But the cover wasn't the real expense. The real expense was what happened underneath it.

You don't notice it at first. The damage is slow. Invisible. It happens while the cover is on — while you think everything is fine.

Then you lift the cover off one spring morning and your stomach drops.

Green mildew spreading across fabric that was spotless when you covered it. Rust blooming at the metal joints where rainwater seeped through split seams and pooled for months.

Cushion foam gone brittle and crumbling from UV that passed straight through the thin fabric. Wood grain warped and splitting from wet-dry cycles it was never built to handle.

You look back at photos from two years ago — the day the furniture arrived — and the difference hits you.

You're not shopping for a new cover anymore. You're shopping for new furniture.