IKEA sofa covers - can I machine wash them?

[Melassa]

Label says dry clean only but it does seem a bit extreme, not to mention costly. We’ve had the sofa for about 14 years now and between pets, food spills and just general sweat from our boiling summers I wanted to give it a good clean. Up to now I’ve been sponging down stains but I think it needs a proper wash. Has anyone put theirs in a 30 degree wash with no untoward effects?

I also don’t have a spare set so dry clean is impractical for that too, there’s no way I can leave the sofa bare for a week.

on a side note, does anyone know where I can get replacement covers for a discontinued ikea sofa? Stupidly didn’t buy a spare set at the time.

I’ve always machine washed IKEA covers and never had issues!

There are several websites/Etsy shops that do replacement covers - I think the most popular one is Bemz. If you’re on Facebook, try the ‘IKEA tips, hacks and more!’ group ☺️

Bemz do sofa covers for IKEA sofas but I don't think they do every design. Worth checking though. Not a cheap option though.

I've always washed the cotton covers on our klippan, they tend to shrink a tiny bit.

I always was ours and they wash really nicely.

Which sofa is it? I'm sure you can get sone replacement discontinued covers on eBay

I would wash one cushion or seat pad cover first, maybe in a low temp on a gentle wash to see how it affects it.

We have had our two months and I have washed them twice. I did not look at the instructions to be honest, I assumed since they were removable they would be grand.

Thanks, I might bite the bullet and bung them in on a cold wash and cross my fingers there’s no shrinkage. I also have a steam wash option on my machine, for “hygienic cleansing”. I’m wondering if that might be an option, or if it’s worse as high heat. I’ve never used this option so no idea how it works.

the sofa is Tylosand, my friend who worked at IKEA at the time told me not to worry, they rarely discontinue sofas, so plenty of time to get replacement covers when I see a colour I like. The next year it was discontinued 😬

thanks for the tips re FB, I may wander over.

Another thing is the cushions are full of loose kapok, so even washing just the cushion covers is a palaver as I need to find carrier bags for each cushion’s contents. I suppose i could trial those first though.

Blimey! I’ve just seen the prices in Benz and Etsy for replacement covers, €€€€€€€, almost half the cost of the original sofa!

Damn, washed the cushions and one side cushion at 30° and they’ve gone all crinkly and unravelled. I’m pretty sure I washed the cushions at least once in the past, but it was my old washing machine. I put it on a synthetics wash and it must have been too vigorous or something. Currently drying outside, I will try to get the side cushion back on, maybe it will all look better once dry.

in the meantime I’ve found a Tylosand compatible set on Amazon for €275, cheaper than anything in Bemz or Etsy. Kicking myself for not buying spares at the time.