I have cushion pillows w/cotton outside and no tag about inside contents. Can I wash them w/out dry cleaning?

Answer 1

I'd have them professionally dry cleaned. The problem with cotton, you don't know if it's preshrunk or not. If it's not preshrunk, and you take the insides out, after you've washed and dried the covers, they've shrunk, and the fillings won't fit anymore.

Answer 2

One thing you could do is to cut a slit in the cushion on a hidden edge and take out the stuffing or pillow form. Depending on what the material is made of, you can then wash them in the washer on gentle cycle with gentle detergent. Then hang dry or lay flat to be safe about it. Try to determine what the fabric is and whether it has any sizing on it. Sizing is the stiff feeling (like starch) that some manufacturers put on. A washing machine will take all of that off, so that your fabric will have a different but softer texture. When dry, simply put the insides back in and sew up the slit by hand.
Another thing you can do is to spot clean, which is a fancy way of saying to just take a clean damp rag and gently rub as much of the dirt off as you can. Once it dries, the dirt may be gone, but this isn't a sure cure.
Either way, good luck!

Answer 3

If you're in doubt, you don't want to take the chance and wind up destroying them. With stuffed animals, they are surface clean only, so you may want to do the same with your cushions. The washing machine will destroy foam padding and take all of the body out of polyester batting.