freshening gaucho & dinette cushions

[Bob Blarney]

With the return of fairer weather (and confirmation that all leaks have been sealed after a long winter of snow, extreme cold, and the deluges of spring rains), I'm ready to reinstall the gaucho and dinette. The upholstery and cushion material appear to be in good condition, but there's still a faint lingering mustiness.

Well, in a galaxy far away in space and time, I sold vacuum cleaners for a summer job. One 'trick' was to freshen (defartify?) sofa & chair cushions by placing them in a plastic bag with a few drops of fragrance (or vanilla extract), and then sucking all of the air out of them, and then opening the bag and letting them reinflate and recover their shape. It was sometimes an effective sales technique.

Well, nowadays there are more effective deodorant/fumigant treatments. Maybe I'll give it go with a hefty dose of Febreeze (or better fumigant?), and repeat the treatment several times over the course of a few days or weeks.

Has anybody already tried this?

[my3sonsdad]

I think the vinegar bath we gave our 40 yr old foam cushions worked really well. It just takes a long time to dry them out. We had no musty smells afterwards.