Why a Sofa Cover is Essential for Indian Homes Especially with Kids and Pets?

Sofa is the favourite piece of furniture in every Indian home. Why not? We use it for various purposes such as seating, hosting guests, placing babies, watching TV, having meals, studying or merely twiddling with our smartphone, doing some household chores or merely lounging and sleeping.

This means the sofa is the most used furniture in your home or mine. 

As a result, the sofa, like any other man-made object, is prone to wear and tear. However, a sofa undergoes more wear and tear because it’s almost frequently in use: some family member might be using it to sleep overnight too.

Now, let’s get something very clear. There are various kinds of damage a sofa undergoes.

Types of Damages to Your Sofa

There are two types of damage that any sofa undergoes. The first is internal damage, which means stuff beneath the upholstery, such as springs, rubberised coir boards, synthetic foam or even microfiber stuffings, is spoiled.

This is often irreversible damage and has to be fixed by professionals, such as a skilled carpenter. Generally, internal damage occurs over several years only and due to sheer neglect or wrong use. 

The second kind of damage a sofa undergoes is external. It means, only the upholstery is damaged. Signs of such damages include stains, chaffs, burn marks, tears, fungi and discolouration. 

This type of damage starts setting in from the very instant we begin using the sofa and affects only the external upholstery or the covering.

Maybe you’re unaware, but friction between our clothing and the upholstery fabric also causes invisible and subtle damage, which becomes visible only over a period of time.

If your household includes newborn kids and toddlers, your sofa can undergo some heavy damage in various ways. And if you own pets such as a cat or dog, you will surely witness serious damage to the sofa upholstery.

Additionally, such damage also includes foul odours from the sofa, caused by liquids and atmospheric humidity absorbed by the sofa upholstery.

Reasons You Should Use a Sofa Cover

Therefore, if you’ve kids and pets at home, it’s essential to use a sofa cover. The reason is simple: a sofa cover can provide several advantages other than giving that piece of furniture a mere facelift.

Here are some strong reasons why Indian homes with kids and pets should use sofa covers:

Protects Against Spills and Leaks

We love curries, chutneys and other semi-solid veg and non-veg dishes. In fact, it’s part of our food culture in India. These items, though delicious, tend to leave stains because most contain greasy bases such as oil and ghee, colored by spices.

If your kids or those visiting your home spill food on the sofa, they stain the upholstery, usually permanently. That’s because curcumin, which you would be using commonly in food preparations at home, tends to leave indelible stains.

It’s impossible to remove the original sofa upholstery for washing. In such cases, a sofa cover will protect the original upholstery, keeping it looking fresh and new.

Therefore, if you’re having kids at home or will be entertaining families with children, including toddlers, a sofa cover can protect that expensive sofa and its exquisite upholstery.

Explore Here Best WaterProof Sofa Covers for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 7 Seater Sofas

Defense Against Odors

A sofa is often used to place infants and newborn babies. If such babies are without a proper, clean diaper, there’s a chance they could soil and wet the sofa. While you may wipe the sofa upholstery, the damage has been done.

The upholstery fabric will absorb some of the excrement and almost immediately start breeding bacteria, which let off foul odours due to decomposition. Worse, the sofa interior will be wet, causing germs to breed and eventually, cause a foul odour.

In such cases, a sofa cover could prove to be your proverbial lifesaver. Should babies or their handlers accidentally soil or wet the sofa, you can immediately remove a sofa cover and wash it by following the instructions that come with its cover.

That way, you would have eliminated any possibilities of germs breeding and foul odours from the sofa. A good waterproof sofa cover will also protect the interiors of the sofa against waste and thereby prevent bad odours.

Preventing Fungal Infestations

Maybe you’re unaware that any rough surface, such as natural or synthetic fabrics and leather, to name a few, are superb hosts to spores which breed and cause fungal infestations. Such fungus can breed on sofas too.

Your sofa can get infested with fungus despite the best care, since the upholstery and sometimes interiors will absorb atmospheric humidity during wet seasons such as monsoons. Additionally, the upholstery also absorbs sweat.

Such moisture attracts fungal spores and provides an ideal breeding ground for the sofa upholstery. Since these are microscopic, fungal spores and also some types of fungi can’t be seen without a microscope.

Fungal infestations on a sofa can prove extremely serious.  They can cause severe skin problems as spores stick to wet skin and breed, making you and your family members sick. Also, spores of certain kinds of fungi can damage your eyes and cause loss of vision.

For homes with kids and pets, this is something very serious. Kids can suffer from severe allergies triggered by fungi and spores, and also eye problems. Pets can start losing hair due to fungal infestations or get other diseases.

Using a sofa cover that can be removed and washed, sanitised regularly, can prevent these problems for your children and pets.

Guard Against Pet Dander and Scratches

Pets such as cats and dogs shed hair naturally. And also pet dander, which consists of tiny fragments of dead skin. Pet hair and dander are known causes for triggering allergies among people of all ages.

Additionally, dander, which consists of dead skin fragments, can breed disease-causing pathogens. Furthermore, canine and feline pets are also fond of scratching surfaces, including backrests and seats of a sofa or chair.

This can cause the wonderful original upholstery of your sofa to tear in places or damage stitching and seams in some places, making it appear ugly and worn out. Kids love playing with pets, and this leads to a lot more dander and hair loss for the animals.

Given such a scenario, the sofa and its upholstery suffer. You can’t sit on the sofa and nor can you invite guests to be seated on it, because their pet hair and dander would stick to the clothes. All these issues can simply be avoided by using a superb sofa cover that’s strong, waterproof and can be washed easily.

Superb Childproofing

You might wonder what exactly I mean by childproofing. It’s simple. Childproofing means protecting your sofa from your children. Why? Because children, especially toddlers, are a curious lot.

Armed with pens, pencils, crayons, blades, knives and scissors or even ink or paints, they will make drawings everywhere, such as walls as well as the sofa. They might poke the sofa to see what’s inside, out of sheer curiosity.

While you might be tempted to laugh and dismiss these as child's play, look at the consequences it can cause. The original upholstery of your sofa will be damaged and stained or even torn, and have holes at visible places.

That would give an overall shabby look, not only to the sofa but the entire living room. Such shabby looks translate as poor impression your friends or colleagues would get about your family, if they visit your home.

Instead, use a sofa cover to childproof your sofa. That way, the cover takes the brunt of the damage and it can always be removed and washed. A sofa cover damaged by kids can be repaired easily at home or at a nearby upholstery shop, or even by a tailor.

And if your sofa upholstery has already been damaged by kids, a sofa cover could help conceal it nicely.

Superior quality sofa covers from renowned and reputable brands will also hide any discolouration of sofa upholstery caused by frequent cleaning of stains and spills with soap and water or fungal infestations.

In Conclusion

Before concluding, I will emphasise that a sofa cover isn’t an option but actually an absolute necessity for every Indian home with kids and pets. Such sofa covers aren’t only for decorative purposes.

Instead, they can help protect the health of your child, the family and pets if any. You can select the waterproof types, sturdy sofa covers that can withstand all wear and tear easily, while protecting the furniture and its upholstery.