Looking For A Spill-topia Fabric?

My life has been thwarted by a mini inner conflict. I love cloud-white fabric sofas.

While I know that they aren’t practical, I adore how airy and versatile they are.  Simultaneously, I understand that they strike pure terror in anyone who sits upon them sipping a glass of red wine.
For decades, I’ve had to choose between a welcoming, worry-free home and my deep love affair with white seating.  Since I’ve consistently chosen the latter. I’ve had to streamline my guest list to dependable sipping, non-spilling friends. By last count there’s a whopping three approved peeps that can visit me.

Here’s where things get interesting, there’s a new-ish fabric development that changed my hermit lifestyle.  For many years, the fabric making gurus have been working on textiles that offer “don’t freak out” stain resistant finishes. The reason I’m especially excited now, is that they finally look incredibly natural and feel amazing.

You may have heard the term “Performance Fabrics,” since they’re basically the iPhone of textiles. But what does it actually mean? Simply put, it means the fabric has been either engineered or treated to resist stains. They are made to perform better than other textiles …and they really do!

Before you toss out your napkins and begin eating directly on your sofa let me right size your expectations. Not all Performance Fabrics will react the same way. Some spills may sit on the top of the fabric, while other spills may sink into the weave.

Now, you may be thinking, “I‘ll take the one that beads up like rain on a waxed car, please”.  While that may be the Utopia of spills (Spill-topia so to speak) there are some tricky occasions where a spill could sink into the weave. Picture this scenario, your cat does that weave-in-between-your legs-thing and you launch your morning coffee right into the seat cushion or the lid falls off as you are shaking your salad dressing and splatters oil on your fabric chair.

Those are code red spills that will appear to have stained your fabric. I say “appear” because what you need to remember is that the threads are protected and the stain will come out. That’s the magic of Performance Fabrics.

Yep that just happened…

5 Tips To Removing A Stain from a Performance Fabric

1. Don’t freak out.
2. If the liquid is puddling on the top of the fabric, simply soak it up with a paper towel. Don’t apply pressure or you may push the liquid into the weave.
3. If the liquid has been absorbed into the fabric, lightly blot the stained area with a clean, damp, white cloth.  Avoid rubbing (don’t buff it like car) Work this step for a few minutes.
4. Still no luck? If the stain is still there, add a tiny bit of detergent to your cloth and keep blotting. Dawn detergent work well.
5. Once the stain is out blot the area with water only.  Soap residue will actually make the area more susceptible to dirt clinging to the cleaned area.

So that’s it …

If you are shopping for sofas, sectionals or chairs, you will undoubtably see Performance Fabrics offered.  There are now stunning Performance velvets, linens & cotton looks in every color and weave imaginable.

Guess it time to ramp up my friends list to include jugglers and Turkish coffee lovers.

Barefooted Designer

Amy Archer

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