5 ways you could be accidentally destroying your sofa

Let’s be honest – sofas are expensive. In many ways, that’s not surprising. After all, they’re one of the most important investments you’ll make in your interiors, and while they might cost hundreds of pounds, they can normally be relied on to last you at least seven years. But if your sofa isn’t taken care of, you might find that it doesn’t last nearly as long as that – which can be frustrating, to say the least!

No, while loose sofa covers can help shield it from some of the most common types of wear and tear, they can’t fix more structural problems, so it’s worth taking particular care to ensure that none have a chance to develop! Here are five of the most common ways that family sofas can get damaged before their time – do any of them sound familiar?

Sitting on the arm of the chair

I know, I know, it sounds like something your parents told you. In fact, it probably was! But this is another one to add to life’s long list of distressing revelations that your mother was right. The arm of your sofa is not a good place for anyone to sit, with the possible exception of your cat. Why? Simply put, it’s putting pressure on your sofa in an area which wasn’t designed to support it.

In the best case scenario, this results in your sofa prematurely wearing, and the arms become gradually less comfortable and reliable. In the worst case scenario, some sofa arms may even break while the person is still sat on them, which can lead to a painful and entirely avoidable fall. Save yourself the cost (and the injuries) – keep everyone’s bottoms firmly on the seats!

Sleeping on your sofa

It’s easy enough to end up doing, especially on those lovely rainy Sunday afternoons when there’s not much else to do. But if you’re going to end up taking a nap on your sofa, it’s best to keep it to short afternoon naps if at all possible. Sofas aren’t generally designed to cope with a fully-grown adult getting a full eight hours of sleep on it night after night, and eventually it’ll start to take its toll on the structure of the sofa.

Jumping / collapsing onto it

Sitting down on your sofa is one thing, but falling or collapsing onto it is quite another. While the average couch is generally pretty durable, it’s not designed to withstand sudden shocks, like that of a fully grown adult suddenly collapsing onto it. It’s easy to get tempted when you’ve had a very long day at work, but resist! In the long run, your sofa will thank you for it.

While I’m on the topic, it doesn’t do all that well being used as a trampoline either, but that’s probably a little more obvious from the off, so I’ll spare you the detailed explanation on that one. (Besides, it’s hopefully more relevant for the kids than the adults in your house. Hopefully.)

Exposing your sofa to prolonged sunlight

Now, we’re not known for having particularly intense summer sunlight here in the UK, but even so, you might be surprised at the extent to which sunlight can have an impact on your couch. Basically, sunlight can ‘bleach’ or fade your fabric over a long enough period. To very briefly explain the science behind it, that’s basically because the ultraviolet rays in sunlight are capable of breaking down the chemical bonds in colour of the fabric. That will cause it to lighten unevenly, and make it look decidedly less attractive within your space.

To avoid that, it’s a good idea to rearrange your room to keep your sofa out of direct sunlight for as much of the day as possible, especially at the peak hours of between 9am and 3pm, when the sun is brightest and hottest in the sky. It’ll be a shame to have painstakingly picked out a vibrant shade of orange, red or purple for your sofa, only to have it fade before its time!

Not being fully prepared to tackle stains

The sofa is a natural gathering point for your family, so it makes sense that it’s going to be exposed to its fair share of messes and spills from children and adults alike. And whether it’s a square of chocolate on a hot summer’s day, a pen mark from a misguided artistic endeavour, or a bumped wine glass on a grown-up’s night in, it’s always important to tackle spills and stains as quickly as you can.

The inconvenient truth is that the first few seconds can make all the difference as to whether these stains stick around or not. So when they happen, make sure you’re ready for them, and that you’ve got home-cleaning essentials like baking soda and white wine vinegar available to hand. Once a stain sets, you’ll be very lucky if it’s not permanent.

One way to reduce the possibility of accidents like these is to institute those time-honoured rules; like no shoes on the sofa, and no eating on the sofa, and as I’ve covered above, no jumping on it either.

Now, here at Cover My Furniture we can’t help with enforcing the no-jumping rules – that’s all rather up to you! What we can do, though, is help protect your couch by offering a comprehensive range of sofa covers, chair covers and more in a wide variety of colours, from green and blue to red and orange, so that you’ll always be able to find plenty of options to suit you.

If you’re having trouble making a decision, or you’re looking for something in particular, don’t hesitate to let one of us know. You can get in touch using the contact form on our website, or through our Facebook or Instagram. We’re always happy to hear from you!