In less than 20 minutes, you can make your Kindle cover look gorgeous again.
How old is your Kindle? Are you going to use it for a bit longer? Let me guess: your new Kindle is on the way, and other family members are longing to take over the device from you – no matter whether it’s new or old.
If you have invested in the cover, your Kindle is probably in an almost perfect condition – what you probably can’t say about the cover itself.
Your family can enjoy your two- or three-years-old Kindle for two or three more years. All you have to do is a bit of cleaning.
In this short post, I will show you how I renewed my old fabric Kindle case. I am not a DIY professional, so please forgive me sounding too newbie here and there.
Let’s start!
The case – some facts
▸ This is an original fabric case for Kindle Paperwhite 4 in Marine Blue color. Fabric Kindle cases cost $29.99.
▸ Originally, I wanted to buy an alternative case because there are plenty of third-party Kindle cases. In the end, I changed my mind, and decided to give a try to the official cover, especially that Amazon claims it’s “water-safe.”
▸ I bought this case back in 2018, so it’s almost three years old. The Kindle is being used quite intensively, mostly by my daughter, who reads for at least an hour a day.
▸ As you see on the pictures above, the case is in a pretty good condition. It’s not broken or deformed in any way, despite the fact that you can fold the front completely when reading.
▸ However, when you take a closer look, you will see signs of deterioration:
– Unpleasant stains from grease and (probably) coffee – these stains can’t be removed using just a wet cloth.
– The fabric on the edges, especially on the right and bottom side, is jagged heavily.
▸ I have already pre-ordered the new Kindle Paperwhite 6.8. What to do with the old device? In our case, it’s pretty simple: the old Paperwhite will come back to me, and Kasia – my daughter – will grab the new one:-)
Renewing an old Kindle cover – things to prepare
- A clean piece of cloth (I used one of the Swedish dish cloths)
- A wash basin with warm water and a dash of laundry detergent
- A towel
- A hair dryer
- A box cutter, a ruler, and a cutting mat or board
- Optional: if the stains are too hard to remove, you can use a carpet cleaning foam
- Optional: pet hair remover roller to get rid of fabric particles and other dirt
How to renew an old Kindle case in 4 steps
The case is made of fabric, and Amazon claims it is water-safe (it means it can’t be damaged by water).
Therefore, I assumed that the case can be treated the same way as clothing – with warm water and laundry detergent. It worked. No damage was made to the cover during the cleaning!
The entire process should take no more than 20 minutes.
1. Clean the case with laundry detergent
▸ Prepare the wash basin: pour some warm water, add a dash of detergent, and stir it to make the granules dissolve completely.
▸ Place the case in the water and gently rub its surface with the cloth. Try not to touch the edges to avoid fraying of the fabric.
2. Dry the case inside a towel
▸ Take the case out of water, put it on the towel, and cover it with the rest of the towel.
▸ You can gently press the towel with your palms to squeeze the water out of the cover’s fabric.
3. Dry the case with a hair dryer
▸ To speed up the drying process, you can use the hair dryer.
▸ You will be surprised how quickly the case gets dry. Wet parts are a bit darker. When you use the dryer, you can actually see the dark areas fade out.
▸ The case should be completely dry in 3-5 minutes.
(Optional) Clean the case with a carpet cleaning foam
▸ When the case is dry again, you can see whether there are still dirty areas on it.
▸ If you take a closer look at the picture above, you will see that some dirty spots are still visible.
▸ That’s why, I decided to use a stronger method: a carpet cleaning foam (by the way, I was curious to see whether there would be any color alterations after applying the foam).
▸ Put the foam on the case and let it work for a few minutes. Then clean the case with cold water.
▸ You can put the case back into the water with detergent, and repeat step 1.
(Optional) Use a pet hair remover roller to get rid of dirt and fabric particles
▸ If you have a pet hair remover at home, you can use it to remove dirt particles from the surface.
▸ Only use the roller with a soft head. Otherwise, you may damage the fabric, especially on the edges.
4. Cut out the fabric from the edges
▸ The final step is about removing the fabric from the edges. This way we will prevent it from further fraying.
▸ Cut the fabric along the edge of the case, but do it very gently.
Done!
The case is ready. I was not expecting it to look so good. What do you think?
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