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Tough Sofa Stains Test

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By Janine Waite ·
Affiliate Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links.

 

Should i buy pottery barn’s white sofa?

i’m sure that most of you that follow my blog, know that i’ve been preoccupied with my sofa dilemma.  so here is the scoop, i’m in the market to replace our old worn, uncomfortable, out of style… sofa. can you tell, i’m wanting to have a new sofa? so, not sure you know my little secret but, i will research a project to death and i get to the point where i suffer from “analysis, paralysis!” i started this adventure with the mindset that i would not get too involved in the research and because after all, i wanted a slipcover sofa and the stain issue could be solved with a wash cycle. well, the whole process has snowballed and i’m now experiencing a white blizzard in my mind. i don’t know which way is up or down and i haven’t narrowed my choices all that much. so, i did do one thing… i took the pottery barn swatches and reluctantly put stains on three white fabrics and then i washed them by hand with cold water. what followed was information that was eye opening for me so, in this blog post i’m sharing my experience and results. i proud that i conducted my own science project and it was all driven by my crazy obsessive personality! well… enjoy the read and i hope my journey is interesting and helpful.

The details of my little study:

1. three pottery barn slipcover swatches (not sure if they have scotch guard applied)

~ performance canvas white (100% polyester)
~ washed linen cotton white (55% linen, 45% cotton)
~ twill white (100% cotton)

2. stains

~ black pen
~ cooking oil
~ chocolate
~ dirt
~ lipstick

3. hand wash with cold water

i wanted to hand wash the fabric so i could feel how tough it was to get the stains out.

4. air dry

 

~ a funny note about the nester ~when our kiddos were toddlers, they would jump on our sofa
like little monkeys. well, our cat, huxley loved these two so much that she would lie
on the sofa right next to where they were jumping.
i’m was sure she was going to get crushed, but somehow she didn’t!
she was the best kitty!

 

catalog ~ ok, this is serious… i have the pottery barn furniture catalog, and the crate and barrel, and restoration hardware, and ballard designs… just saying!
let the games begin! now you know which lipstick i use. so here is the lineup of all the stain makers i wanted to test. i’m sad to say that i didn’t include red wine, oye!
everyday dirt ~ that’s right, i went out in our garden and scooped up a little dirt and added a little bit of water. i think i have technically lost it! hopefully i won’t lose you as a reader.  🙂
here are the other 3 stain offenders ~ cooking oil, a generic version of lovely nutella, and a black pen. hmm… i can see cases for all four of the stains ending up on my future sofa!
the tough sofa stains ~ here are the pottery barn slipcover swatches with their line up of stains!
line up of cleaners! ~ cleaners to the rescue, oxiclean non-chlorine, resolve, and grandma’s secret stain remover (this stuff is the best, here is the amazon link: stain remover). i didn’t include bleach, since the fabric care states only non-chlorine bleach when needed. i’m sure non-chlorine bleach will work marvelously well on the stains, but i chose not to include it in this study. my friend’s daughter used the regular bleach on their slipcover and it got yellowed, so i was kind of reluctant to try it. maybe next time!
restoration hardware sofa ~ i just thought i would throw this photo in since the sofa is so pretty. a little distraction… 🙂
the results are in! these results are from just hand washing in only cold water and vigorously scrubbing without any help from the cleaner team.
twill ~ note the cooking oil is pretty faint and the others are pretty light. it cleaned up well with just cold water.
polyester ~ this one was interesting. it took me a while to even get the fabric wet. it like stayed dry and the water beaded up on the fabric, you can kind of see little droplets of water on the bottom right side. according to my friend, who has a science background, polyester is nylon which has a petroleum base. and this petroleum wicks water. the stains are still strong on the material
linen cotton blend ~ when washing and scrubbing this fabric, the stains didn’t budge at all. maybe the dirt and cooking oil are lighter but the chocolate, pen and lipstick are just as strong.
now the tough stain cleaners are put to work! ~
twill ~ this fabric cleaned the best and the quickest! one thing i noticed that when it was wet it was the most wrinkly of the bunch and as you can see in the photo, the dried fabric kept the wrinkles. the swatch’s threads held up nicely and it didn’t unravel too much or change it’s shape.
polyester ~ the results of this material was surprising. i thought for sure this would be the easiest to clean and it wouldn’t hold any of the stains because of the polyester. but it turned out that the stains were difficult to get out, i had to scrub it quite a bit and you can see the fabric kind of got worn on the left bottom corner.  i’m pretty certain that i won’t be choosing a polyester blend.
linen cotton blend ~ this one was the toughest fabric to get the stains out. i’m not sure why, but i would guess it was the linen that held the stains. also, as you can see it unraveled the most. the threads moved around a ton. this would definitely not be a fabric i would choose because of the stain factor and the lack of durability, since i have two teenage kids in our home.
conclusion ~
this was the most interesting tough stain test i’ve ever done and i’m so glad that i put these sofa fabrics to the test! i’ve totally been reading opinions on the internet, but it was nice to experience it first hand. i feel like now i know what to expect of the various fabric types and it’s not so much a mystery. so, onward with this sofa quest… next, i’ll have to figure out how the various sofa company’s cushion shapes hold up. should i buy a down sofa cushions, spring and down, and foam. this process is pretty overwhelming, but hopefully i have just narrowed down my options and i’m glad to help out anyone else out there! let me know if this was a helpful blog post. and if you have a white sofa, i would love to hear what type and how you like it.
cheers,
 
