Stopped by the Salvation Army in Phoenix last weekend and saw a burnt orange velvet couch from the 70s next to a beat up IKEA model. One had solid wood legs and real springs, the other was basically cardboard and staples. Are we better off hunting for old solid stuff or just grabbing something new that fits in our car? What do you guys lean toward when your budget is under $100?
I threw a cup of baking soda on it and let it sit for 24 hours then vacuumed it all up and now it barely smells at all, has anyone else tried that trick on a thrifted couch?
Found this nasty plaid couch at a flea market in Akron for $40. The seller told me it was 'vintage' but my buddy Dave swore it was cursed because the cushions were lopsided. I figured he was just messing with me, so I hauled it to my apartment. After a week of sitting on it, the saggy side evened out and it's actually super comfy. So did I just get lucky or are lopsided cushions a real thing that fixes itself?
Pulled an old floral loveseat off the curb in Portland last Tuesday. Peeled off the cushion cover to wash it and found a tiny tag under the foam that said 'W' for water based cleaner only. Anyone else find weird manufacturing secrets buried in their couch?
I was dragging this mustard yellow velvet couch down the sidewalk in Austin last June, heading to my apartment. This older guy waiting at the bus stop just starts laughing and says 'Hey, I had that exact couch in my college dorm in 1974.' He told me his mom bought it at a Sears and it survived three moves and a cat. I stopped and asked him if he knew anything about cleaning old velvet, and he said just use a gentle brush and never soak it. Now every time I look at that couch I think of him and his stories.
I keep seeing posts on here where people find a cool old couch and immediately flip the cushions over to hide the worn side. That's a bad move if the couch is from before the 70s. Most vintage couches have a specific top side that matches the fabric grain and wear pattern on the arms. I learned this the hard way after I flipped a 1960s sectional I picked up for $40 in Portland. The fabric looked fine for two weeks, then started fraying at the seams because the underside material was never meant to hold weight. Now I always check the back of the cushion for a tag or a subtle fade line before deciding which side faces up. Has anyone else wrecked a good find by doing this too early?
Picked up a free sectional from a lady in Bloomington last Tuesday, said it just needed a good vacuum. Got it home and found a colony of carpet beetles living in the bottom cushion. Had to toss the whole thing, then paid an exterminator $300 to treat my living room and another $100 for a steam cleaner rental. Anyone else get burned by a "free" couch that wasn't really free?
I was digging through a curb pile in Austin and counted back through my photos real quick, turns out I've rescued 100 couches over the last 5 years. It kinda blew my mind since I usually just grab whatever looks fixable without keeping track. Anyone else ever hit a random milestone like that with your couch hunting?
People say grab the first weird couch you see. I disagree. Took me 6 months of looking. Found 50 plus couches at Goodwill and Salvation Army before this green velvet one showed up. It had a cigarette burn on the arm but the frame was solid oak. Anyone else think waiting for the right couch beats settling for a bad one?
Found this sad blue velvet thing on the curb last Tuesday. It looked fine on top but the bottom fabric was ripped and I could see nests in the springs. I run a pest control company so I suited up and vaccumed out about 15 mice droppings and some old nesting material. Took the whole thing to the car wash for a pressure wash and steam clean, now it sits in my garage looking pretty good. Has anyone else dealt with critters hiding in a free couch and still managed to save it?
I found this weird orange corduroy couch on the curb near the old laundromat on Summit Street. It looked fine but after dragging it home, it had this funky smell that wouldn't quit no matter how much Febreze I used. So I tried spraying it down with white vinegar and letting it sit in the sun for two afternoons. That did the trick but now I'm worried about the faded spot on the armrest. Anybody got a trick for evening out sun damage on old corduroy?
Found this weird old floral couch at a thrift store in Austin for $40. Had some mystery stains on the cushions. My dad told me to never use bleach on fabric, said it would eat through the threads. But my neighbor across the street insisted that a little diluted bleach is fine for cotton covers. I tried the neighbor's method on one cushion first and it worked perfectly, no damage. So which side do you guys land on for stain removal on thrift finds, bleach or no bleach?
I picked up this really beat up navy blue couch from a Salvation Army in Portland back in March. It had a weird sticky film all along the back cushions that I figured was old soda spills or something. I kept scrubbing with dish soap and water but it never came clean. Then last week someone mentioned here that some thrift stores spray couches with a stain guard that gets tacky over time, and they said rubbing alcohol breaks it down. Tried it on the corner cushion and the sticky stuff just melted off instantly. Why does nobody talk about this cleaning trick? Anybody else run into mystery residue on used furniture?
Found a decent looking green velvet couch on the curb back in October, figured a good steam clean would fix it up. After three months of it sitting in my garage, I finally flipped it over and found the bottom liner completely rotted out with mouse nests inside. Anyone else ever deal with hidden damage that only shows up way after you haul something home?
Found this weird mustard yellow couch on the curb in Austin last month. Some guy named Mike in the free stuff group told me to spray it with rubbing alcohol before even bringing it inside. I thought he was being paranoid but did it anyway and like 30 dead bugs crawled out of the seams. Then he said to replace the foam because old couch foam traps sweat and smells even after cleaning. I didn't listen and now after 3 weeks my living room smells like a gym locker. Anybody else had to re-foam a curbside find even after a good clean?
I see everybody on here recommending steam cleaning for every single curb couch, but I found a 70s floral print sectional last week and tried it. Steam just baked the old stains into the fabric, made them look worse. Had better luck with a $8 spray bottle of diluted dish soap and a stiff brush, scrubbed it outside for 20 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with old polyurethane foam that just disintegrates when you hit it with heat?