I used a professional upholstery service to clean and stain guard my white sofa. It seems to be ok but not great. I would love to hear any tricks readers have.

Great question. I have nothing to add but am anxiously awaiting answers from those who do!

My roommate's pale blue couch is Scotchguarded, but we also use Resolve to spot clean it. We've gotten everything from chocolate to red wine out of it with no problems. Not really revelatory, I guess, but it works for us!

Scotchguarding is no longer allowed. Besides being super-toxic, it damages the ozone layer and therefore has been banned. Best thing to do: blot any liquid with a baby wipe ASAP.

Spot Shot is the BEST for getting stains out of my white sofa and carpet. We tend to have a lot of red wine spills.

i second laressa. spot shot is a life-saver! it's not a pretreater, but i've removed all kinds of icky stains with this stuff. it's available everywhere, and i've even clipped a few coupons for it, too.

Hi all,

I am interested in this as well, having recently order a custom cream sectional. I've been very hesitant to add any stain protection to it because of the chemicals used in the process. I'm thinking it would be better to look at what I can use to clean up any stains that may occur instead (so thanks for the Spot Shot suggestions, something I will look into).

I thought I had an article about it, but it turns out I was wrong and it's about fire retardant mattresses. That being said I think the underlining concern about chemically treated furniture may still be of interest so I'll include it here as FYI.

http://tinyurl.com/intotheflames

"I don't think anyone, once they are aware, wants themselves, their children or pets to be sitting on toxic chairs or couches and exposing their skin to chemical scotchguarding."

Then you'd better not have any dyed clothing or furniture in your house - keep the kids out of the car too - and don't buy them any leather or vinyl shoes, plastic toys, or books newspapers, computers or TV's - and don't let them out on the pressure-treated wood deck or on any fertilized lawns because those are all created with toxic chemicals too.

The best first thing you can do during a spill is to dump a lot of salt on the spill. Literally pour it on - salt is much more effective at quickly absorbing liquids than blotting is, and you don't rub the stain into the fabric at all. Then let it sit for 2 or 3 minutes and vacuum it up. Whatever stain is left you can then treat with a spot-treatment.

As gross as it sounds, saliva is excellent at removing blood stains - the enzymes in saliva are custom-tailored to break down the proteins. I got a hangnail once and got a spot of blood on my snowy white duvet a few months ago, and was able to make it completely disappear just by licking it. Like I said, gross - but better than buying a new duvet!

3m did phase out many Scotchgard products in 2003. The Scotchgard products you see now are reformulated to exclude PFOS, which is a highly toxic and accumulative chemical. These products are still based on fluorochemicals, which is the only class of chemicals that are able to resist stains. However, the reformulated product is suppoed to be nonaccumulative in humans and has a short half-life.

3M also has a webpage about this: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotchgard/Home/Resources/Environmental/

While the new formula isn't as safe as say, water, it's up to you to figure out the cost-benefits. If you're an alarmist, then you're better off coating your sofa with a layer of wax or a plastic slip cover (although plastic is chemicals, omg!). I personally have used two cans of Scotchgard on my white sofa, and don't regret it.

As I recall...
Scotchguard was taken off the market for about a year while they reformulated. Not as toxic as it once was, and not as effective.

I've had good results on minor stains on clothes with "naturallyclean Stain Eraser" enzyme cleaner wipes, used immediately after staining. I have a packet sitting near newly upholstered in winter white chairs...fingers crossed that I don't have to use it.

We got an entire glass of red wine out of a camel-colored upholstered chair with some All free-and-clear laundry detergent, a bowl of warm water, and a clean dishtowel to blot with. It took a lot of time and patience, but the chair looks like new. That said, a great deal depends on the fabric of the piece in the first place. Certain fabrics clean more easily than others.

Speaking of toxic, most furniture today has a flame retardant applied either to the fabric or the foam. IKEA furniture, as well as Pottery Barn and a million other brands have applied this flame retardant. The retardant only gives material approximately 15 seconds more time before it begins to burn, but placed in your in your home, this retardant gives off dust particles, particles that are unhealthy to breathe and are particularly dangerous to children and the elderly. Because of the passage of the California law stating that furniture needs this flame retardant (endorsed and lobbied by the folks who produce the product), all cushions are sprayed with this toxin. Some scientists in California are currently trying to repeal this law, but in the meantime, it is important to know about this chemical.

Nano-tex is a nanotechnology stain treatment for upholstery fabrics that repels pretty much everything, and can be cleaned with bleach or water.

Do not use baby wipes! They can take the dye off. I know from experience.

Since children seem to be responsible for many of the nastiest stain incidents, I'd say the best stain-guard product is a condom.

Try WINE AWAY, a product created for red wine stains, which removes almost everything - even pet stains. I keep one bottle at home, one in the country, and have even given this as hostess gifts!

Slipcovers. 2 sets. My daughter at age 2 was able to baffle the regional manager of one reputable stainguard product with her strawberry milkshake experiment: using the straw to splatter the milkshake on the new, custom, uber stainguarded sectional. After that learning experience, I've stuck with slipcovers.

I found a great new product called 4guard. I needed something to protect a silk sofa and that would be safe and non toxic. Well this 4 guard is number one fabric protection product among all designer. i was introduced to this company by holly hunt here in miami fl. The product is 100% Hypoallergenic. I hope this helps.you can find them at fabriclife.com