Guide to Having White Furniture

A white couch is the last thing on your list because you have kids or pets? Well I am here to tell you that you can have a white couch with both. Here are the reasons why I love my white furniture.

White Ikea Ektorp Furniture.

We had to replace all our furniture after our home flooded in the Historic Louisiana Flood in 2016. So I of course went to researching what couch I wanted. I always dreamed about having white furniture but was hesitant because of kids. As with white pants, how would I keep a white couch clean? Kids are messy and clumsy. How would I ever keep a couch or chair white?

After much research, I came across the Ikea Ektorp Couch and Chair. I read many reviews raving how comfy it was for the price and how easy it was to keep up. Needless to say, I purchased both. The major selling fact for me was the fact that this furniture had slip covers. Slip covers that I could wash and purchase more down the road, giving to a practically new couch when needed.

How to keep white furniture white.

I waited until having lived in this furniture for over 2 years before posting any type of review. Within this 2 years, our home has undergone reconstruction with 3 kids, 1 cat, and 1 puppy. Lots of kid accidents, puppy accidents, and whatever other accidents have come its way. I can honestly say this couch and chair has held up to all of these. It is still just as comfy and practically as white as it was when we purchased it. So how exactly did I keep it white?

Maintaining a cleaning schedule.

Just like maintaining the laundry and the rest of the home, I have a flexible schedule in place for my couch and chair slip covers. Keeping a schedule helps me stay on top of it, but also because my Type A personality loves a routine. My cleaning schedule looks a little something like this:

Every 2 Weeks: Wash Cushion Slip Covers

Every Month: Wash Main Furniture Frame Slip Cover

Sometimes accidents happen before those scheduled times, hello parenthood. When this happens, I either try and spot clean or just flip the slip cover over. Never fails to have my kids spill something right after I clean the cushions. That is kids for you. If I don’t feel like flipping over the slipcover, I can always take that one cushion off and throw it in the washer. Easy peasy.

What I use to clean those slip covers.

There are so many different products you can use to keep those slip covers white. These are my go-to products for keeping them clean:

OxiClean

Tide or another laundry detergent that I have on hand

Bleach

 

I have also used non-bleach products for keeping the slip covers white. They work too, but not as good.

How I clean those slipcovers.

After removing all the slip covers from the couch and chair, I add either OxiClean or Bleach (NEVER TOGETHER) with my laundry detergent and wash on cold-warm cycle. If I have bad stubborn stains on them, I will let them soak in either the bleach or OxiClean before putting on the wash cycle. Once they are done washing, I dry all to about 90% dry. I try not to allow them to dry all the way. As with any type of cotton material, they will shrink overtime. This makes them a little harder to put back on the cushions and furniture frame.

Love my slip covers for keeping my home clean.

One thing I have learned while being a parent is kids get sick, a lot. My son a month ago had a crazy high fever virus that lasted 3 days. Well, he now has the flu and strep. You better believe I have kicked it into high gear sanitizing this house to help keep everyone else from getting it. Stripping down my couches and sanitizing those slip covers is now a possibility for me.

It is hard to believe how things were before having a white couch. It is safe to say, those extra loads of laundry and time re-slipping is more than worth it. Take it from me, you can have that white furniture and kids too 😉