Stain-resistant sofa fabrics are a game changer for busy homes.
Let’s face it—life can get hectic, and the last thing you want to worry about is whether your kids are spilling juice or eating snacks on the sofa. Having furniture that can stand up to everyday messes really helps keep things stress-free and makes the home feel more relaxed.
If you haven’t heard about the newer treated stain-proof fabrics...
You’re in for a pleasant surprise.
Being in the trade, I’ve known about these fabrics for a while, but I’m always surprised that more people don’t know about them. Because they are a game changer. These fabric treatents are more well known to our shoppers in USA, but less so for our buyers in Canada and the United Kingdom.
One of my customers mentioned that her stain-proof couch had lasted her for 10 years, and it still looked fantastic when I saw it!
We carry a great selection of these fabrics, and many are actually pretty affordable, too. I’ve always been curious to really test how well these fabrics hold up, and I figured it was time to put one stain proof upholstery fabric to the ultimate test.
Testing Stain Proof Fabric
As someone who’s been in the textile industry for decades, I knew one of the toughest stains to get rid of is permanent marker. So, I decided to draw on a sample of Bella stain-proof fabric with both regular pen and permanent marker, and let it sit for 24 hours to make sure the stains were really set in.
The Sharpie did not come out.... at first.
I wasn’t too concerned about the pen stain—I figured it would come out easily. I have experience working with this fabric and I knew the pen would wash out. But I wasn’t so sure about the Sharpie. The pen stain came out with just a little dish soap and a damp cloth. The Sharpie mark didn’t disappear right away, but to my surprise it faded quite a bit with just soap and water. I was already impresssed.
Soaking the Sharpie Stain
At that point, I thought I’d give the sharpie mark a soak in rubbing alcohol, since it’s known to help lift ink stains. I set the fabric in 99% rubbing alcohol.
Tip for treating stains on furniture:
If this fabric was on furniture, I would have used a cloth soaked in alcohol and laid it on the stain, adding more alcohol as it evaporated.
Wow! The Stain Is Almost Gone
After about an hour, the stain was barely there.
A few more hours Soaking The Stain....
And in the end? The permanent marker was completely gone.
I have to say, I was pretty amazed. I really didn’t think that Sharpie stain was going anywhere, but it came off completely.
Now, when customers ask me if these stain treatments really work, I can confidently say, “Yes, they definitely do!”