Aquestion about furniture

I don't have leather furniture, but my friend does. At one point she had five dogs living in her house - her son's lab-mix, and her four Bassets. All of which were NOT allowed on the leather couch when nobody was home. Their elderly hound was allowed on the leather chair (just try to break an old dog from that habit - it can't be done <_< ) and the leather was pretty scratched up from his nails. When my freinds were home ALL the dogs sat with them on the couch but they used a blanket to prevent scratches. When my freinds went out they used a scat-mat to keep the dogs off the couch - it works. When old Rupert died they did their best to repair his scratch-marks and now that chair is also off-limits to the younger dogs (they put things on the chair each time they go out to discourage use).

The benefits of leather are it's durability and how easy it is to clean... the chair still looks good after years of Rupert's use (though you can still see the scratches faintly) and dog-hair and slobber simply wipe clean from the couch.

I long for leather furniture - we have dog hair permanently embeded in our fabric furniture. I think if we ever go that route, we'll save our old couch for Moe and Tally...

I have a cream leather set from Hecht's (Macy's now) It was less than 2,000.00 for all four pcs., and it has been great. It is analine leather, which is surprisingly tough. So far, not a gouge in sight. I think the lighter the color, the better. Just have to wipe it down frequently. Turtle Wax leather cleaner/protecter from Dollar General works great with a warm damp cloth. Looks like new for about 15 minutes every time I clean it! :blink: Non-analine leather is not as good a choice. It looks like thick suede. It's not treated to have that slick surface like analine which repels moisture better and drool, and claw marks show up more on it. My sister also swears by microfiber furniture. Cat hair doesn't even hold on to it. B)

TIP: Since we are in the cleaning biz, we get these "chemical sponges". You can find them in hardware stores, or at fire restoration companies. They are useful for many things: removing soot from flat walls, and for us, they remove dog hair easily from fabric! Just use a downward one way only wiping motion on the furniture and you won't believe how much fur comes off. You can wash them, but let them air dry. The best ones are made by Chem-Spec. They are about 3 dollars for an 8" long one. Looks like a sponge brick. Great for car upholstery as well.