Best Way to Clean Outdoor Cushions and Patio Furniture
How to clean outdoor cushions and patio furniture quickly in 5 simple steps using just 1 ingredient already in your pantry.
When spring rolls around, I wish I could toss every piece of our patio furniture in the washing machine and call it done.
Everything gets so grimy in our outdoor space, and all we want to do is hurry up with the cleaning so we can enjoy patio season!
How to Clean Cushions and Outdoor Fabrics Quickly
The ONLY reason I could ever get excited about cleaning anything is due to the anticipation that spring and brighter, warmer days are on the horizon!
But there is hope! Even if you don’t have removable covers, I use a super simple cleaning solution I swear by. All you need is a pressure washer and one household item you already have in your kitchen.
This was the state of our patio chairs covered in mildew, tree sap, and bird droppings. They had definitely seen better days.
Supplies Needed
- Soft bristled brush
- Concentrated white vinegar
- Spray bottle
- Pressure washer (or a garden hose with jet stream nozzle – less effective but it can work)
- Hydrogen peroxide (optional – for tough stains)
- Baking soda (optional – for tough stains)
- Dawn dish soap (optional – for tough stains)
The 1 Ingredient to Remove Mildew and Mold from Patio Furniture
You only need one ingredient: white vinegar.
More specifically, concentrated vinegar.
That’s it. 30% vinegar is the unsung hero of rescuing outdoor furniture from the post-winter grossness.
Regular kitchen distilled white vinegar can do the job, but if you have a serious mildew/mold problem on outdoor cushions and patio furniture, the 30% stuff can knock it right out. It’s the best way.
There are many different techniques and specialty cleaning products out there to clean patio furniture cushions, but this is proven to be the most simple and best method for us (plus, it’s cheap and eco-friendly).
We should have brought our patio furniture inside during the winter or covered them (but we’re over here handling toddler tantrums and keeping our children alive, so it didn’t happen).
The winter aftermath isn’t a pretty sight. It’s an easy fix though.
How to Remove Mildew from Outdoor Patio Cushions
Step 1 – Brush Fabric
Before you start deep cleaning, quickly run a soft brush over the outdoor fabrics in a circular motion to remove loose dirt and loose debris. You can also use a vacuum cleaner or shop vac.
Step 2 – Spray With Vinegar
It’s a good idea to check the care label on cushion fabric before cleaning it first. But chances are most outdoor use fabrics can withstand a cleaning with vinegar.
Pour straight undiluted 30% vinegar into a spray bottle. In a well-ventilated area, spritz it all over your outdoor cushion covers and patio furniture.
Let the vinegar sit on the mildew / mold stains for about 15 minutes. The vinegar will instantly kill any mildew growth.
Set the patio cushion covers in direct sunlight so the vinegar in other areas can be even more effective.
Step 3 – Treat Tough Stains
In most situations, just cleaning with the concentrated vinegar does the trick.
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Grass and Red Wine Stains
If needed, for tougher stains like red wine or grass stains, mix together hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to soak a microfiber cloth and let it sit on the stain for 10-15 minutes.
Oil Stains
For oil stains, apply Dawn dish soap to the affected area.
Step 4 – Rinse with a Pressure Washer
After allowing the vinegar to kill the mildew stains for 15 minutes, rinse with a power washer. If you don’t have a power washer, even a garden hose with a jet stream nozzle can often do the trick.
I don’t know why power washing is so satisfying, but I could literally power wash everything in my path all day long in our backyard just for fun.
We absolutely love this electric power washer that we use every spring and fall for regular maintenance to keep our backyard and porches looking fresh.
It’s mesmerizing to watch the milder / mold spots completely disappear with the swipe of that power washer.
Flip your patio furniture, outdoor cushions, and fabric over to repeat the process on the underside as well.
Step 5 – Let Dry
Set patio chair cushions and furniture in a sunny spot to drain the excess water and dry.
That’s it!
I’ve used a couple of outdoor cushion cleaning processes in the past, and this one has proven to be the most simple, most effective, and uses very inexpensive ingredients.
I’m just ready to get to living live by our pool in this DIY pergola cabana again. The rest of the backyard isn’t nearly as cute as this at the moment, but it won’t be long now.
Is it feeling a little spring=like where you are? I know we hit a weird weather spike of “fake spring” as we like to call it in the south, but whatever you want to call it, I am here for it!
If you need more help getting your outdoor furniture in ship shape for spring, here are more resources.
More Outdoor Furniture Cleaning & Sprucing Tips
How to Restore Wood Outdoor Furniture
How to Revive a Glass Patio Table
Backyard Patio Spring Cleaning Checklist
