Cleaning the upholstery question

[JoeKan]

My recently purchased Alaskan needs a thorough cleaning inside and out. The cushions for the dinette set looks to be in remarkably excellent condition, no rips and not stains...until I brought it home. My son was raising the camper and he must have raised it too far because the front tube squirted oil and it got the roll up bunk bed and a part of the seat cushion. I quickly took a stain remover to the cushion but don't think it's going to come out.
I want to keep these cushions but they probably haven't been cleaned in decades. Should I have a professional upholster do this? What would be the best way of cleaning them?
Thanks for any help,
Joe

 

[wagoneer]

my opinion is not like most here, the old cushions may be cute and original blah blah, I go for simple and comfortable if you are a "restorer" then by all means do what you must. Please advise your son to pump only as high as to expose the holes wherein you can stick the pins. Live and learn. Either an "o" ring blew or?

 

[JoeKan]

How much do you think it would cost to have them re-upholster?

 

[PackRat]

Re-upholster means new foam as 40-odd year old foam crushes easily and leads to a lousy nights' sleep. Cost is dependent
on not only where you live, but if the shop is a mom-n-pop furniture upholstery shop or a high end auto/furniture repair shop.

Replace them with a stain resistant fabric and you are good to go with new foam!

 

[JoeKan]

I'm thinking about tossing them and getting new ones because I don't think I can ever get rid of the mildew smell. Does anyone know how hard it would be to do it yourself? Where would I buy the material if I choose to go this route? Or, if I had someone do it, how much can I expect to pay? The seats are 21" x 48".
Thanks,
Joe

 

[JoeKan]

i may have found someone to redo my seats. She's going to charge $90 per seat x 2 = $180 and that's for labor only. She's finding fabric for me and let me know soon and I have to call a guy on Monday about getting foam. I will probably replace the plywood too, as I'm sure it smells too.

 

[JoeKan]

Reupholstering my seats are going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $500. I sprayed them real good with Vinegar and water and let them dry the past two days in the sun. I'm praying this works!

 

[JoeKan]

Update on my seats. I'm going to bite the bullet and have them professionally done. I know of an upholster in KC that redone my seats in my classic. I'm going to take them to him because I know he does good work. I've got my girl stored in the garage but already thinking about camping.

 

[PackRat]

Just remember to let them know you will be sleeping on the cushions and as such, the foam can't be too hard or too soft. Once they know that you should be good to go...I assume you will be doing the seat and seat back on each side of a front dinette style Alaskan or if you have a side dinette arrangement you only have the seat and seat back on one side to re-do.

A good upholstery shop will also be able to source some stain-resistant material that is heavy enough to withstand camping. I think a material with a pattern is probably better than a one-color material that will show EVERY stain it gets.

Five hundred bucks sounds a bit steep, but when it comes to getting a comfortable nights' sleep and one that does not smell of mineral oil and has a pleasing new look to the seat cushions themselves, I think you are probably getting a good deal from a professional shop!

I would take the Alaskan over to the shop with the cushions still in it so they can see what they need to do and then give them to the shop.