How Do You Clean Patio Furniture Cushions and Pillows?
Your patio furniture cushions and pillows will get dirty. That’s a fact. The real question is, how do you clean them? Just because they’re always outside doesn’t mean they always have to be dirty.
All-weather fabric that is found on outdoor cushions and pillows can be a little tricky, so it’s important to take the time to clean them correctly. We put together some tips so you can quickly and easily clean your patio cushions, pillows, and rugs.
If you want to avoid cleaning your patio cushions and pillows, it’s worth looking into patio furniture covers!
Frequently Asked Questions About Cleaning Patio Cushions & Pillows
Read the tag—follow care directions. Some covers can go on a gentle wash and air-dry. If the tag doesn’t allow machine washing, use the hand-cleaning method below. Want fewer cleanups? Consider furniture covers. Patio Productions also carries cushions in easy-care Sunbrella fabrics.
Yes—quick vacuuming lifts loose grime. A fast pass removes dust and debris so your soap mix can work better. It also prevents grinding dirt deeper into fabric while scrubbing. Simple step, cleaner results—Patio Productions approved.
Mix ¼ cup dish soap in 1 gallon of water. Don’t pour soap directly on fabric. Blend the solution in a bucket, then apply with a sponge. This gentle ratio cleans well without residue—our go-to for routine refreshes.
Saturate, scrub, then let sit 15 minutes. Coat cushions and pillows generously with the soap mix and scrub thoroughly. Allow about 15 minutes of dwell time so the solution lifts body oils and stains before rinsing.
Hose thoroughly; towel, then sun-dry. Rinse until all suds are gone. Blot with a towel and let pieces air-dry in direct sun to help prevent mildew. Sun-drying finishes the clean with a fresh feel.
Use a 50/50 vinegar-and-water pretreat. Apply the mix to the stain, scrub, then rinse and sun-dry. It’s a simple, fabric-friendly boost when regular soap isn’t enough.
Shake often; spot-treat—don’t scrub—stains. Prevent buildup by shaking out dirt regularly. Clean with the same dish-soap mix. For serious stains, blot with salt, dish soap, and shaving cream; then sun-dry to deter mildew.
Depends on the fabric — Sunbrella yes, most others no. Sunbrella’s official mold treatment calls for 1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water, and the solution-dyed acrylic handles it fine. For most other fabrics, bleach will strip dye and weaken fibers. When in doubt, the borax or vinegar approach gets the job done without the gamble.
Anywhere from a few hours to two full days, depending on fill. Quick-dry open-cell foam can be ready in a few hours of direct sun. Standard closed-cell foam holds water much longer — 24 to 48 hours is realistic on a warm day. Stand cushions on edge to speed things up. Press into the center before putting them back on furniture.
Air dry is the right call for most outdoor fabrics. Dryer heat can shrink fabric, stress seams, and damage zippers. It can also permanently set any stain you didn’t fully rinse out. Even if the care tag technically allows low heat, air drying outside gets you the same result with zero risk.
Supplies Needed:
- Vacuum
- Dishwashing soap
- Sponge
- Vinegar (optional)
Before You Clean Anything: Know What’s Inside Your Cushion
Not all outdoor cushions are built the same inside, and that matters before you soak them with a hose. There are two main fill types:
Quick-dry / open-cell foam — the good stuff. Found on higher-end cushions. Water drains through rather than pooling inside. It still needs time to dry, but you’re talking hours instead of days.
Standard closed-cell foam — essentially a sponge. Water gets in and stays in. If you’ve ever picked up a cushion the day after rain and thought “why is this still soaking wet,” this is why. These need the most drying time and the most care about standing them upright afterward.
Not sure which you have? Quick squeeze test after hosing: quick-dry foam springs back almost immediately; closed-cell stays compressed and heavy for a while. Worth knowing before you decide how aggressive to get with the wash.
Patio Furniture Cushions and Pillows
1. Check the tag
The first step you’ll want to take is to check the tag for washing instructions. If there’s information about washing your pillow and cushion covers right on the tag, you can stop reading right now! Most instructions will tell you to wash on a gentle cycle and let air dry. If that’s not the case, keep on reading.
2. Vacuum
Next, you’ll want to vacuum your patio furniture cushions and pillows. This may sound a little funky, but a quick pass-over with a vacuum will help remove any excess dirt and grime. This will make your life a little easier when it comes to scrubbing your pillows.
3. Mix your soap/water
We don’t recommend adding dishwashing soap directly to your pillows. It shouldn’t need to be applied directly. We recommend mixing a quarter cup of dishwashing soap with about a gallon of water and mixing.
4. Scrub your cushions and pillows!
Start scrubbing, and don’t be shy! You’ll want to coat your cushions and pillows with your soap mixture. Feel free to go a little crazy with the sponge dunking and scrubbing. Wax on, wax off, whatever floats your boat. The goal is to saturate the material and then let it sit for about 15 minutes once saturated.
5. Rinse
Once 15 minutes have elapsed, grab a garden hose or your preferred method of rinsing clean the soap mixture off your cushions and pillows. You’ll want to make sure that all the soap is rinsed off.
6. Dry
Give the material a light towel, dry, and then let air dry in the sun until completely dry. Drying in the sun is recommended to avoid any potential mildew.