janine
Janine Waite
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Comments

  1. Kymberly Barlow

    The twill seems like the best PB option…but I'm not sure if I'm 100% sold on it bc of the wrinkle factor. Would that mean I'd have to iron it prior to placing it back on the sofa? Oh vey! Overall, amazing analysis and loved this post <3

    Reply

    • Janine Waite

      Hi Kymberly,

      I know this whole sofa thing is so overwhelming! Supposedly with the fabrics, you can machine wash them and then tumble dry (without a heat cycle) and take them out when the material is slightly damp. Then you place them on the sofa and cushions while damp. I guess if you don't do it this way, it is a big struggle to get them on! The twill cleaned up nicely, but yes it was a little wrinkly, I'm wondering if they come out after the fabric is dried and stretched a bit? Also, I just tested a swatch from Crate and Barrel and I let the stain sit for a night and when I went to clean the ink and lipstick the next morning they were really hard to get off! So, it matters how long you wait to remove the stain. Well, I just bought a sofa, I chose the Crate and Barrel Harborside. They just finished their big upholstery sale! I wish you luck on your journey for buying a sofa!

      Janine

    • Donna

      Janine,
      How has your sofa held up? Looking to purchase it myself…

    • happyhappynester

      Hi Donna,

      I wrote this post before I bought my white slipcover sofa and it was super helpful to see which fabrics held up stains and washing. So, after all, my testing and research, I ended up buy a Crate and Barrel Harborside sofa. I LOVE it! It was a tiny bit stiff when we first got it, but I think that worked in its favor. It is now nice and comfy and it isn’t so relaxed that it looks sloppy. I haven’t had to wash it yet since it appears that all I have to do is vacuum it clean. I did do a test on their fabric and it did really well. I did end up with a canvas fabric after running my little test. I really do need to do a follow up on my sofa choice and cleaning. I want to clean the slipcovers in August and Crate and Barrel said not to use Oxyclean since there is a tiny bit of polyester that likes to yellow with this product. Otherwise the salesperson says everyone loves how it cleans up, and I love that I don’t have to have it dry cleaned like the Potter Barn sofa. I hope this helps! Let me know which one you choose!

    • Debberoo

      This is the sofa I’m considering. How is it holding up? Have you washed the covers yet?

    • happyhappynester

      Hello!
      After much deliberation, I ended up buying a Crate and Barrel sofa! I need to write a follow-up post! I did do a test of their fabrics and it went well. I was recently told by the salesperson at CB to not use Oxyclean when washing my slipcovers. It has a tiny bit of nylon that will yellow from the Oxyclean. I haven’t had to clean my slipcovers yet since we all sit on fuzzy faux fur blankets. But, as far as my Crate and Barrel instructions say, I should wash them in my home washer and hang dry. Hope this helps. We bought the Harborside with three cushions on the bottom.

