I have had a leather sofa for a few years now and I can't imagine ever going without again. Having said that, I just purchased 2 microsuede recliners because I was afraid of having too much leather in the living room. The recliners are due to arrive any day now so I can't say much about wear and tear, however my decorator has a microsuede chair that her dogs (many, many dogs too ;~) slobered a bit on. So.... my vote is for Leather. I got mine 4 years ago at leatherfurnituresouth.com. I went with the B grade because it was suppose to hold up to pets better. jerri

Scientifically speaking, leather tanning and thickness determine durability. Chrome tanning leaves leather smooth and treatable with "paint" dyes, but also dries out and makes the leather more brittle and open to scratching. Oil tanning enhances long-time strength, keeps leather more supple, and helps resist scratching. It also helps ward off staining if you maintain it with neatsfoot oil. Light-colored leather, microfiber, or chenille will all suffer staining and discoloration from use. It comes with the territory, so expect it, and count on it to disappoint you when it comes to maintaining it, color-wise. Chenille is more loosely woven and more porous than either microfiber or leather, and tends to lose stitching and pick, due to the looseness of weave. Also, if you have asthma or allergies, it is simply not a choice at all. Ultimately, porosity determines how stain-resistant any material is. Polished microfiber, if thick and stitched properly, can outlast chrome-tanned leather, because the leather can crack with time. You can retard cracking to some degree by regularly wiping it down with wipes made for the purpose. Polished microfiber looks like leather and resists stains better. But as it wears, the shininess wears off, and it develops a surface nap. You can wax it or rub it down with mink oil to make it shiny again. Be sure to wipe it afterward to keep the treatment from getting on your white linen clothing (lol).

"Only thick, dyed-through leather hides will stand up to the test of time." So true. Many places have leather which is actually very thin since they shave it off in layers. That's why so many couches look stretched out. We purchased our leather one from JC Penneys. On sale. It a cordovan (brownish burgandy) color. At the same time, we got Flexsteel and Broyhill couches which were not cheap. The Flexsteel frame got wobbly and the fabric shredded. The Broyhill is looking worse for wear and has a slipcover. The leather is holding up great with only occasional wiping. We have 4 normal kids and 2 messy adults. The shape of the cushions is still looking good. I will never buy anything else again. The better the quality the leather the better it will hold up. Don't fall for a salesman's speech. Read up and decide what will work for you. I have a friend with microfiber and she's "OK" with it. Not overly impressed. Gloria

Joepyeweed is right. You have to give the solution a good long time to work. If you keep the area damp with the solution, it will digest the stain. I once got blueberry stains out of a white cotton shirt by keeping Simple Solution damp on it for three days. No sign it was ever stained. I have an almost-house trained dog, and another who is on steroids, so sometimes must go in the house. I first use my Spot Bot (or Little Green Machine - same difference) to suck up as much urine as I can. Then I soak the area with SS and let it sit at least a half hour and suck up the fluid (hoping to "wash out" more urine with the SS) and then I soak it again with SS and just let it dry. If it is a vomit stain or other difficult stain, I will cover the carpet with a damp cloth to make sure it does not dry too quickly. If you use any kind of machine to suck up this kind of spot, you will find that the machine soon reeks! I wish the instructions had said to rinse the machine several times before putting it away. I will suck plain water through the nozzle and hose, dump the container and repeat several times. The last time, I use it to suck up Simple Solution and then let it stay in the machine. Oh, how I wish I had done this from the start! My new game plan for dealing with incontinence is to cover the hallways (where the dogs "go") with washable quilted incontinence pads like they use underneath people in hospitals and nursing homes. I got them for my father-in-law originally, but found that they worked great for the dogs, too. They contain the urine and have a waterproof backing, so the urine does not get to my carpet anymore. My father-in-law lived with us and his caregivers were here all day. He died a couple of weeks ago and my three dogs are now alone most days. I have my sister stop by on her way home from work mid-afternoon, and she lets them out for me. On the few days that she has forgotten or my arrangements fell through, the dogs have been making it through the day pretty well. My almost-house trained girl is getting better and better. It almost seems that she is finally "getting" it!