ikea's hemnes sofa with svanby beige cushions can be machine washed!

I'm here with some good news for those of you with the Hemnes Ikea sofa with the Svanby Beige cover.

Despite the wash instructions saying "dry clean only" you can wash it in your washer!

I bought this cover thinking it could be machine washed. When I realized it was "dry clean only" and called around some dry cleaner for cleaning prices (only one place said they could and a single cushion would be $8. Who knows how much for the actual sofa cover? I could buy a new, white cover for that price!) I gave up on having a clean couch until I bought a new one. 

I got so sick of looking at my increasingly dirty beige couch and just bit the bullet one day and threw a cushion in the washer. 

Guess what. It worked! 

Unfortunately, I didn't take a before picture because it was a spur of the moment decision, but here she is after. So beige and not at all brown!

Here are some things I did that I would recommend:

-Wash on cold

-Use a gentle detergent

-Do not machine dry, as it will probably cause shrinkage. 

(I haven't tested that theory.)

-I used chairs/step stools to open them

-I have a larger capacity dryer so I was able to wash three cushions at once. 

I would recommend 2-3 depending on your washer size.

Now all I have left to do is remove these pills all over the cushions.