Fall is when outdoor cushions either go into winter clean or sit wet under leaves until April. The fabric can take weather. What it cannot take is a month of damp fill in the dark.
This is care for cushions we sewed — Sunbrella and other performance covers, densified fiber or reticulated cores. It is not a product pitch for covers we do not make, like furniture tarps shaped as umbrellas.
Before the first hard freeze
Brush off pollen and leaf bits weekly while they are still on the furniture. Flip the pads so the undersides dry. A ¼ cup of mild soap in a gallon of water is enough for a general wash; rinse until the soap is gone. Fifteen minutes on a spot is better than a long soak.
Sunbrella can take a carefully mixed bleach solution for mildew — follow the fabric’s own care sheet and rinse hard. Do not bleach a fabric we did not tag as bleach-safe.
Dry all the way through
Stand the cushions on edge after washing. Outdoor fill drains; it still needs air. Putting a damp pad in a plastic bin is how you get a smell in March.
Store them like you want them back
A lidded bench or a garage shelf beats the deck. Do not compress them under a pile of other gear. If they stay out for winter, at least get them off standing water and under a roof you already have — a porch, not a shade sail we do not sell.
More detail lives on care and cleaning. The short version: clean, dry, off the wet ground. Spring is then a flip and a sit, not a replacement order.
