Is scotch guarding worth the $$$$$???

[MayMom]

We just ordered a new sectional sofa and it was $1200.00. The furniture store will scotch guard it for us for another $150.00 when it arrives. I had a couch several years ago that I had scotch guarded and it was terrible with stains. I swore I wouldn't waste the money again. But, this sectional is beautiful - all custom -made and I am rethinking my anti-scotch guard position. I brought up the subject of buying the scotch guard spray at the store and doing it myself, but the salesperson acted like this was a terrible idea. She said it would attract stains, rather than prevent them. Can I have some opinions from my friends please.......

 

[jillyjoey]

What kind of material is the couch? We bought (after 2 kids ruining the old) a new microsuede sectional & chaise last year -- had it treated (they called it something other than scotch guard for $200) -- lo and behold, after having for 2 months, DD (age 3 then) decided to write on the chaise and sectional with pen. A little dawn and "poof" it was gone. And, I don't want to gross any one out -- but 2 weeks ago, DD contracted a stomach bug at school and puked pizza all over my other microsuede couch in the living room -- used dawn again and clean up was gross but easy. Don't know if it was the treatment or the material -- but I'm not regretting spending the $200.

 

[mtrak17]

My two cents: DH and I bought a three-piece living room set (armchair, loveseat, sofa) approximately four years ago and were talked into getting it Scotchguarded. The salesperson definitely said the Scotchguard would protect against fading (the color was dark sage green).

Within the first year of owning it, the set lost probably 30% of its color. At this point, I would say the set is half the darkness as it was when we purchased it. I don't think the Scotchguard did anything at all to protect against fading, at least. Keep in mind that I live in the city, in the northeast, and generally keep my blinds closed, so it's not as if I live in sunny Florida!!

The only two stains we've gotten have both been un-cleanable, although I will say they were bad stains (paint!! and oil!!).

I definitely wouldn't waste my money on Scotchguard next time

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't think the Scotchguard did anything at all to protect against fading, at least.

Scotchguard protects against stains, it does nothing to protect against fading. Your salesperson was either fibbing or didn't know what she was talking about.

$150 sounds outrageously expensive to Scotchguard a sofa! Buy some cans of the stuff and do it yourself. Your salesperson is full of baloney! I just had our family room carpet Scotchguarded by Stanley Steemers after they cleaned it and it only cost $20.00.

 

[pyrxtc]

I paid for schotchguarding on this couch and my last one. The SG went along with the warranty and we weren't to try to clean any stains, eveyr time, they sent soemone out after we got instructions to try to cleanthe stains. they came, looked and decided that our couch was stained permanent and replaced the whol thing. same deal with this one, if stain won't come out, they will replace it for free. If that's the deal then I would pay the extra. Our stains allw ere along the lines of babies, potty training children and sick. You don't want to know details!

 

[Donnask8pro]

pyrxtc,
You got to tell me where you bought your couch from. I would love that deal.

 

[pyrxtc]

I bought my recent one from Ashley furniture and I got the last one from I think it was from a place called Furniture world. We even bought it at the clearance wharehouse.

 

[ilovejack02]

What kind of material is the couch? We bought (after 2 kids ruining the old) a new microsuede sectional & chaise last year -- had it treated (they called it something other than scotch guard for $200) -- lo and behold, after having for 2 months, DD (age 3 then) decided to write on the chaise and sectional with pen. A little dawn and "poof" it was gone. And, I don't want to gross any one out -- but 2 weeks ago, DD contracted a stomach bug at school and puked pizza all over my other microsuede couch in the living room -- used dawn again and clean up was gross but easy. Don't know if it was the treatment or the material -- but I'm not regretting spending the $200.

I dont think i would ever pay to have microseude scotch guarded ... from what i have experienced it is a very good material and super easy to clean without paying extra. I paid about 8 yrs ago to have a couch scotchguarded and it has been easy to clean since then. I think i paid 150.00 for it.

 

[Kycha]

I paid for schotchguarding on this couch and my last one. The SG went along with the warranty and we weren't to try to clean any stains, eveyr time, they sent soemone out after we got instructions to try to cleanthe stains. they came, looked and decided that our couch was stained permanent and replaced the whol thing. same deal with this one, if stain won't come out, they will replace it for free. If that's the deal then I would pay the extra. Our stains allw ere along the lines of babies, potty training children and sick. You don't want to know details!

We got the same deal from LaZBoy.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We got the same deal from LaZBoy.

Good luck if you have a problem. We spent a fortune on a LaZBoy living room set and in less than a year it is a piece of junk. We had it scotchguarded with this teflon stuff that they use now. We called LaZBoy because the cushions on our couch are flat- and I mean they are not cushiony at all- and they want to charge us to restuff them even though I called 6 months after we got the couch. Their customer service is horrible and they do not stand behind their products- I worte letterds and made many phone calls. As far as stains- it is far from stain resistant. The only success I have had in cleaning them is putting the covers in the washing machine. I will NEVER buy from them again. This was a very expensive set and I could have gotten something at a discount warehouse that was better quality. I'm sorry to get off topic but it just irritates me when I think about it. I would probably pay for the scotchguard so I had a guarantee- but make sure whoever you are buying it from satnds behind their stuff.

 

[klmall]

OT also but we bought our last family room furniture from La-Z-Boy and they were horrible in customer service and furniture quality from the start. We purchased a couch with reclining end pieces. The buttons on the cushions came off within the first two months and after repeated calls someone finally came out and "pushed" them back on with their hands rather than sew etc. them on. So of course, they fell off again, forever.

