The Very Hungry Sofa

August 6, 2023 6:22 PM

My sofa has swallowed a lot of things, including things I'd like to have back (like pendants I've made, art supplies, etc). It's not a sleeper sofa, just a regular three-person couch that I bought at a thrift store five years ago. How can I best recoup what's disappeared inside?
posted by mermaidcafe to Grab Bag (13 answers total)

I mean, aside from just picking up the cushions and looking?
posted by kevinbelt at 6:28 PM on August 6, 2023 [10 favorites]

I have a "regular" sofa where the cushions are attached on 3 sides (front, left, right) but if you push in the back crack hard enough, you realize there's a secret "compartment", so to speak.

I figured this out when I realized there were some bugs living there!

I now vaccum this pocket very carefully when I vaccum the sofa, which I do routinely, and is not a weird thing to do at all, in any way, because everyone vacuums their sofas.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 6:58 PM on August 6, 2023 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Flip it over, sometimes there is a zipper for the fabric on the bottom of the couch to retrieve items that have fallen through. If there's no zipper you can usually pull out some staples and then re-staple it.
posted by muddgirl at 7:59 PM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

I ... do not recommend this but I realized my sofa ate something important and I couldn't get into the cavity under everything so I got a hole saw attachment that was big enough to accommodate my petite hand and got in there and retrieved it.

First I'd see if it's in the main recess and gently remove the staples that hold the lining on but in my case there was a separately constructed void where the square arms were that had ingessted my ID. This was all on the underside so nothing showed when I flipped it back over.
posted by stormygrey at 8:09 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

If it is a magnetic item, get one of those magnet grabbers-- it's like a magnet on a telescoping stick. You can get them at hardware stores, usually.

If it's not a magnetic item, you can put the hose of the vaccuum down there and then just look inside the bag to find whatever it is. Or put a pantyhose over the vacuum so it catches it before it goes down.

You could probably put something sticky down there, like a lint roller or something.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:08 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I'd expect the underside to be at best a cheap fabric covering. If you take a knife to it, no one will know. The other alternative is that the back and base are one piece of fabric, in which case if you push your hand down there you'll find the end of the fold rather than sofa Narnia.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:22 PM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

What muddgirl said - from the underside, you should be able to reach pretty much all of the interior of the sofa.
posted by dg at 9:25 PM on August 6, 2023

Often you don't even need to cut the bottom fabric, just pull out some staples or pins or whatever is holding it on the bottom or perhaps back, depending on how it's constructed.
posted by stormyteal at 6:33 AM on August 7, 2023

On many sofas of my acquaintance, after removing the cushions, you can just kind of really jam your hand in along the edges or back for a chance to win prizes.

Sometimes that prize is being cut by a rogue staple, though. You can avoid that fate by using a thin poking device or tough gloves

I mention it because although going in through the bottom as mentioned above is best, sometimes objects don't quite make it that far.
posted by Acari at 6:42 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

I just realized now that in the second comment, Soylent is describing the same thing (which can also exist along the sides, not just the back)
posted by Acari at 6:44 AM on August 7, 2023

Response by poster: I mean, aside from just picking up the cushions and looking?

Shockingly enough, I already tried that bold and innovative strategy.
posted by mermaidcafe at 10:23 AM on August 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

seconding blnkfrnk. Secure tights, or thin handkerchief, with elastic bands on the vacuum hose.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:59 AM on August 7, 2023

Turn the bugger upside down AND turn it on its side. Beyond that, you just have to do spelunking down the back. If desperate, take off the back fabric. It's easy to staple on again.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:30 PM on August 7, 2023