dani3boys Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We are looking for new living room furniture, but I'm not sure which type of covering we should be looking for, leather, microfiber, etc. We have a medium sized dog that sheds a little bit. He doesn't scratch or chew, but he does spend a lot of time laying around on the furniture. What type of covering will clean up easily but not get scratched easily? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I used to own leather furniture but switched to microfiber because of my pets. I have come to love microfiber much more than leather! While it's easier to wipe the fur off of leather, you can vacuum off the couch to get off the fur, or you can use one of those rubber brush thingies to get it off. NO fur penetrates microfiber, not even fine cat fur! I've had two leather couches ruined by pets. I *never* recommend leather to anyone who has a cat, (my cat didn't scratch but was sleeping on the couch. When the dogs barked, she spooked and ran away, leaving a scratch on my thick, high quality leather. That scratch turned into a hole within a year.) but if you have a dog larger than a toy or small breed, that will spend time on the furniture, I'd go with microfiber. I have a beautiful "salsa" colored microfiber sectional that I *LOVE*. It looks just as good as the day we bought it! It's SO easy to clean. I love the black leather in my vehicle but if cars ever come out with microfiber, I will no longer own a car with leather interior. I'm a HUGE fan of microfiber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Girl Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Leather scratches, and microfiber can hang on to dog hair like velcro. (Fun, huh?) We have one sofa with a velvet-like slipcover and another one with microfiber. I vacuum them both every week. For what it's worth, we make a bigger mess of the sofas than the dog does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I have a leather sofa that is almost like bomber jacket leather. I don't like the style, but I keep it because it has worked well with the pets. It's not a smooth, shiny leather, so the scratches my pets have added look pretty natural for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We just have plain ol' cotton, but we made it a rule that the dog can only lay on one of the sofas--and that one is covered with a denim slip cover because it's in hideous shape. You might want to rethink your boundaries. Thanks for telling us about microfiber, Denise--I didn't know fur/hair can't penetrate it--the cat's hair seems to sew itself into the furniture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 If you want your leather to look shiny and new longer than 10 minutes after it's delivered, then don't have pets. My cats won't scratch the leather the way they would scratch on a scratching post, but their jumping up on it sure scratches it up. Happily for me, my only leather furniture is my recliner that I got used on Craigslist for $50, so I'm not nearly as upset over scratches as I would have been had I paid $1000 for this chair new. Anyway, my sofa is microfiber and pet hair vacuums off very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver_67579 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 pets haven't scratched it near as much as the kids have.... oh and until recently I have had 4 dogs and 2 cats. Dogs aren't allowed on the couch-but I have caught them there on occasion....no problems yet. Oh and my peeing cat hasn't peed on the leather-but any fabric....:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We just have plain ol' cotton, but we made it a rule that the dog can only lay on one of the sofas--and that one is covered with a denim slip cover because it's in hideous shape. You might want to rethink your boundaries. We do a different version of that here. We have thin covers (old tablecloths, usually) that we throw over the furniture. The dog (and the two before her), knows not to get on the couch if the cover's not there. We shake them out each time we vacuum, and if someone comes over, we fold it inward to contain any hair, and tuck it under the couch. We also brush our dogs regularly. We have a longer hair dog now, and it took me awhile to find the right brush for her. Much easier time of managing the fur now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani3boys Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 Thanks for all of the information everyone. I think I'm leaning toward the microfiber. I don't mind vacuuming, but I don't want brand new furniture that will be damaged soon after I get it. I never thought I'd have a dog who I would allow on the furniture, but we got him when he was five and pretty set in his ways. We did try to break him of the habit, but he went crazy and chewed up the trim around our doors and the door handle while we were gone. He has some separation issues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 This is probably not for everyone but I have to say I LOVE my futon couch. I love that I have various covers that can be washed. With dogs and kids the cover certainly gets washed every once in a while. Plus it doubles as an extra bed for guests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I used to own leather furniture but switched to microfiber because of my pets. I have come to love microfiber much more than leather! While it's easier to wipe the fur off of leather, you can vacuum off the couch to get off the fur, or you can use one of those rubber brush thingies to get it off. NO fur penetrates microfiber, not even fine cat fur! I've had two leather couches ruined by pets. I *never* recommend leather to anyone who has a cat, (my cat didn't scratch but was sleeping on the couch. When the dogs barked, she spooked and ran away, leaving a scratch on my thick, high quality leather. That scratch turned into a hole within a year.) but if you have a dog larger than a toy or small breed, that will spend time on the furniture, I'd go with microfiber. I have a beautiful "salsa" colored microfiber sectional that I *LOVE*. It looks just as good as the day we bought it! It's SO easy to clean. I love the black leather in my vehicle but if cars ever come out with microfiber, I will no longer own a car with leather interior. I'm a HUGE fan of microfiber. I have to second Denise's recommendation of microfiber. With three dogs, two giant Leonbergers and one Pembroke Welsh Corgi, as well as three cats, there's a lot of hair in our house. The Pemmy sheds more than the Leos combined, though--- and he's the only one allowed on the furniture. Leos are just too big. Microfiber has held up well for us, and as Denise says, no hair penetrates it and it cleans easily with Resolve. Though knock wood, the only stains I've had to remove have been ones that I have made--- spilled cocoa on an arm once. astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 My cats never scratch my microtones. They can't get ther claws into the fabric so they just lie around on it. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Leather scratches, and microfiber can hang on to dog hair like velcro. (Fun, huh?) We have one sofa with a velvet-like slipcover and another one with microfiber. I vacuum them both every week. For what it's worth, we make a bigger mess of the sofas than the dog does. I completely disagree with your assessment of microfiber. I have 3 dogs and 3 cats in the house and I can tell you that hair on our microfiber is a NON issue. My little dogs even lay on the couch. I vacuum my sofa when we have company over, but that's pretty much it. I don't even do that all the time. Our sofa is salsa (red) and one of my little dogs is white. She sheds, but it's a NON issue on the sofa. She's the one that lays on it the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 How about microfiber with cats... do they like to scratch on it? I have had cotton, which they destroyed, and imitation leather, which now has little pick marks all over it. I'd really like some new furniture but would like to not have it ruined in a week. I've had my cats run away from dogs, across the top of the couch, across the couch, etc. My sectional is 6 or 7 years old and there is NO sag, and the material is in perfect condition. It truly looks brand new! I'm going to have it steam cleaned (wish I had done this annually but I hadn't owned fabric in over a decade and never thought of it!) because I notice that I have to wash the arm rests more these days. I think steam cleaning will change that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.