Should I purchase "'Fabric Protection'"?

I am very skeptical. This seems a lot like the “extended warranty” (electronics/appliances) or “special undercoating protection” (auto) scams that pad the salesman’s commission. However, I would like an informed opinion from those who might know more about buying furniture than I do.

Here’s the deal. I am in the process of buying a couple of rooms worth of furniture. The pieces in question are a couple of couches and loveseats. One set for the living room, one for the den.

Salesman advises me to purchase fabric guard protection, which I assume is some stain resistant chemical they will add. I know some carpets are treated this way, but I don’t know if this is a good investment or a rip-off that I don’t really need. The cost is $59 for each couch and $49 for each loveseat. For this extra $216, they will guarantee against stains (by offering cleaning or replacement) for 5 years. In addition, if I do not use the service, I can apply the cost of the fabric protection as a voucher against a future purchase. (I am assuming that this would come in the way of four separate vouchers good on four separate purchases rather than being able to apply the whole $216 to one piece).

So, anyone who has faced this question, or has good knowledge of what this entails, I would appreciate the “straight dope” and some advice. My gut reaction is to decline the protection, but then I think about grape juice or iced tea.

Depends on how clumsy you are. In my house, it’s a foregone conclusion that any surface can be subjected to coffee/milk/soda at any moment, so if they’re offering FREE stain removal for five years, I’d be all over it.

OTOH, if you’re not particularly clumsy, investing in a few cans of Scotch Gard when you first bring the stuff home will protect you from the rare spill just as well as the expensive stuff.

In general, I think you’re right to be hesitant. I too think of fabric protection along the same lines as undercoating, but…

We got new living room furniture about a year ago. We have one cat that seems to “binge and purge” - not hairballs, she just seems to eat too much sometimes and ralphs it up. We got fabric protection, and boy is that cat glad we did. She puked all over the arm and seat of the new chair within two weeks of our getting it; did it again about two weeks later The stains wouldn’t come out. They ended up replacing the chair. Cat avoided The Big Drink. Barely.

Our fabric protection was through Guardian; I wouldn’t give them a ringing endorsement. Although they did replace the chair eventually, it took a while and involved persistence phone calls, keeping track of names and dates, and eventual fit-pitching. I got the feeling that part of their corporate startegy was to try to wear you down with delays in the hope that you will give up and they won’t have to fulfill a warranty claim. Still, despite the hassles, I’m glad we got the protection.

Another thing I learned - know the “rating” of your fabric, especially if your of a mind to apply aftermarket protectors like ScotchGuard or something from a fabric cleaning company (ChemDry). I had the same idea as Ethilrist - buy ScotchGuard, do it myself cheaper. Our was an “S” rated fabric. ScotchGuard said not to apply it to S fabrics, so my DIY idea was out. Guardian sent a cleaning company out as part of the warranty; the tech mumbled something about “oh, this is S rated”. Using the wrong type of cleaner or protector can apparently damage/further stain the fabric.

So, if you’re at high risk for spills/stains (pets, kids. Oscar Madison), I’d say go ahead, but check out the stain warranty company first. I hate to tell someone to get an “extended warranty” type of product (I always refuse them), but in this case I’m glad we did, and I’d do it again despite the hassels.

We’ve since put a baby gate up to keep the cat out of that room.

Congrats on the new furniture.

Shaky Jake

When we bought some furniture a couple years ago, we got the stain protection. I recall it being something like $60 for all three pieces, not per item. It had some kind of warrenty, but we mostly figured that if we got a spill, it would be easier to clean, and would come cleaner than without the protection (we have small kids). They had some little demo with strips of thick paper, and with the protection, the strips didn’t soak in much of some die compared to without. It worked even after we wrinkled up one of the strips and tried it, so we bought it.

$219 sounds pretty steep to me, though.

Ask some specific questions about the type of chemicals they are using on the fabric, if for no other reason than the answers might either set off or silence your bs detector. Then, write down the names of the chemicals and check out consumer reports or some similar publication.
Before you assume you can do it yourself with Scotch Guard, make sure you can still buy it in your area. I’ve had trouble finding places that still sell it recently.

