Clean the Bean Bag Fillings – 3 Methods Explained


When the fillings of your bean bag get dirt, you may be wondering what to do with this? Your mind will ask yourself, should I give up my comfort or dump dirty fillers? No, you can save money by cleaning your bean bag fillers regularly. 

There are many types of bean bag filling beads in today’s market. Hence, before deciding the cleaning method for bean bag filling, you should know your bean bag filler type. Then you can select the best method to clean the filling. 

So let’s see how to clean bean bag fillings.

clean bean bag filling

Table of Contents

Method 1: Wash the Bean Bag Fillers

You can wash expanded polystyrene beads, memory foam, cotton, and other eco-friendly fillers like sand, pebbles, and hay. However, you can’t wash rice seeds. So, if you want to know more about how to wash bean bag fillers, click here.

Method 2: Clean EPS Balls and Shredded Memory Foams

This method is more suitable for expanded polystyrene fillings. But you can use this method to clean shredded memory foam too. It helps to remove the dust and debris in your bean bag fillings.

Follow these simple steps. 

Step 1: Make a DIY Shaking Bag

  • Firstly, take a cloth bag. Here you can take an old pillowcase. 
  • After, trim of the bottom insert. 
  • Check the diameter of the cloth bag opening.
  • Then, take a piece of mosquito net or plastic mesh and cut a circular shape piece. This piece diameter should be 1-2 inches larger than the cloth bag opening diameter.

There are various sizes of EPS balls in the bean bag. These range 2-4mm, 5-7mm, and 8-10mm. However, when you select a net or plastic mesh, you will highly consider the size of EPS balls or shredded memory foam in the bean bag.

  • You should select a net that has small holes than EPS bead or memory foam size. 
  • Finally, attach and seam it into the bottom opening of the pillow or cloth bag. 

Make sure no gap or space between the cloth bag and joined mosquito net. If you do not have time to make this bag, you can buy a net bag. 

Step 2: Take a Large Cloth Bag or Garbage Bag

You should arrange a clean, dry bag to collect EPS balls after cleaning them. Further, you should make sure that the bag’s size is enough to fill your beans. If not, you have to find another bag too. 

Step 3: Remove Outer Cover and Open the Inner Liner of Bean Bag

In this case, you should go through the instructions of the manufacturer. 

Step 4: Add Some Powder into EPS Balls or Spray Some Water

Typically, EPS balls have statics. So, before you take it out, you have to reduce the statics of EPS balls. You can use powder or water for that. Here, you do not need to wet the EPS balls thoroughly.

However, if you have shredded memory foam fillers, you can skip this step. 

Steps 5: Cleaning the EPS Balls by Shaking

Do not tend to remove the EPS balls from the liner directly because of the statics. You can follow this simple technique to transfer balls from the liner into a shaking bag. 

  • Take a PVC pipe (8″ -10″ long), insert it into the liner, and seal it with duct tape. 
  • Take a shaking bag and insert another end of the pipe into it, then tie the bag opening around the pipe 
  • Then move the liner upward and let balls fall into shaking the bag. 

If you want to discover more methods about “how to remove EPS balls from bean bags,” click here.

After filling more than half of your shaking bag, close the mouth tightly by hand and shake it. When shaking the DIY bag, the dust and small debris in the fillers are thrown out through the net. 

After you feel that the balls are clean, you can put them into a previously arranged garbage bag. 

Special Note

It is better to wear a face mask and glows when you clean the balls, especially if you have vees or another disease related to respiratory distress. 

Step 6: Repeat the Shaking Until the Last EPS Ball

After finishing one bunch, you can go to another. Like this, you can clean all EPS balls and collect them in another clean bag. 

Step 7: Clean the Inner Liner

After you finish cleaning the balls, do not forget to clean the inner liner of the bean bag. Also, if you wash the inner liner, do not refill it with EPS balls until it dries well. 

clean rice

Method 3: Clean Natural Fillings

There are many types of natural fillings for bean bags. Mainly popular types are sand, hay, rice, and pebbles. Typically, when you cook, you wash the rice to clean it. Similarly, can you wash dirty rice and refill it? Please do not do it ever for rice that use to fill bean bags. 

Generally, insects may grow or enter into the bean bag and affect natural fillers. So, this method can remove not only dust but also insects. Moreover, the below way is ideal for rice, pebbles fillers. Please go through the steps. 

Step 1: Choose a Sunny or Dry Day

Step 2: Remove the bean Bag Outer Cover and Open the Inner Liner

Step 3: Take Out the Natural Fillings and Lay Them on a Clean and Dry Mat

Step 4: Use a Hairdryer to Remove Dust

Set the dryer at the lowest heat it has. 

However, if you do not have a hairdryer, you can use a vacuum. But set it to emit air to the outside rather than vacuum. Because rice is a light weighted material and it can suck into the vacuum cleaner.

Then set its air emitting speed at the lowest level, special when you vacuum the rice. In addition to this, remember safety is first. Do not forget to remove the face mask. 

Step 5: Clean the Liner of the Bean Bag and Refill it Using Clean Fillers

clean cotton bean bag filling

Method 4: Clean Cotton Fillers

Cotton is one of the popular fillings of bean bags. Usually, when it’s dirt, you can wash it. But if you do not want to wash them, you can remove the dust and debris through this method. It is simple, short and funny. 

Step 1: Choose a Sunny or Dry Day and a Location

My recommendation is, always try to choose outdoor. Then place a clean and dry mat. 

Step 2: Remove the Outer Cover and Open the Inner Liner

Step 3: Take Out the Bunch of Cotton and Fluff and Shake It Well.

Place cotton on the mat. Then fluff it using hand. Generally, sand and dust are weighted than cotton. So, they will pass to the bottom while fluffing and accumulate on the mat.

Step 4: Clean the Liner While Cotton Exposes to the Sunlight

It is an added advantage. Do you ever experience it? Yes, sunlight helps to increase the fluffy property of the cotton. After the inner liner dries well, refill it. 

Final Words

You used to think that bean bag fillings can only be cleaned by washing when they are dirty. So, now you know some simple methods to clean your bean bag fillings. 

The only thing you have to do is understand the filler properties and think out of the box. 

Sarah Williams

I’m Sarah Williams. A true fan of Bean Bag Chairs. The story of Bean Bags Expert goes to beginning of 2016. At the mid of 2016, I have planned the web site and bought this domain. Slowly this grew up like a little kid.

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