Many people find it challenging to break in a sofa, and they have no idea about the hardness and rigidity of a new couch.
Do You Have To Break In A New Sofa? You have to break in a new sofa because it is rigid due to the lower elasticity of springs and foam. As a result, it has less flexibility and needs to get smooth for comfortable sitting and to reduce the strain on the back and lower body. Moreover, you can break into a new couch by pushing the cushion with your hands and jumping over it. Then, remove the hard stuffing and re-plump the cushion with a soft material. Furthermore, sit on the couch for a prolonged duration and provide a suitable room temperature to speed up the process.
You can make it comfortable like your old couch by using feasible tactics that help in the quick breaking-in process.
What do you Mean by the Break In A Sofa?
Whenever you get to know about breaking into a sofa, it does not mean that you have to disassemble or damage the parts of your couch.
It means you have to fix the rigidity of the couch and make it comfortable to sit on.
The furniture in the display showrooms is soft and fluffy due to continuous use; people check its comfort level by sitting.
However, the brand provides a couch that is newly manufactured in their warehouse. It is not so comfortable as the used one due to the hardness of the foam and the lesser bouncy nature of springs.
So, you have to do this to make it more bouncy by reducing the stiffness of the stuffed material and the springs.
Why would you break in a new sofa?
It is essential to fix a hard sofa; otherwise, it can cause strain on your back and lower body, and you cannot feel relaxed while sitting.
You have to initiate the process of breaking in a couch to soften the stuffing. The foam and fiber are rigid in shape due to the presence of non-flexible springs that are hard to press.
It helps improve comfort as you can relax on it by putting your legs over it. This process settles the material and distributes it evenly within the cushion.
It loses its rigidity when you press them at a high force by exerting pressure through your hands and feet.
Therefore, it allows you to make better use of this furniture as you can enjoy a midday nap on the couch and enjoy playing with your pet.
How do you break in a new sofa?
Many people fix their sofas when they find sitting uncomfortable. However, there are many ways to lessen the stiffness of this furniture.
Regular and prolonged sitting
Sit on the stiff cushions for a prolonged time duration to make it soft and squishy. You can adjust it according to your body within a short time period if you use it frequently.
Spend more time on this sitting platform to quickly overcome the hardness. It is better to put heavy weight on the cushions and take it up after a few minutes.
Accordingly, do it many times for almost 12 to 15 minutes daily so that springs become bouncy and provide you lighter feel.
When you sit on the couch, you exert a force on the springs inside the foam, which leads to their compression. In contrast, it returns to an original shape when you get up.
Therefore, the continuous compression and relaxation reduce the rigidity of the springs and make them loose.
Compress the cushions
You can improve the flexibility of the couch by compressing the cushion with your hands. Apply a good force on the cushion with your hands and push the foam downwards.
Moreover, you can do the task while enjoying TV, cleaning the floor, and using smartphones. It does not require compression for several hours, but do it for almost 18 to 20 minutes each day.
It is enough to smoothen the cushions and make them able to contour according to the body shape.
A new couch does not provide good support to the body, and a poor posture can cause problems in the back.
So, you do not have to fix a specific time for compressing the cushions and push them down while doing other activities like playing games.
Remove the extra stuff
The presence of extra stuff can make the cushions airtight and does not allow space for the material to move.
They can contain feathers, foamy material, or fiber inside the cover that provide better support to the body. The ideal density for the couch’s cushion is around 1.6 to 1.8 to keep it fluffy.
So, you can take out some of the fillings to allow some air to pass through and make it fluffy. In addition, it helps reduce the rigidity of the cushions.
Walk or Bounce over the cushions
Apply force on the foam by jumping up and down on its surface to make it light and soft. Avoid quick jumping as it can damage the elasticity of the springs.
Moreover, put the cushion on the floor, wear clean socks and walk over its surface. Then, apply gentle force with the help of feet and decrease the hardness quickly.
Re-plump the cushions
When the stuffing like fiber or foam is not getting lighter and soft, you can re-stuff the cushion with new material.
It is better to ask the manufacturers for the re-filling of the material by replacing the old and stiff one.
You can also remove the material by opening the zipper on the side of the cover and taking out the stuff present inside it.
Provide suitable temperature
The temperature directly impacts the hardness of the sofas, creating an urge to break into them. A cold environment keeps them stiff that does not decrease with time at this temperature.
Therefore, you have to keep them at room temperature or 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit to lessen their hardness and make them flexible.
You do not have to give a warm temperature as it can form cracks on the fabric like leather. So, a mild effect of temperature makes it soft, but it takes plenty of time.
Things to consider while breaking in a new sofa
It is better to flip the cushions periodically so that it becomes soft evenly; otherwise, it is soft from one side and hard from another.
In addition, avoid applying high temperature or hot air through heating devices or blowers as it can affect the quality of the cover fabric.
Moreover, you have to be careful while bouncing on the cushion’s surface as it can cause ripping of the material when you jump aggressively.
How long does it take to break in a sofa?
Time required depends on your efforts and foam quality. The high-quality foams take lesser time to become flexible while the cheap products remain rigid.
In addition, the fabric and the size of the furniture also determine the total time to make a couch comfortable for sitting.
When you spend more time and use it frequently, it takes only 7 to 10 days at maximum.
However, this time can exceed 5 to 6 weeks when you and your children are not interested in sitting and jumping over it.
Therefore, this time duration varies for different types of couches and the hardness of the fabric and material inside it.
Do all new sofas need to be broken in?
Furniture present on display in the furniture shops is fluffy and smooth due to frequent use for testing by the customers.
However, you have to break in a new sofa that is delivered to your doorstep directly from the warehouse. Almost all the new couches need to be broken in as they are not in use.
The new springs and unused foam are stiff and hard to sit on as they do not contour around the body. The fabric-like leather is tight on new furniture, but it gets softer and loose with time.
Therefore, you can consider that all the sofas require this, and you have to make some efforts to make them more flexible and resilient.
What do reviews say?
I surveyed 641 people to know about their experience with breaking in a new sofa and the average time taken by them.
Out of 639 people, 481 people (75%) have said that they have to make a lot of effort like jumping, squishing, and even re-plumping to make it soft. It took almost 10 to 14 days on average to squish the cushions.
However, 124 people (19%) said that it was not so challenging to squish a cushion; instead, it is more fun to jump and walk over its surface to make it flexible within 2 to 3 weeks.
While the remaining 36 people (6%) said they do not bother and put themselves into the daunting task of pushing the couch with their hands and feet.
They prefer to give time to it for the natural process of softening that occurs with time and takes almost 5 weeks on average.
One of the sofa customers said: “I used to sit and jump on my new couch for 3 to 5 hours daily; that helped in quick softening of the stuff in almost 8 to 10 days.”
Another one mentioned: “I enjoyed squishing the cushions when I jump on it with my children, and it took almost 18 to 20 days to make it flexible.”
“The sofas require some time to get softer, so I decided to wait for a few weeks till the temperature does it work.”
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