The Inner Moisture Problem (This Is Where Mildew Actually Starts)
Here’s the thing nobody tells you: the outside of a cushion can feel completely dry while the foam inside is still soaking wet. Leave it lying flat, it looks fine — and three days later you flip it over and find mildew has been doing its thing the whole time.
The fix is almost too simple. After rinsing, stand your cushions on edge. Lean them against a wall, a fence, the back of a chair — anything that lets air circulate on all sides and gravity pull moisture down and out. Lying them flat works too, but you have to flip them and it takes longer.
Standard foam fill can take 24–48 hours to dry completely in good sun. Quick-dry foam moves much faster. Either way, press into the center before calling it done. If it still feels cool and dense in there, give it more time before stacking or storing.
If you’re dealing with a particularly tough stain, apply a 50/50 mix of vinegar to the stain, scrub, rinse, and dry.
Mold vs. Mildew — and How to Actually Get Rid of It
The rug section mentions mildew in passing, but it deserves a fuller treatment. Here’s the distinction:
Mildew is the flat, powdery surface growth — usually gray or white. Unpleasant, but relatively easy to deal with. Mold is darker, fuzzier, and means moisture has had real time to settle in. Both smell. Neither will ruin a cushion if you catch it early.
For mildew on most fabrics: dissolve 1 cup of borax in a gallon of hot water, scrub with a stiff brush (not a sponge — you want friction), let it sit for 15 minutes, then rinse well and dry in the sun. Borax doesn’t just clean; it inhibits regrowth. For anything stubborn, straight white vinegar applied undiluted kills most mold species on contact. Let it sit a few minutes, scrub, rinse thoroughly.
For Sunbrella specifically, diluted bleach is the manufacturer’s own recommendation — details in the next section.
The one rule that matters above all: dry completely before covering or storing. Cleaning mold and then sealing moisture back in under a furniture cover is just starting the problem over from scratch.
Cleaning an Outdoor Rug
Cleaning an outdoor rug is a similar task with just a few smaller differences. One of the best ways to prevent having to clean your rug is by shaking out the dirt that settles into it every once in a while. The longer you leave it sitting with dirt and grime on it, the more likely you’ll find mold and mildew to start to accumulate.
When it comes to cleaning, a similar mix of dishwashing soap and water will do the trick. If there are any serious stains on the rug, don’t scrub it, that will only worsen the stain. Try blotting with salt, dishwashing soap, and shaving cream to remove the stain.
Once you’re satisfied with the cleanliness of your rug, let it dry in sunlight to prevent mold and mildew.
Sunbrella Cushions: What the Manufacturer Actually Allows
Sunbrella is solution-dyed acrylic, meaning the color runs all the way through each individual fiber — it isn’t printed on the surface. That construction is why it doesn’t fade. It’s also why Sunbrella is one of the only outdoor fabrics that can handle bleach without consequence.
Their official formula for mold and mildew: 1/4 cup bleach + 1/4 cup mild dish soap per gallon of water. Apply, scrub, let sit 15 minutes, rinse completely. Most fabric manufacturers want you nowhere near bleach. Sunbrella says use it.
For machine washing Sunbrella covers: cold water, gentle cycle, no fabric softener. Air dry only — no dryer heat. Sunbrella can also be spot-cleaned directly on the cushion if you’d rather not pull the cover at all.
One thing to keep in mind: all of this applies to the cover. The foam fill inside is still foam, and none of these rules change what happens if it stays wet.
Machine Washing: When Yes, When Absolutely Not
Back to that tag check in Step 1 — here’s the fuller picture.
Removable cover with no foam inside: machine wash is usually fine. Cold water, gentle cycle, mild detergent. Close the zipper before tossing it in. Air dry afterward — heat can shrink fabric, warp zippers, or set remaining stains permanently.
Cover with the foam still in it: no. Foam holds water for days inside a sealed drum, and agitation can shred open-cell foam or permanently deform standard fill. Remove the cover first, or hand wash the whole thing.
Non-removable cover: hand clean in place, hose rinse, long outdoor dry. No shortcuts here either.
If you’re not sure whether your cover unzips, check along the back seam. A lot of cushions have hidden zippers that owners never find. The foam almost always pulls out easily once you go looking.
Finishing with a Fabric Protector
Once everything is clean and fully dry, this is the step most people skip. It’s also the one that makes the next cleaning job significantly easier.
Most outdoor fabrics leave the factory with a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment — it’s what makes water bead up and roll off rather than soak in. Cleaning wears that treatment down. After a full wash, most of it is gone. Reapplying it takes about five minutes.
303 Fabric Guard is the gold standard for outdoor cushions — it’s what Sunbrella endorses by name. Scotchgard Outdoor is a solid backup. Spray evenly over the dry fabric and let it cure for a couple of hours before putting the cushions back to use.
When to reapply: after any deep clean, or when you notice water soaking in rather than beading. Once a season is reasonable for regularly used furniture. Skip it and your cushions will let you know about it the next time it rains.
At Patio Productions, we pride ourselves on carrying pillows and cushions made with Sunbrella fabric, the highest quality outdoor furniture cushion material available. Make sure you check what kind of material you’re dealing with when shopping for pricey patio furniture.
