I just ordered a new sofa that should be here in a few weeks. It's going in the TV room and needs to be kid-resistant. The slimy salesman offered us a special deal of $200 for fabric protection, along with some horror stories of the poor people who didn't get the protection and got a stain the first week, but they couldn't help them out...

Anyway, my thought is that the protection is a good thing, but that $200 is excessive for it. Slimy salesman talked a lot about the warranty, but the warranty is basically that they send you a stain removal kit if you stain it, and if the kit doesn't work then they send a guy out to try to clean it. No real guarantee if that doesn't work - nothing about replacing the upholstery or anything.

Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing? The worthless warranty doesn't matter to me if the protection really works, you know?

7/17/2007 5:19:28 PM

i bought a couch last year. although i don't have kids, i do have 2 dogs and 3 cats that i am constantly fighting to keep off of it. i didn't get any fabric protection or special warranty. i haven't had any problems or stains yet.

get a couple of cans of super duper scotchguard or something and spray the hell out of it.

oh, what kinda fabric is it?

[Edited on July 17, 2007 at 5:23 PM. Reason : ]

7/17/2007 5:22:56 PM

did you get it at rooms to go?

but yea furniture people (especially R2G) ALWAYS try and push that stuff on you

7/17/2007 6:33:11 PM

Don't bother.

From what I've heard, they either don't put anything extra on the fabric, or they put something on there that you can do yourself.

What type of upholstery is it?

7/17/2007 6:46:56 PM

It's wide-wale corduroy, not sure of the type of fiber. Got it from Bedroom & Sofa Galleries on Tryon/Cary Parkway. I googled the fabric protection company (Ultra-Guard) and you can get enough spray from them to do the whole sectional for $85. Is anyone familiar with this product? Is it better than ScotchGuard like they claim?
TIA

7/17/2007 7:01:31 PM

Wouldn't know.

With a regimen of ScotchGuard, knowing wtf I'm doing, and prevention, I don't run into too many situations where I wish for more. I also would be using slipcovers if the couch were that important to me.

There should be a tag on the sofa that lists the fiber content. If it's a natural fiber (cotton, linen/flax, wool, silk only), which I'm kinda doubting, you'll be a lot better off if something happens, as natural fibers release contaminants more readily than man-made fibers. If it's man-made...well, be careful, or use slipcovers or both.

ScotchGuard and the like will buy you more time before permanent staining occurs.

7/17/2007 7:17:23 PM

they are just spraying the couch with offbrand teflon aerosol spray and charging $200.

you can do it yourself by getting a couple of cans at wal-mart and spraying the fabric yourself and waiting for it to dry. it smells awful while it dries, so keep it outside or the windows open.

i used a silicone spray on my fabrics, it's the same stuff i use on my coats and whatnot. it doesn't smell and works the same if not better than teflon.

7/17/2007 10:55:37 PM

Quote :

"I also would be using slipcovers if the couch were that important to me. "

why? i understand you want to protect your furniture but why buy it if you can't enjoy it? it's a couch not an investment. it's not going to increase in value and if it did you wouldn't sit on it anyway. i'm not trying to bash you. just curious as to why cover something you liked enough to buy and now you can't enjoy it.

7/18/2007 9:38:27 AM

Until the kids are old enough and well-behaved enough to not be a hazard to the couch
I also wouldn't have bought a new couch to go in the TV room where kids are likely to spend a lot of time (as opposed to a more formal living room)

I'm not trying to suggest this to hollister, as they clearly don't feel the same way, but that IS part of why I have no idea as to which spray-on method of protection is better than another: I've taken my mother's attitude on the matter, and so have no experience with the scenario she's presented.

7/18/2007 9:51:59 AM

Thanks everyone for your input. It's not that the couch is uber-important to me, it's that I want to avoid stains if possible and wondered if the fabric protection was a good way to help prevent them. *shrug* The fabric is sturdy, dark & should hide a lot.
Seotaji, what brand of silicone spray do you use, and what kinds of fabrics is it safe to spray on?

[Edited on July 18, 2007 at 2:08 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2007 2:08:16 PM