The corduroy fabric 'pilled' every day for the seven years we kept it and I had to "rake" it to make it presentable for company. One end of the couch broke in the second year and wouldn't open/close from a reclining position without us kicking it but the company said there was nothing to do even if we paid for it to be fixed. A handle used to push the recliner chair we bought separately to coordinate with this couch broke in half after about three years. And this set of two pieces of furniture cost us almost $2,000 dollars 7 years ago. I know that furniture has a high mark-up but didn't we deserve at least some service? I am so glad I didn't pay the $$$$ for scotch-guarding these pieces of garbage!

We still have the plaid chair but threw out the couch this summer. Even our college age son wouldn't take it to his townhouse! And you know how desperate college boys are for furniture they can ruin......

And now I feel so much better!

 

[cnids00]

When we bought our micro suede couch & chair with ottoman, the salesperson tried to make us buy the scotchguard, ummm nope! It has been great without it and stains come right out anyways.

I don't think it's worth it and if anything else, I'd also buy some cans and do it myself! Thanks for letting me know about LazyBoy service too, never bought anything there but have thought about making our next furniture purchase there...I think I'll stick with Nebraska Furniture Mart, I've done some good business with them.

 

[jillyjoey]

I dont think i would ever pay to have microseude scotch guarded ... from what i have experienced it is a very good material and super easy to clean without paying extra. I paid about 8 yrs ago to have a couch scotchguarded and it has been easy to clean since then. I think i paid 150.00 for it.

My treatment went along with the furniture warranty -- and since my sectional and chaise are light beige- I felt it better to be safe than sorry. When you think about it $200 for treatment and warranty on $2800 worth of furniture -- not really a bad deal at all.

 

[Chicago526]

I don't know this if this is true of all furniture stores, but my brother worked for a local chain here about 12 years ago, and he said the store (or the manufacturer, I'm not sure which) automaticly Scotchguarded ALL furniture, regardless if the customer asked for it or not, if the sales person got the customer to pay extra for it, it was just gravy!

I bought my furniture from a differant company than his, and I just bought a couple of cans from Target and did it myself. Now, I don't have kids so I don't have a lot of messes, but the few I've had have cleaned up quite nicely.

 

[Kycha]

I have purchased two sets of furniture from LaZBoy and have not had any problems with service. The family room set includes a double reclining leather sofa. The reclining mechanism broke on one end of the sofa. I called the service department. They had someone out to fix it within a week and it took him about 15 minutes to repair and cost us less $25(under warranty). So, my experience so far has been positive. The living room set is made with a chenille fabric, which is the one with the scotchguard protection. Now, we(except for the cats) don't use this set often so there is no wear and tear and no stains. But, I don't anticipate a problem if we would need service.

 

[hemispheredancer]

We will never buy LaZBoy again. We paid about $3500 for the couch with 2 recliners and 2 rockers with a table in between (they all lock together). The tweed is pulling apart and looks like crap. I have to cut the threads when they get long enough to pull out. They just are not worth the money that we spent. We will never give them another dime!

 

[MayMom]

The company that I ordered the sectional from is "England" and the fabric is a heavy gold brocade. It's a little "retro 70's" and my mom swears she had a couch just like it when I was a kid. She said that couch wore like iron. After reading the posts I think I will just buy a few cans of scotch guard and treat the couch myself. It HAS to be the same stuff that the furniture store uses doesn't it?
BTW - funny story. My aunt said she paid to have scotch guard on a chair one time and when they delivered the chair the men handed her a bag with 2 cans of scotch guard and a scrub brush in it with copy of directions on how to treat the couch.....

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It's probably too late to suggest this to the OP, but we wouldn't trade our leather couch for anything! It cleans like a dream! It's cool in the summer, warms up quickly in the winter. It's super comfortable and doesn't trap dust. It is SO much better that our old fabric couch! It even stood up to our dogs' claws.

I've always felt Scotchguard deals were a scam - kind of like the insurance that car rental companies offer or the extended warrenties that electonics stores sell.

 

[mtrak17]

Scotchguard protects against stains, it does nothing to protect against fading. Your salesperson was either fibbing or didn't know what she was talking about.

$150 sounds outrageously expensive to Scotchguard a sofa! Buy some cans of the stuff and do it yourself. Your salesperson is full of baloney! I just had our family room carpet Scotchguarded by Stanley Steemers after they cleaned it and it only cost $20.00.

Thanks for letting me know that...That was the ONLY reason we paid for the Scotchguarding...our salesperson definitely said it protected against fading

OT, but I have the same complaints as others here...We also paid a fair amount for a set that just has not held up well at all. We have no children yet, our dogs are not even allowed on the furniture, and the cushions are misshapen and some are flat (even though I rotate them weekly AND no, we're not couch potatoes ) - no sense at all!

I think they just "don't make 'em like they used to" !!

 

[Deesknee]

It's probably too late to suggest this to the OP, but we wouldn't trade our leather couch for anything! It cleans like a dream! It's cool in the summer, warms up quickly in the winter. It's super comfortable and doesn't trap dust. It is SO much better that our old fabric couch! It even stood up to our dogs' claws.

I've always felt Scotchguard deals were a scam - kind of like the insurance that car rental companies offer or the extended warrenties that electonics stores sell.

We bought leather this time too. I actually was dead against it, but gave into DH since I had picked the previous 3 sets. It's about 3 years later and I LOVE it.

As far as the scotch guard goes. We always do business with a local family owned furniture store. One of the living room sets we purchase from a childhood friend of my DBIL. This kid thought he was doing us a great favor, as we had triplet toddlers, he double scotch guarded our funiture. Apparently, that is a big no-no. It wore out the fabric! This is an extremely reliable furniture place. It's been in business for generations. We didn't complain because we didn't want to get that guy in trouble. We did mention it to him, just so he wouldn't do that favor again to anyone.