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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

ikea ektorp sofas with white covers...

13 replies

treacletart · 30/05/2011 11:19

We're thinking of getting a couple of two seater ektorps with white covers and one spare cover set - with an 8yo DS and 4yo DD, am I crazy to think I might not be continually washing/ironing covers?

OP posts:
kreecherlivesupstairs · 30/05/2011 11:29

I don't know about the colour, ours is dark brown and another yellow one. They start out looking great but after a month or so, the back cushions are buggered.

K999 · 30/05/2011 11:37

You'll be forever cleaning them and then they start to look grotty. I had a chair with a White cover and it was kanckered in about 6 months. I do have the red covers though and they have lasted well. Smile

ggirl · 30/05/2011 11:41

we have a 3 seater and 2 seater
the 2 seater is curreently sporting a white cover , the arms are quite mucky and I really need to wash it soon
the white covers also have a tendency to shrink ime so putting back on a bit of a pain
but they are cheap
i cover mine with cream throw and wash that regularly so it'sonly the arms that get dirty

btw our back cushions are fine ,had for a few yrs

ggirl · 30/05/2011 11:42

i just bought the green svanby cover for the 3 seater and it's lovely ,also have the red cord one for 3 seater
much better quality than the white ones and worth the extra ££

FreakoidOrganisoid · 30/05/2011 12:06

I have the cream covers, wash them maybe once a month. Could get away with less but i am fussy!

treacletart · 30/05/2011 17:16

so you think is a bit optimistic?? Oh dear -was really hoping for a few "oh yes its gorgeous and its a doddle to clean" posts.. what a shame - i'm not so keen on the other covers - don't think they do a cream one anymore...

OP posts:
LCarbury · 30/05/2011 17:21

Not easy to clean but what other sofas do you like? As to me ektorp + replacement covers for c.£30 twice a year is cheaper than other sofas I liked.

FreakoidOrganisoid · 30/05/2011 17:40

They are easy to clean, just need doing fairly often.

Brightredstar · 30/05/2011 17:46

are they comfortable ?

Cutiecat · 30/05/2011 19:17

We have a white ektorp that has had face paint, chocolate, red wine, cat pee everything on it. It is a hassle to change it all but it comes up great with a bit of bio powder. My top tip is to put the base cover on when slightly damp.

As for comfort our oneis a bit hard but i sat on one in store the other day and it seems softer. Maybe they have changed the seat pad firmness.

ggirl · 30/05/2011 23:17

Ours is really comfy ,the white covers shirink though and and the base cover is a bugger to get back on. Have had one zip break.
You can buy non ikea covers for them ,google ikea covers and there are a few companies that do them.

LordOfTheFlies · 02/06/2011 10:09

I've got an Erktop 3 seater and armchair.
Started off with royal blue set and terracotta embossed pattern style covers( to change summer and winter) Had to throw out blue as getting really scruffy( about 5 years old)

I would LOVE white covers but:
Worry about quality-the white ones are quite a bit cheaper.
Have 2 DCs 11&9- manky little critters
They are a pain to wash and dry.I think mine can wash at 60 but I use 30 or 40 depending on how dirty. Cannot tumble dry but I line dry and finish off in the tumble drier.
Its like a WWF contest to get the 3 seater cover back on!
The covers at the Ikea store that I like are dry clean onlySad

JaneTheCake · 15/12/2011 07:43

Whatever you do, don't bother trying to dye them with Dylon machine dye if they get stained! We tried on a chair cover. The results were patchy and had small dark spots. The colour, supposedly a pale beige, came out a sort of orangey digestive biscuit shade, in spite of using exactly the correct weight of dye. Dylon customer services responded:

"Dylon dyes are formulated with the colour pigments to make up the over all colour, by using part of a pack of dye the formulation has not been correct.

Sofa and chair covers do have to conform to BSI standards and this does mean that they are treated with a fire retardant. The special finish used can interfere with the dyeing process. IKEA covers are normally fire and match resistant and the there will be a care label stating this.

We are sorry that you did not achieve the result you expected, unfortunately we are unable to offer a solution in this instance."

No help there, then! Since there are no warnings in the instructions that (mandatory!) fire-retardant finishes can alter the results, and the bit about partial packs is utter nonsense from a chemistry standpoint, it looks like Dylon is simply unsuitable for the task. I have seen in other forums that people HAVE done this successfully, but I think the IKEA material was changed a little while back, which could have affected results.

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