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My new boat came with very nice cushions. They're in mint condition and, much like The Dude's rug, they "really tie the room together."
I also have a 3 year old and a 1 year old that we take sailing with us.
I've tried various iterations of laying towels down before they eat and trying to get them to eat in car seats (which we have installed for rough weather underway) all to no avail. The kids can/do/will spill anything and everything on the nice cushions. As a guy who is not used to having nice things (or kids) I'm not sure what to do.
I was thinking some kind of industrial Scotch-Guard kind of product that I could buy by the gallon and dip the cushions in. Do y'all have any ideas? I've also thought of cushion covers made cheaply, but they would be hard to fit with the 2 curved setees we have.
I feel your pain. Raised 3 kids. Crayons on the walls were possibly the worst. I would cover the cushions with something cheap and indestructible. There is cost to it but the peace of mind is worth it. When kids are bigger you can pull out the nice covers. This Scotch guard stuff is a waste of money. Had car seats done that way and it was a scam.
I'd just get some inexpensive cotton duck fabric that you can cover the cushions with.. even if it's simply wrapped onto the seats like a cover sheet. Wash them occasionally and put them back.
In 20 years when your kids stop making a mess you can throw them away!!
So I''m screwed. Ok. Actually just accepting it is quite liberating. Frankly I don't really like owning nice things that I have to keep in good condition and I prefer to own things that I can use and scrape and ding a little. It gives 'em character!
My Nauticat is definitely a very nice boat that has generally been kept in good condition (inside at least) but isn't so nice it looks like it just came off the show-room floor. The cushions are oddly in perfect condition but once they get a few stains on them they'll better match the rest of the boat (and us). :wink
When we were remodelling our house, with the expectation of having kids, we made a conscious effort to not make it too nice. Laminate floors instead of hardwood, and IKEA furniture instead of real wood furniture was chosen knowing that our kids will likely destroy the house anyway and then when we sail off we'll rent the house to renters who will destroy it. Sorry house.
If you Ultra-Suede they clean up very good. The admiral took them off the foam and put them in the washing machine. Everything came out except some rust stains (don't ask). Those stains are on the bottom of the cushion in any case.
Don't sweat it. Consider the cushions doomed and disposable and just use them. In 15 years (if you still have the boat) replace them with nice ones and worry about them when the kids are less of an issue.
Med-
There used to be a genuine ScotchGuard upholstery spray in a spritz bottle. No more says 3M, it is all in aerosol cans now. The cheapest way I've found to get that is by the six-pack from Amazon. And I can confirm that if you really go overboard (no pun intended) and saturate the cloth...works great on car interiors and has even made it easy to get fairly fresh blood out of a white cushion. (Don't ask.)
There are other products and there must be some "industrial" source...but four cans will soak an awfully large couch, should certainly do your cushions. There's always something the excess can be used on.
I think the Sunbrella folks make a liquid "water repellant" that you can buy in a spritz bottle, which might do the same trick.
And of course, it helps if you rent an upholstery steamer ($25/half day?) to get the cloth really clean--and let it dry overnight--before you soak it with the protectant. Which needs to dry overnight again.
i have a 15 month old, same problem. she spills everything. luckily for me pillow cases fit over my cushions fairly well, i scotch guarded the pillow cases. even so stains get through but if i nail them right away they dont stay.
i got a deep cleaner auto vacume as in the link. its pretty compact and works really well on all surfaces.
When I ran my sport fishing boat, I had really nice cushions because it was my home and I liked them.
Obviously, you can't be telling charter guests not to sit on the cushions if they are fishy and salty, so I bit the bullet and had really good covers made from Sunbrella and scotch guarded. One of the perks of having a professional make covers for you is that they know all the fasteners available and they can make cushion covers that are easy on, easy off, so it's not a big deal.
Less than 5 minutes in the morning and fish guts be damned; let's go fishin!
It wasn't cheap, but neither is recovering your cushions several times a year.
Make the kids eat in a dingy that you tow behind the boat. With or without life jackets. Your choice. Would be much easier to maintain. If that's too extreme make very sure all your paints and varnish are locked up.
Hummm, I'm think'n car seats, whisker pole(s) and wing on wing, not sure why that visual immediately came to mind.
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