So you're ready to refill your old bean bag chairs. That's great! Adding filler will re-fluff and restore the comfort and support to your bean bag so it will once again be like new.
Before you order more filler you need to see if your chair was made to be refilled. Most bean bag chairs have zippers in the bottoms. Most of the manufacturers have made some attempt to make these zippers child proof, and so you need to see what, if any, locks are on the zipper. Bean Bag City bean bag chairs for instance, have 2 zippers to keep fill in, and they hide the sliders totally out of sight under protective childproof flaps. These beanbags can be easily opened and closed by adults by taking a crochet hook and sliding it under the zipper tab to fish the zipper slider out. Or, if you have strong fingers, you can pinch the sliders out from under the tabs. Others bean bag chair manufacturers have metal crimps put on the chairs to stop the zippers from opening. These crimps can be removed, but one note... once removed they usually cannot be put back on now making these beanbags no longer child proof. Other bean bags may have an electrical ties to keep the zipper closed, and some just have a plain zipper slider with no child safety in mind.
Something to watch out for is there are a few manufacturers who in an attempt to child proof the zippers, have glued or put crimps over the zipper, making them inoperable. Unfortunately, many of those beanbags are a "use until they get flat and then discard". So you want to make sure your chair is not one of these short term designed chairs.
Once you know if you can get into your chair, now you need to figure out how much filler you will need. If you're not sure how many cubic feet your chair had when it was new, look for a website selling new chairs which tells you the number of cubic feet in the various sizes (for example this bean bag chairs website). Now just compare the size of your chair with the one in the picture. If your chair looks like one with say 6 cubic feet new.... then estimate how much is missing, 1/3, so you need 2 cubic feet of filler.
1. Filling a bean bag chair can be messy so pick an open spot that is away from curtains, chairs, lampshades, etc. Outside is best or in a clear spot in the garage...wherever it is easy to clean up.
2. Open the zippers at the bottom of the chair. As mentioned before, you may need a crochet hook to “fish” the slider out from under the end tab as mentioned above. One person should hold the bean bag up and open, as it will exhale beads if it is set down.
3. The second person can use a large kitchen soup pot with a handle to transfer the beads from the
refill bag to the chair. Rub an anti-static clothes dryer sheet around the inside and outside of the pan to reduce the static cling of the beads on the pot.
4. When the bean bag chair is filled properly, close the zippers. Be sure the zipper slider is tucked securely under the end tab so young children cannot unzip the zipper and spill the beans. Use your vacuum cleaner attachment to vacuum any excess beads off the chair and to clean up the floor.
Congratulations.. now sit back and relax, you deserve it!
Mr. Beanbag
