WIBU to buy sofas you can't clean (with kids and pet)?

We have a velvet sofa and it looks new after 8 years.

I have a velvet sofa from DFS. Got it 6 or 7 years ago and I think it still looks as good as new! Have kids as well.

We just bought a dfs sofa a few months ago and paid for the insurance on it. I think it was for 5 years or something. I’d say just get the one you want and if it get damaged make a claim

Having had literally every kind of sofa going back in teh days when I'd get second hand and cheap or second hand and free - with various cats, dogs, rats, mice, hamsters and people of various ages and degrees of stickiness - would not entertain anything but hardwearing leather now.

If you don't like sitting on leather, and I don't, use throws, and you can get whole sofa covers that are elasticated so they're not slipping off unduly. I would rather straighten throws/covers than look at a grubby sofa thats only a few months old and know I can't justify changing it for years!

We've had our new S. W. James sofa since Oct. 24 - still looks like new. Thats with two fat humans and two hefty dogs and one (until recently) small, diggy, leaky dog.

We bought multi York sofas second hand as a holding sofa whilst we decided what to buy. They have stood up brilliantly, clean well and are really comfy. Worth a look if you find online/in charity shop

Not the cheapest but we got a sofa from here and had it made to fit our room. My son is never, ever sick but he threw up all over this sofa once and we threw the covers in the wash and it was fine. Obviously depends on which fabric you use.

I think velvet is awful personally, gives me the shivers (aware this is a me problem!) but also a bit tricky to clean.

https://www.jamesandrose.co.uk/?cid=23322855256&aid&copyid=&kid=&pos=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23322881896&gbraid=0AAAAADne6KvyBeS0vN-ave6NTQ9XMQ29u&gclid=Cj0KCQiApfjKBhC0ARIsAMiR_Ivpv3x0Qx5LNTeESPvdhY7C2b2S5dwjuJVmFdNgK4gwCl2PnlBkcqsaAmxoEALw_wcB

Have a look at Natuzzi. Not cheap but they do a range of stain resistant materials. I bought one last year. I believe the material is sfinge. It’s liquid repellent and comes with a stain warranty. It looks and feels like suede but is man made. They also did a material similar to velvet with the same benefits though I’m not sure of the name. My sofa is a pale greige type colour and 12 months later is still showroom perfect with children and a pet. The occasional mark comes right off with a damp micro fibre cloth

I have had a pair of leather sofas for 16 years. They are going strong and unstained and comfortable 2 kids, a dog and cat later. If you want longevity good quality leather sofas are the way to go. (I know they are not everyone's cup of tea and my mum complains that they are 'cold' even in the summer.)

I have young kids and a dog, and two sofas in my living room that are dry clean only. It only works because we have a snug / playroom that the kids use, and are allowed to eat / drink in. The living room is more a grown up space, and the children are not allowed to eat or drink in there, or climb on the sofas / play the floor is lava with the cushions / treat it with no respect.

Otherwise I would absolutely have a sofa with washable covers!!!

YABU and will regret it!

Buy sofas with removable covers or get some new covers for your existing Ikea sofa if it’s still comfy (I got some imported from Australia which are great).

We had leather for a while but I agree they are not particularly comfortable.

as a three cat household we now have throws. Cat vomit is a grade A pain to clean off a sofa and one of our old cats now Sadly demised had ibs and loved nothing more than to diarrhoae on the sofa. We were glad for washable covers then.

We bought sofas from courts, now thankfully all closed down..we bought 2 in a very traditional cream/blue stripe, this was in the 90s. Paid a lot of money for some fancy coating.. after a month they were filthy and cushions coming apart at the seams. Animals weren't allowed on them, and meals were strictly on the dining table. Some young kid came out, inspected, said it was our lifestyle and the house smelt of dogs. Had someone else round later,he said we had sat on them watching TV!!! I was a size 8, we aren't big, the cushions were sagging by now,4 months old, and there was metal bars showing through the fabric on the corners.I got just one new scatter cushion off them. I binned one,ds had one. Next was IKEA, removable washable covers. Then DFS,had no problems with them happy for 10 years. I added extra stuffing to the cushions myself. Wanted something with a high back last time, went to a little local independent shop, sadly now closed down. I use throws, you can get nice ones,dogs are allowed on them. Got a little Bissell carpet upholstery shampooer, they are cleaned in the warmer weather,they have separate arm covers which are regularly washed.

It’s more comfortable and less firm than it looks, though it depends how you prefer to sit. It’s not really a “curl up with your legs tucked in” sofa - which is why we have the velvet one, but DH doesn’t do that and so finds it too deep and squishy. Sofa choosing is a minefield generally, which is why I’m hoping ours outlive us.

Yes. I would love a fabric sofa but not until the dog dies. 😉

For anyone who didn’t know, ordinary hairspray will get rid of biro marks on fabric. I’ve used it successfully on a pale yellow sofa.

Definitely get ones that you can clean or ideally removable covers. You have no idea what life will throw at you during the lifetime of the sofa.

Being unashamedly grim here, but this will be your family sofa through potential tummy bugs, girls starting their periods, teenagers experimenting with alcohol.

Your cat will get older and may struggle with continence. Cat may bring dead things covered with blood onto the sofa or vomit on it. Who knows.

Even if your sofa hasn't had to contend with these sorts of grim things for a while, doesn't mean it might not in the next decade or whatever.

I don't think you'll look back and go 'I wish we hadn't bought a sofa we can clean' but it's entirely possible you may look back and wish you had bought a washable one.

We have a local British Heart Foundation store that does furniture. I'm in there every week looking.

When I replace my DFS sofas I'm going to buy good quality second hand ones and if I need to spend the money on recovering them with good cleanable fabric and perhaps a spare set of covers.