pay items off in the first 90 days, so we don't have to pay the insane interest amounts. Unfortunately, there's no way we could afford to pay off a new living room set in 90 days, not if we expected to still have lights and water during that time.
We gave up for a bit and put the idea into the backs of our minds, tried repairing the old furniture, and that helped for a few days, but it wasn't long before the repairs came undone and we were in pain again.
A friend of mine posted on FB about some great finds she got through Craigslist, and it inspired me to check there for some furniture. I emailed a number of places and the set that we loved the most (a gorgeous corner sectional and two La-Z-Boy recliners) was still available, and when hubby called, he was able to talk them down a bit on the price! We drove about 3 1/2 hours one way to get this furniture (after spending the entire morning at my Grandmother's funeral and then reminiscing at the family farm) and didn't get home until midnight. The furniture wound up staying in the trailer overnight with just a tarp on, and it rained during the night. We knew the furniture needed a cleaning to begin with, and being micro-fiber (the polyester material that feels like Suede) we knew it wouldn't be easy.
Fortunately for me, I've been finding lots of Do It Yourself tips online lately and had recently read how to clean this type of furniture!
It was actually pretty easy.
What you need:
- A white cloth
- Rubbing alcohol
- Spray bottle
I got lucky and my spray bottle top fit right onto my rubbing alcohol bottle so I could spray directly from the bottle to the furniture.
Spray down one section of furniture at a time and rub with the white cloth/sponge, it will become disgusting in a matter of minutes, but works amazingly. Scrub one section at a time and then let it dry. Rubbing Alcohol dries faster than water and doesn't leave water marks on the furniture.
Check out these AFTER photos!
The furniture doesn't feel quite as SOFT after, so once it dries you can use a CLEAN white scrub brush and bush over the furniture to fluff it back up!
0 comments:
Post a Comment