My SO bought a new couch and loveseat a few months before we got together and he got the fabric protection. He didn’t have kids at the time either, he just thought it would be a good idea to get it to protect the furniture. One good stain and you’re furniture looks like shit and you have to buy more.

It basically says in the contract that anything that is spilled on the couch shouldn’t stain if it’s wiped up immediately or cleaned with soap and water. If it does stain we bring it back and they remove the stain themselves. If they can’t remove the stain we get a brand new couch. I’m not sure how much extra it cost him… I think it was around $100 for both items… can’t swear to it though.

I think it’s a good thing to have. I have two small children in the house but they don’t run around with their drinks so spills aren’t too much of a concern. But the way I see it, if a kid can crayon all over a door or a wall, they can crayon all over your couch too. It’s kind of a “just in case” kind of thing. Shit happens, ya know. Just read over their contract very carefully before committing to it.

I seem to remember that a few weeks ago that Scotchguard was either taken off the market or there had been some warnings about it because of doubts about how safe it was.

Precisely. The 3-M Corporation rather quietly stopped producing Scotchguard, saying essentially that the substance is, IIRC, “persistent and ubiquitous,” or something to that effect. This is legalize for “use it at your own risk.” It’s apparent to me that 3-M knows (or at least strongly suspects) that its product may be far more dangerous than we currently know. Who knows what the long-term health effects are, but considering that many carpets are also impregnated with the stuff, prudence suggests doing without. Corporation don’t pull popular products without compelling reason.

My wife was a division manager for Sears Homelife. She referred to these Stain protection agreements as almost pure profit. You could get the same results with a can of Scotch Guard. Most people do not use them once they are purchased. And the are generally sold to rubes (imho).

Hey there “shining brow”. You are new here to the SDMB so I’ll be polite. Implying that members here are “rubes” because they’ve purchased something that was useful to them (as evidenced by their anecdotes) isn’t going to make you real popular. Second, if you had bothered to read the 2 posts preceding yours you would have seen that your Scotchgard suggestion is pointless. Just some friendly tips. Welcome to the fight against ignorance.

Wow, both barrels! read all the posts . The may not make it any more, as was widely reported last year. But the damn sure sell it. Home Depot has it on their shelves. I f you look at my sign up date it is only a month later than yours, hardly new. I read the posts often and write few. I think your effort to police my bad behavior is pointless as well. My rubes comment was not directed at members of this board. But IN MY HUMBLE OPINION (Key phrase here)
how the sales people who sell these items characterize their customers.
Some people will swear by extended warranties on cars even though they are generally held to be a bad deal for the consumer. The SPAs as they are known are more than just stain guard, they will actually warranty the removal of the stain. The thing is few people actually take them up on it. The sales people push them because the commissions are high not because they are a good deal for the purchaser. I hope I have clarified my previous inarticulate posting. But i stand by what I said.

mrs absimia and I also bought furniture recently and go the fabric protection…mostly because of our cats. We haven’t had to use it yet, and maybe we won’t have to, but accidents happen. That being said, my usual determination of whether of whether or not to get the extra warranties and whatnot are:

  1. How likely is an accident?

  2. Could I replace the item in question without it being a devastating blow to my checking/savings account?

I’m sure taliesin is correct in saying most companies make a lot of money off of the warranties (they aren’t, after all, in the biz of giving stuff away). They figure, “How likely is it we’ll have to pay out?” and “How much money will we have to pay out?” Most people do not use it, therefore its mostly free money to them. But could you afford clean or replace or put up with a stained whatever?

Its like the insurance companies, if we were all rich and could afford emergency care and whatnot, none of us would need or want Health insurance.

Oh yeah? Well, I knew that your name meant “shining brow”. So, I gotta get points for that. Right?

I honestly didn’t notice your registration date, but I stand behind what I said, also. I did not intend to give you “both barrels”.

Just in case there are those out there spending sleepless nights wondering what my final decision was…

I decided to drop the fabric guard from the living room sofa and loveseat. It is a darkish floral pattern, and we plan on using the living room as a more formal area, not for lounging around and eating.

I decided to keep the protection on the den sofa and loveseat. They are white, and would probably have a better chance of receiving a spill.

Thanks much for the input.