I see two options after reading how their outdoor fabrics are supposed to respond.

1) contact customer service again and don't take a response like you got. Read them their website description of their Sunbrella fabric and ask for a manager. Keep going up the ranks till you get someone to respond and replace the cushions. 2) Is there a Pottery Barn store near you? If so, walk in with your mildewing cushion, documentation of what you were told and who told you and see what they say.

Good luck! This really is unacceptable. I've never had PB Sunbrella before but generally speaking, Sunbrella fabrics should not perform like this.

Thanks. They've offered a replacement but it will supposedly take several weeks to arrive and they won't comment on whether this is a known defect. So I could be waiting a month and then getting cushions that are exactly as defective. My experience with Pottery Barn customer service so far leaves me no reason to trust they would admit the defect or address it even if it were known. Really curious as to whether anyone else has experienced this with Sunbrella Rain from Pottery Barn or if this really does sound out of the ordinary.

Are you sure you got the right cushion fabric? Sunbrella fabric is water resistant, not water proof- is it possible you got the regular sunbrella cushions instead of the sunbrella rain cushions?

Perhaps they mixed up the "water resistant (note, not water proof)" cushion option with the "Premium Quick Drying Sunbrella Rain" in shipping? If you got the Navy or Natural color that's a possibility. What did the packaging of the cushions say?

I thought the same but it says Sunbrella Rain right on the fabric tag. They're just straight up NOT waterproof though. They're barely even water resistant.

any woven fabric is not 100% waterproof. I wouldn't leave cushioned furniture out unless you had a deep awning that protects it completely from rain.

Do all you must to get a refund or replacement. It sounds like maybe the fabric you got was mislabeled.

Good Luck.

From the Sunbrella site…

“Complete Moisture Protection for Maximum Outdoor Time

Spend more time enjoying life on the patio and less time waiting for cushions to dry

Don’t let rain stop you from enjoying your outdoor space when you want to. Sunbrella Rain’s quick-dry, protective barrier technology lets you get back to enjoying your outdoor furniture as soon as the rain clears out. Sunbrella Rain fabric repels rain on the surface, allowing the water to bead up and roll off instead of soaking into the furniture or cushions. When used with a swellable thread, the thread expands when wet, closing the holes in the cushion where water normally seeps in. This keeps the filling inside the cushion dry, reducing dry time of the overall cushion.

• Waterproof outdoor fabric
• Quick-drying immediately after wiping away moisture
• Prevents water from passing through the fabric, keeping cushion inserts dry
• Ideal for environments prone to heavy rain, moisture and mildew….

https://www.sunbrella.com/outdoor-waterproof-fabric

I got sample swatches from Pottery Barn of Sunbrella RAIN vs the normal Sunbrella. The Rain is much stiffer. It should be easy to determine if you got the right fabric.

Hopefully your issue was resolved by the replacement cushions, but if it wasn’t, I‘d contact Sunbrella directly. They definitely don’t want PB to be ruining their reputation by selling the wrong fabric under the Sunbrella name. Authentic ‘Sunbrella Rain’ is amazing fabric that truly doesn’t get wet they way you described. their fabrics are warrantied.

Did they say waterproof or water resistant? Usually the recommendations are that they can take light rainfalls but not torrential downpours that go on for hours or days. During heavy rains you need to bring them inside or at least leave them outside in a vertical position to dry in the sun. There may be different grade levels of sunbrella fabrics. In any case Sunbrella fabrics have a label that says Sunbrella, does it one of those or are they just using the sunbrella name in the description?

Did you get this resoved? I am considering Sunbrella rain but it must be waterproof

benmaltz, did you ever get this resolved? I ordered custom cushions with Sunbrella Rain fabric from Outdoor Fabric Central/Patio Lane. I received them in August of 2020 and they have been HORRIBLE from the very beginning. They wet out right away and stain ridiculously easily. I contacted customer service right away and due to COVID there have been many delays and this issue still has not been resolved for me.

Sunbrella insists that overtime the waterproof finish needs to be reapplied, which may be true, but shouldn’t need to be done within a week of use! I sent in a cushion for them to inspect and they someone found in their “tests” that the fabric is performing as it should. They’ve been gaslighting me for over a year and a half!

@benmaltz @michellebreen, any updates on your cushions? Did they send a better replament or that is just how bad sunbrella rain is? I was planning to go with Sunbrella Rain by Pottery Barn or Ebel INC, but before doing that I wanna make sure it is worth it. My set will be by the pull under sun and rain in Florida. No way I bring in the cushions every time it rains

After much back and forth over many months, I was sent new cushions. Honestly, they're not much better. The fabric still wets out, water gets under the cover and soaks into the cushion, and is stained by anything that touches it. The inside of the fabric does have a coating on it that should theoretically keep water from soaking through, but it is seemingly ineffective. Perhaps they've assumed that because there is an inner coating, there is no need for any sort of water/stain repellent on the outside? Another issue seems to be the stitching that is supposed to prevent water for getting through the seams isn't 100% effective, so when water gets in, it stays in.

I still cannot understand how Sunbrella determind the fabric was performing as expected... it certainly does not perform as advertised. I cannot leave my cushions out in the rain without getting wet let alone let me kids sit on them for dinner without staining them. We're also in Florida and the cushions sit outside. I don't even bother getting them out unless we're having people over.

I have some inexpensive lounge chair cushions I got on clearance from Target that have performed significantly better than the Rain cushion covers and they're 10+ years old.

Unless Sunbrella has changed the fabric considerably, I would not waste my money on it. You're better off going with whatever outdoor fabric over foam that dries quickly. And opt for mesh fabric/covering on the bottom so water can drain out. Unfortunately, this means you can't flip them over, but at least the water can drain out easily so when they inevitably get wet they will dry easily.

Yeah I am very confused. I got samples of both standard Sunbrella Outdoor, and the Sanbrella Rain. I folded them to form like a small pot and put 1 inch of water on both. After 2 minutes no water passed through, this on both of them. THe bottom part was 100% dry. I need to try again tomorrow, maybe times matter. Or maybe when installed they are stretched. Ebel representative suggested not to use Rain and to go with standard Sunbrella with Reticulated foam, and if any water enters it just drains out. But she didnt seem to have much experience with Rain, they dont really sell it, mostly cause color choice is poor.