Outdoor Throw Pillows: Cleaning and Pillow Care

Outdoor throw pillows are likely to be attacked by mold as well as mildew due to the fact that most of the time they are left outside regardless of the weather condition. For example if it rains, the outdoor throw pillows are likely to get damp thus becoming a perfect place for mildew to breed. In case your outdoor throw pillows are small in size, you can simply clean them using a washing machine with an addition of bleach to ensure that the mildew is removed.  However, if your outdoor throw pillows are large enough, it will be necessary for you to clean them using your hands. This is how to go about it:

• Ensure that you have all the necessary things to facilitate the cleaning process. These include: sponge, laundry detergent, water, lemon juice, bucket and a laundry detergent as well.
• Make some preparations by ensuring that you have taken all the covers from your pillows and wash them separately.
• The next step to put some water in the bucket and mix it with soap. To acquire an even mixture, stir it thoroughly using your hand in order to make it sudsy.
• Scrub the pillows one by one using the sponge as hard as you can until you are assured that the stains caused by mold and mildew are long gone. The aim of the laundry detergent is to kill the mildew and mold and at the same time ensuring that the stains are broken down completely.
• In case there are any stains remaining on your pillows, use the lemon juice to remove them. Cleaning the pillows does not mean that all the stains will be driven away, there might be some pale stains remaining on the pillows which you can remove using the lemon juice. Lemon juice works well as it saturates the stains thus removing them permanently thus making your pillows have a new look.
• Rinse your pillows in clean cold water. Avoid using hot water as this can cause some damages to your pillows making them to wear out quickly. Gently squeeze then to remove any excess water. By doing this, the feathers on your pillows will have a stronger smell than before. However, this will eventually fade away as soon as they dry up.
• Once you are sure that the pillows are well cleaned and have the perfect appearance that you anticipated for, you can dry them in the sun. The good thing about drying the pillows under direct sunlight is to make the remaining stains to be lifted up through the help of the lemon juice. Here the light from the sun will be acting as a catalyst.

To sum it up, it is necessary to wash your outdoor throw pillows once in a year.  Washing them on daily basis may shorten their lifespan. However, for the pillow covers, you should wash them weekly in order to remove the extra dirt on them as they are used outdoor.