This topic has been discussed many times, you can do a search on this to see. My advice is to determine if the fabric you are buying needs protection. Most natural fibers maybe except wool should have a type of sealant applied to the yarn to resist absorption of liquids or oils. Using the appropriate chemical applied at the mill will provide this protection, under normal use for the live of the fabric, unless it is cleaned in a way to remove most of this protection. The most common man-made fibers resists absorption of any liquids or oils. And are usually easily cleaned. These fabric protection plans is more of a crap-shoot on if your getting any real benefit from the application or chemical used.

If we're talking about white microfiber, I might say maybe. Anything else, I doubt it's needed. A damp washcloth gets most things off microfiber. Or some Spot Shot, or the carpet spot shampooer, or a good flick. :) Here's another angle to consider. DH selected some leather home theater seating. He's a messy eater, and I knew he'd eat/drink on that furniture, and it wasn't the greatest quality of leather. So he opted to have it treated. His seat now shows wear. Mine still looks pristine...because I'm allergic to something in the treatment! If I sit on it for longer than a few minutes, I break out in a scaly rash anywhere my skin is in contact with the leather. So if I sit there, I have to drape a blanket over first anyway... may as well have gotten upholstery. :) I haven't sat in that furniture for at least 6 years now... and we will never buy another round of furniture protectant again!

Larsi, they ruined April Fresh Downy and they can remove all the comments they want and people will still not like it. They probably did that so that anyone looking at reviews would purchase their product. They probably figured that sales were down due to the reviews and are trying to cover up the fact that many simply do not like their cotton candy carnival "improved" fragrance. Personally, I switched over to Kirkland brand from Costco. Sure, it isn't the same but it keeps my clothing static free and that is all I care about, on top of not being surrounded by a cloud of offensive fragrance. I use their liquid in the summer and dryer sheets in the winter. I found I don't need tons of fragrance, it competes with whatever perfume I want to wear that day.

The best fabric protection is a slipcover, actually their is little difference between them as far as performance. Applying at the fabric mill level will be more even and consistent compared to someone that sprays it on, thats how most retail stores do, they have a container/sprayer setup of which ever companies brand their using, and they spray it on, so coverage can be good or poor, depending on who's applying it. The difference is how much you pay and the warranty, because thats what your paying for is the warranty. Your better off saving that costs and just purchasing a spray can of scotchguard off the retail self.