Clean Sweep: Woman rescues $3000 couch using handy Aldi cleaning trick

A Melbourne woman has rescued a badly damaged $3000 designer couch using a $3 product from Aldi and she’s getting lots of praise.

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A woman has revealed how she made an incredible “$2549 saving” using a $3 product from Aldi.

Alex Oates, from Melbourne, bought an expensive second-hand couch online for $450, but when she went to pick it up she discovered it was in a “much worse state then the pictures showed”.

But as the cream chaise lounge originally cost $2999 from Freedom Furniture, Alex was determined to bring it back to its former glory and score herself a bargain.

“I probably searched Facebook Marketplace for two months until I found the couch I wanted,” the 30-year-old mum told news.com.au.

“But when I picked it up it had heaps of stains that you couldn’t see in the photos. There were spot stains, pen scribbles and rub marks from their dog. It looked terrible.”

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Alex Oates from Melbourne rescued a tired couch using a $3 Aldi item. Picture: Supplied

However Alex had previously invested in a Bissel machine – a popular machine cleaner – in the past and was a long-time user of Di San, an in demand $3 stain remover product from Aldi, so decided to give cleaning it a crack.

“I couldn’t guarantee it was going to work but it was worth a shot for a couple of hours of my time and a $2500 saving off buying it brand new,” she said.

So on a warm sunny day this week and while under lockdown in Victoria, Alex set to work.

“I sprayed the spot stains with the Di San and let them sit while I removed the cushion covers and sprayed them before running them through the washing machine,” she explained.

“I then got the Bissell machine and put the Di San solution into the tank and filled with water and cleaned the couch.”

After buying it second-hand online she realised it was in a ‘much worse state then the pictures showed’. Picture: Supplied / Alex Oates

After two hours of steaming and washing, Alex had managed to get all but one stain out completely – and that stain is on the back at the bottom.

“We are 100% happy with the results, hubby was very weary about it when I first said we would go second-hand but he’s now very happy with the couch.”

It was covered in pen marks and had dog damage. Picture: Supplied

But she was able to remove the stains using Di San and a Bissell cleaner. Picture: Supplied / Alex Oates

In fact, the pair were both so chuffed with the outcome, Alex shared the before and after shots online, describing it as her “$2549 saving today, thanks to Aldi and my little green machine”.

“I have been wanting a Hamilton sofa from Freedom for the lounge room but at close to $3k for a sofa, it seemed a bit excessive,” she wrote in the Aldi Mums Facebook group.

She explained that after she “struck gold” she realised the couch would need a little elbow grease, describing the results as “unbelievable”.

The couch now looks ‘incredible’ with Alex saying she made a $2549 saving thanks to Aldi. Picture: Supplied

The post quickly gathered a lot of attention, with many praising Alex for investing in restoring the piece of furniture rather than buying new.

“OMG I love hearing stuff like this. Well done. You give me hope as I’m currently looking for a new couch myself and probably the same budget as well,” one woman wrote.

“Looks fabulous … great score,” another said.

“You did a great job, well done,” some added.

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