Material
Cushion cover
A removable cover over a separate pad. Removing the cover makes it a laundry job, and the pad has to be checked separately.
- SurfacePorous
- WashingMachine
- Colour run riskMedium
- Reviewed7 September 2026
What cushion cover can and cannot take
- Heat Use with care
- Water and soaking Tolerates it
- Acids, including vinegar Tolerates it
- Strong alkalis Tolerates it
- Solvents Use with care
- Chlorine bleach Use with care
- Abrasives Use with care
Always test on a hidden area first and let it dry before you treat the visible mark.
General rules for cushion cover
Unzip it, take the pad out, and check the pad. Sick that soaked through the cover is now in the filling, and cleaning the cover alone leaves a smell.
Wash the cover according to its own label. Most are cotton, linen or polycotton and take a cool wash with biological detergent.
Dry it fully before putting it back. A damp cover on a dry pad makes the pad damp, and a damp cushion pad smells within days.
Check the label
Take the cover off before doing anything. That single step turns a difficult upholstery problem into an ordinary laundry one, and it also lets you check whether the pad underneath has been reached.
Stains on cushion cover
- Baby sick Take the cover off and remove the pad before doing anything else. That turns a difficult upholstery job into...
- Blood Blot first, then use cold water and a tiny amount of compatible detergent. Work from the edge, rinse or blot...
- Body oil Blot cushion cover, pretreat a permitted washable patch with liquid detergent, rinse and use a cool labelled...
- Breast milk Blot and cold-rinse a label-approved washable item. Use your compatible biological liquid detergent and a per...
- Bronzer Lift loose bronzer from cushion cover before it is rubbed in. Blot cream bronzer, follow the material or care...
- Coffee Blot first. If the label permits, gently rinse cool water through the back of the mark, supporting the fabric...
- Concealer Lift the concealer, flush Cushion Cover from the back with cool water, pre-treat the oily residue with one dr...
- Cooking grease Lift and blot cooking grease from Cushion Cover, absorb the oil, pretreat both sides with washing-up liquid f...
- Deodorant Rub a fresh white deodorant mark off cushion cover while it is dry. For residue that remains, follow the care...
- Hair dye Blot hair dye from Cushion Cover, test the mildest compatible cool detergent route, clean inwards, remove res...
- Lipstick Lift lipstick from Cushion Cover, work from the reverse with a drop of washing-up liquid, rinse cool, wash to...
- Motor oil Blot motor oil from Cushion Cover, absorb the residue, pretreat both sides with a little washing-up liquid, w...
- Nail polish Lift free polish without rubbing. A small mark on plain washable compatible cloth may respond to the linked l...
- Period blood Lift any tissue with a spoon edge, then blot. Use cold water and a tiny amount of compatible detergent for th...
- Pet urine Blot until nearly dry, then use only the cool-water quantity cushion cover can tolerate. Use a labelled pet u...
- Sweat Rinse fresh sweat from the back of Cushion Cover with cool water, pretreat retained residue, wash to the care...
- Tomato sauce Lift tomato sauce from Cushion Cover, blot from the edge with a tested cool detergent solution, remove residu...
A cushion is two items and only one of them is easy.
The cover is ordinary laundry
Once it is off, it is a flat piece of fabric with a care label, and everything that applies to cotton or linen applies to it.
The pad is not
Feather, polyester fibre and foam pads all hold liquid and dry slowly. If the sick soaked through, the pad needs treating or replacing, and pads are inexpensive.
Zips and trims complicate the wash
Piping, tassels and metal zips distort and rust. Do up the zip before washing and use a mesh bag for anything trimmed.
Shrinkage matters here
A cushion cover is cut to fit a pad exactly. Even slight shrinkage from a hot wash makes it difficult to get back on, which is another reason to keep the temperature down.
Sources
What we checked and when. Where a manufacturer instruction disagrees with anything here, follow the manufacturer.
-
How to remove stains from baby clothes, Persil UK
manufacturer
UK manufacturer guidance to act quickly on formula, blot when immediate washing is impossible, rinse under cool water, soak for at least 15 minutes where the care label permits, pre-treat with detergent and then wash to the care label.
Checked 7 September 2026
-
A guide to newborn laundry, American Cleaning Institute
trade body
Cleaning trade body guide to pre-treat breast milk, formula or spit-up with an enzyme stain remover, soak fresh marks for at least 30 minutes and older marks for several hours, launder, and keep stained items out of the dryer until the mark has gone.
Checked 7 September 2026
-
Textiles care and maintenance, Herman Miller
manufacturer
Furniture manufacturer's textile care document: soak a stain up immediately with a soft absorbent cloth, do not over apply water or any liquid because excessive wetting can permanently damage the material, avoid rotary brush attachments and vigorous rubbing that break fibres, do not use hot water because it sets stains, and steam cleaning is not used on these textiles.
Checked 7 September 2026