I really wanted to title this article: “Help! My husband’s backside is ruining our RV.” However, in the interest of RVtravel.com’s high journalistic standards, I revised my decision.
This RV upholstery tip originated because of a mysterious incident. Here’s how our RV “mystery” unfolded. The upholstery on a dinette chair began to “pill.” Little lines of fuzz seemed to magically appear overnight!
But I’m getting ahead of myself. To help you catch up, you need to know that I’d just recovered our RV dinette chair cushions. I chose a high-grade upholstery material and afterward applied Scotchgard™ to help preserve the fabric.
To my great disappointment, I noticed tiny, fuzzy balls, raised bumps, and snagged threads on the top of one cushion. This, after just one brief RV trip!
Dismayed, I quickly checked the other dining chairs. They still looked great. So, I more closely examined the one damaged cushion. To my surprise and befuddlement, the top of the cushion showed wear only on the left side.
I was still scratching my head over this weird situation when I later happened to notice our car’s driver’s seat. Again, I saw heavy wear only on one side—the left! The niggling of an idea sparked in my brain.
It turns out the culprit wasn’t the fabric manufacturer or mysterious RV gremlins. It was abrasion from my husband’s backside! Well, actually, the abrasion originated in his cargo pants. Specifically, the rough “hook” side of hook-and-loop (Velcro) rubbed the upholstery as he slid into and out of the seats. Turns out, abrasion from hook-and-loop fasteners is a common cause of pilling and surface damage on both clothing and furniture.
Pilling happens when short or broken fibers on the surface of a textile are loosened by friction. This causes the fibers to tangle into little balls, lumps, or bumps. The same rubbing action that makes pills on a sweater applies to RV and car cushions.
Hook-side Velcro is designed to catch and grab fibers, so it’s a frequent offender when it rubs against upholstery.
The exposed hook side of the Velcro caught fibers every time my husband moved or shifted on the dining bench and car seat. This abrasive movement created the wear pattern I’d observed.
Only the left side?
You may be wondering, why did the pilling occur just on the left top of the cushion? My husband keeps his wallet inside his right back pocket and secures it with the Velcro tab. The left pocket remains unsecured, and when skootching on the dining bench or into the car seat, that pocket’s exposed hook-side closure rubs against the seat fabric!
The fix
Removing the offending Velcro with a seam ripper was an easy fix. I carefully cut and removed the stitches holding the hook-side of the Velcro to the cargo pants.
Then I used my fabric shaver to remove most of the fuzz damage on the dining cushion and car seat. This helpful little tool works great on clothing, too.
Thankfully, the damage was easily corrected, and the offending Velcro pieces were removed from all of Hubby’s pants and shorts. We shouldn’t experience this ever again.
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RVDT2754
But did you put a button in the place of the velcro so hubby doesn’t lose his wallet. (trying to save him a lecture).
A snap, not a button. Thanks for an alternative fix, Paul!
Happy travels!
Wasn’t his wallet pocket. RIF.
What an exceptional delivery of information while preserving the standards of journalism that RVTravel exceeds daily!
As a guy who wears cargo shorts (with Velcro pocket flaps) and carries a wallet, I’m embarrassed to say I’ve seen no destruction to our upholstery. I suspect it is because I typically take it out so I don’t have to sit on it or I owe my wife credit for thinning out its contents with her “thoughtful financial management assistance”.
Regardless, cutting a man’s Velcro can be quite traumatic. How is Mr. Marsh? Is he recovering? Has he forgiven you yet?
Too funny!
You put a smile on my face this morning, Vince. Mr. Marsh has fully recovered!
I recommend caution using a fabric shaver. It removes more than just the pilling. While the pilling might be unsightly, you will loose even more fabric with the shaver and the then thinner fabric can more easily tear with just normal usage. Fabric replacement or furniture reupholstering is the only effective solution. Using Velcro in a motorhome is a quick and easy solution that will ultimately fail.
Well done!
I have often seen chairs wearing more quickly on the wallet side. Even without the Velcro.
I hate those velcro fasteners on cargo shorts.
A few years ago we visited a Lippert RV furniture factory which was fascinating.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was the tour guide telling us that Lippert had discovered that bug spray and sun screen can cause damage to some fabrics. The tour guide mentioned that they used industry-standard tests on their fabrics but never considered these items at first. Now it is part of their test.