A creative woman has shared the unusual tactic she used to totally transform her sofa and people have been left divided over the results – with some saying it’s ‘genius’
There are always new DIY tricks people are experimenting with in their homes, but should you be careful when having a go yourself. One woman, who loves trying new home hacks, left people worried and says she was even branded “crazy” when she revealed she was planning on bleaching her sofa.
But they rapidly changed their tune when they clocked the results. Beth Hardy managed to transform her sofa from a dark grey shade to cream at home. Posting on social media, the nail technician shared a close-up of her sofa during and after its makeover. Beth used a bleach and water mixture to deep clean her sofa and lighten its colour.
Beth said she used roughly 20 bottles of bleach, which set her back around £11 at 55p apiece.
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Discussing the process in her video, Beth shared on TikTok: “This is when I got scared. I put half a bottle of bleach with a tiny bit of water and I was debating my life decisions. It took me ages to dip that first one [sofa cushion].”
She dunked all of her sofa cushions into the mixture until they soaked up some of the liquid. She then wrung them out and laid them down on the kitchen floor for around 10 minutes.
In a bid to eliminate the grey colour, she dipped the cushions in the mixture again, before leaving them out to dry for two to three hours. After three rounds, she saw significant results.
The type of fabric your sofa covers are made from will affect how quickly this method works. Beth revealed: “I managed to go from dark, charcoal grey to ivory.”
She then asked her followers: “Am I crazy after all or do you think it looks good?”
Her cleaning video has clocked up over 200,000 views and sparked a flurry of comments. One viewer remarked on the results: “Looks expensive,” while another exclaimed: “Omg looks brand new.”
Another follower commented: “Never would’ve thought of this, turned out so well.”
Some viewers had queries. One asked: “How did you do the frame and not have it stink of bleach?”
Beth replied: “I washed with detergent in the washing machine in between bleaching which I forgot to mention and the frames covers come off, they’re interchangeable.”
Another queried: “Surely it’s now extremely flammable?” To this, Beth responded: “I washed it through three times with detergent in the washing machine so it’s just the ‘stain’ that’s left, no bleach left in the fabric but I’ll look into it, it’s a valid point.”
One more question was: “Will they go yellow with time?” Beth answered: “I hope not but I guess time will tell”.
Beth, who confessed she’s had enough of grey in her home, is waiting to see how her sofa fares, but overall, she’s chuffed with the outcome. Regarding the texture of the fabric, she said: “It feels just the same as before.”
It’s crucial to exercise caution when using bleach at home. Never mix household bleach (or any disinfectants) with other cleaners or disinfectants; this can emit fumes that could be very harmful.
Clean Smart advises: “Using too much of a bleach or bleach-based product can damage the surface or fabric you are trying to clean, while using too little may be ineffective. Check the label, and follow the instructions.”