Give me your poor, your tired, your squished cushions, yearning to be firm.

September 22, 2009 5:28 PM

The cushions on our family room sofa suffers from chronic dog-induced squashing. Is there any remedy aside from getting a new sofa?

We have a nice sofa in the living room which the dogs know to avoid. But since even dogs need to kick back every now and then, we're not too strict about them lounging on the family room sofa. One of them likes to perch on the top of the backrest cushions, and since these are big and pillowlike, they don't stand tall and firm like they once did.

Since the sofa is otherwise fine (and has a matching loveseat), I'd rather not replace it yet. But I would like to somehow restore the cushions to their original glory, if you have any ideas on how to do it.

One other thing... As far as I can tell, the cushions are sealed. There's no obvious way to remove the existing stuffing or add some more, short of cutting them open and sewing them back up again.

posted by tomwheeler to home & garden (8 comments total)

A friend used to lay a floor lamp across the sofa when she left the house, so that the dog couldn't get on it. This dog was old and not likely to attempt to dislodge the lamp.
posted by nax at 5:44 PM on September 22

One other thing... As far as I can tell, the cushions are sealed. There's no obvious way to remove the existing stuffing or add some more, short of cutting them open and sewing them back up again.

My mother had this same problem, and in the end, she had to cut the cushions open and fluff up the stuffing. Good luck!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:26 PM on September 22

beat the hell out of them! a good boisterous pillow fluffing occasionally will help
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 7:05 PM on September 22

I looked at the cushions really closely just now and I found that there actually is a way to get inside of them. There's a very subtle zipper that you can't see until you move the piping back.

I'll try giving the cushions a good beating, but now that I figured out I can actually get to the stuffing, I am open to suggestions about other/better options.
posted by tomwheeler at 8:05 PM on September 22

Cushions in the dryer on no heat and a half dozen tennis balls. Bonus: give the balls to the dogs afterwards.
posted by jamaro at 8:27 PM on September 22 [3 favorites]

I looked at the cushions really closely just now and I found that there actually is a way to get inside of them. There's a very subtle zipper that you can't see until you move the piping back.

If you can't get the cushions in the dryer, and if redistributing the existing stuffing doesn't give you the results you want, buy a few bags of fiberfill from a craft store. At a buck or two a pop, it beats buying a new sofa!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:09 AM on September 23

Echoing Kenobi. Had the same problem. Had to add extra stuffing each year to keep them looking fluffy, along with redistributing the existing batting and vigorous cushion beating, as 5_13 said. Now if I could only figure out how to open the cushions on my leather sofa to correct the same problem.
posted by sarajane at 12:16 PM on September 23

Just a quick update: I gave the pillows a good pummeling and they're much improved now. If they continue to sag and this technique won't be enough to revive them, I'll try some of the other advice posted.
posted by tomwheeler at 5:08 PM on October 6