    • Sheryl

      I have the PB white twill sectional and when I wash it is a little wrinkled when it comes out of the dryer but once it stretched over the frame or cushions it looks great with the exception of the skirt. I usually use my steamer on the skirt just to make it look better but if you’re inclined you could just iron the skirt before you put the frame covers back on (and you could skip the ones that are against a wall😜).

  2. Lisa @ Texas Decor

    I LOVED this post, Janine!! I love to read about product comparisons, etc. And you did such a good job with all the labeling of the stains and everything! I was surprised too that the polyester didn't do too well. And the fact that it was worn in spots would make me steer away from it. I like how well the twill did though! I'd rather deal with wrinkles than worn spots or stains. 🙂 At least you can fix wrinkles…although ironing is my least favorite chore, right next to scrubbing the shower. Lol! Good luck in your sofa search!

    Reply

    • Janine Waite

      Hi Lisa,,

      Thanks so much for your kind comment! I'm so glad you loved this post because I loved writing this post, I have a lot of passion about my latest obsession! I do try to research my big ticket furniture purchases, but this one went pretty in depth. :o) I think I drove my family crazy. I do agree with you about the polyester, I was surprised that it was tougher to get the stains out, but most importantly the fabric was worn. I agree with you, I'm not very fond of ironing and I definitely loathe scrubbing my shower tiles! I wish, you lived closer and we could hang out, we sound like we would have a great time together!!!

      Cheers,

      Janine

  3. Louise J.

    I am very glad to read this post! It is very nice that you did this experiment! Thank you for the share! The post is just great!

    Reply

    • Janine Waite

      Thanks Louise! I really enjoyed writing this post. I really wanted to know first hand how these fabrics performed with various stains. I still have to add a few more tests. I stained crate and barrel's swatches too and they did alright. the interesting thing about this experiment is that i didn't wash the fabric right away. so, it made sense that it was tougher to get the stains out! are you in the market to buy a white slipcover sofa? thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a nice comment!

  4. Marlene

    Very cool experiment! I love to do this kind of thing,too! I don't believe a product until I don't try it myself! Thanks for the post!

    Reply

  5. Debberoo

    Couldn’t figure out how to reply directly to your reply but thank you so much for answering my question. I am having anxiety over which slip covered sofa to go for so it’s very helpful to hear about your experience. I “think” I’m going to go for the harborside too.

    Reply

    • happyhappynester

      Hi Debberoo,
      I know exactly your anxiety about choosing a sofa. It is a big ticket item and you don’t want to make a mistake. What I have seen of the Pottery Barn sofa is that it is soft and casual. My friend has one and she said it came with the cushions relaxed and collapsed. The Harborside cushions arrive a bit firm but they soften up. The plus is that they keep their shape. Also, the lines of the slipcover are pretty. We throw faux furs on our sofa for added protection and comfort and I LOVE it! Just fyi, if you buy the Harborside order the three cushion version rather than the two cushion. Three cushions will not sag as much as the two. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

  6. Beatrice X. Blitorn

    If you know you want a Chesterfield and you know you want a true bright red lipstick- its perfection. My room is filled with an art deco palette- that works perfectly with the red couch. Make sure you have your decor down, and your colors picked correctly, because this red will easily become a nightmare if you just toss it in. As for the quality-ours is great. Beautiful, strong, no problems.
    Regards,
    Beatrice X. Blitorn

    Reply

  7. Bonnie

    Loved your sofa analysis! Good work. I bought a canvas slip covered sofa and chair from C&B about 10 years ago. After sitting in all the sofas in Richmond that I liked, I “visited” the C&B sofa every time I went to the mall for a year. (I think it was a Bayside.) The decision was made and we ordered it. Between the time it was ordered and then delivered, the manufacturer changed their construction materials to a new “eco” standard. This greatly affected how it sat both in the seat and back cushions. The back cushions are overstuffed and like cylinders! I have never liked it. All my “sit” testing was wasted and I was hugely disappointed that I wasn’t informed by Crate & Barrel of the change. Still unhappy! 😪

    Reply

    • happyhappynester

      Oh wow, I’m so sorry they changed the sofa construction on you. Yes, I love my Harborside sofa, and they no longer make it. I need to get into the store and do another bunch of testings on their latest sofas! Thanks so much for your informative comment!

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