How to clean a west elm couch

One of the most frequently asked questions I recieve is related to our West Elm Harmony sofa, so I’m here to tell you all about it, why we love it, how to keep it clean, and when the best time is to purchase one.

The West Elm Harmony comes in several options including a single sofa, sleeper sofa, modular sofa, and the two-piece chaise sectional, which is the one we have. It also comes in quite literally over 100 options for color and fabric.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love. If you buy something I have the opportunity to make a small commission which allows me to keep creating content.

The One We Chose

We chose ours in the color Oyster in the Eco Weave fabric and it is one of the lightest options for this sofa. By the way, I believe West Elm has recently renamed the color “oyster” to “alabaster.” I like it because from afar it just looks plain white, but up close you can see the fabric is a fine weave of white, taupe, and gray thread, so it really goes with anything. The fabric is actually made up of recycled plastic bottles, which still blows my mind but totally fills my eco-friendly heart with joy.

Our sofa is 118” wide in the standard size depth, but it has an option for an “extra deep” size, which I personally would consider to be almost too deep for us. One of the reasons I love this couch is that my husband and I can both lay on it side by side perfectly. The extra deep may be more suitable for larger people or those with larger families.

You can view the many options for this sofa here on West Elm’s website.

Why We Love It

This sofa literally ticks all of my boxes. I remember the first time I saw it in West Elm and I thought that it may be too modern for my taste, far too white and way out of our budget, so my husband would never go for it. However, weeks later I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I pitched it to my husband with the promise that I’d sell our existing chunky u-shaped sectional (which really was far too large and awkward for our living room anyway) for a good chunk of change and that we’d use the money for the Harmony. And I did!

We went back into our local West Elm later that week and both sat on it and agreed quite quickly that it was definitely the most comfortable couch we’d ever sat on. I still feel that way every time I plop down onto it after a long day. And many nights I have fallen asleep on it and asked my husband to “just leave me here” on it to sleep for the night because it is that cozy.

The back cushions are 45% duck feathers and 5% duck down, so basically they are super extra fluffy and soft. As soft and cushy as it is, this couch never looks too worn in or worn out, which was a big concern for me when I purchased it. We’ve had it for 4 years now and it still looks as good as the day we brought it home.

People often ask if the fabric has pilled at all and the answer is no. With daily and heavy use, this fabric holds up so well.

I also love it because it is so easy to keep clean. Read on to find out how.

How to Keep it Clean + What to Do if it Gets Dirty

Admittedly, I purchased this sofa long before my husband and I had children. I remember several members of our family commenting that we’d might want to reconsider our furniture selection once we’d had children, but I pushed it to the back of my mind and thought to myself, even if we have children I will never let my children eat snacks or paw my pretty white couch with their sticky fingers.

But alas, the time has come that we now have a child. He is 18 months old and he often has his sticky little fingers all over my pretty white couch. But I do not worry because it is so easy to clean.

First of all, I do my best to prevent it from getting dirty. We don’t eat meals on it and after we finish meal time we always make sure to wash up before sitting on it. But that doesn’t mean my 1 year old doesn’t sneak in and plop down on it with a half melted chocolate chip cookie from time to time.

In cases such as that I keep a small bottle of blue Dawn dish soap and spot clean it with a little soapy water. This always works, especially on the arms where fabric isn’t easily removed. I even left a coffee ring on one of the arms for months because I didn’t notice it and the blue Dawn dish soap took it right out.

Once about every six months I remove all of the pillow and cushion covers to wash them in the washing machine. The tag on this couch says to spot clean only, but I took a chance one day and I’m glad I did because it is the fastest way to deep clean and freshen up this couch.

I wash the covers in warm water with original Tide detergent and I do a cold rinse. Afterward I dry them for 30 minutes on extra low. That may not sound like long enough, but this fabric is a quick dry fabric so it is actually the perfect amount of time. I have never noticed the covers to shrink or change in any way when I’ve done this.

With big spills I soak up as much liquid as I can with a towel and then follow the above instructions if necessary, which it isn’t always as I have noticed that water tends to bead up on this fabric.

Note: I cannot speak for how to treat this couch if you choose to purchase it in the velvet material as velvet looks and feels completely different and needs to be treated as such.

The Best Time to Purchase

If you are on West Elm’s mailing list, then you know they advertise sales quite often. I’ve noticed the best sales for furniture tend to be close to holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day and New Year’s. We bought our Harmony Sofa for 30% off during their Memorial Day sale. If you have your eye on this couch and are looking to get the best deal on it, I recommend getting on their email list and waiting for a sale.

Furthermore, if you call your local store you may be able to get an even lower price on their in store model like we did. Stock items tend to be less expensive than custom made orders.

While I wish this post were sponsored by West Elm, sadly it is not. As always, this is my genuine unbiased opinion and review.

x Megan

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