We are considering microfiber for a new sofa. It is very pet-friendly and cleans up easily. We also have cats.

True microfiber wears very well, There is Ultrasuede and lesser grades of sueded microfibers. I have found that any fabric protection warranty has fine print and limited protection coverage. Unless you are very hard on upholstered furniture with kids and dogs, spills etc., I wouldn't bother with the fabric protection coverage, especially on microsuede, which inherently strong wearing. It's also another coating of stuff you might want to avoid in your home environment. Also to consider is if your and family members wear jeans. Some fabric protection coverage specifically disclaims coverage for denim wear and I think sueded fabrics can be especially vulnerable to denim abrasion. That's just my opinion, however.

Annie,

I got an image of guys sitting on the couch in their boxer shorts....Honey, I'm just trying to keep the sofa nice....LOL

But seriously, that is good to know about the denim.

There's different grades of microfiber fabric. There's the good stuff and the less expensive stuff. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to tell which is which.

I have a love seat that's 9 years old and two cats. They don't claw at it very much at all, and pet hair vacuums up easily. I think I've done more damage with spilling things on it then the cats have. (Not that there's real damage; it does clean up nicely. But I tend to spill a lot.)

We bought a red microfiber sofa. It did clean up well. One issue I had with it was you left a nice butt print on it once you got up. It may have been more noticeable with the dark fabric. I was compelled to brush over it every time I got up. Didn't want to face that truth. : ) Sofa has been relocated to unfinished basement, for more reasons than just that.

I would not be afraid of it. I have kitchen counter chairs that we redid in black microfiber some years ago and it wears like iron. Cat hair, when kitty was living, teens, spills, crumbs and who knows what else? I just wipe with a cloth with cold water an let dry. They come up like new. We ordered the fabric through a funiture company and I think it was a pretty good grade of fabric. I also have 2 lipstick red chairs done in microfiber and they are holding up very well.

We have a microfiber sofa and DD also had one. Ours is navy and DD's was beige. My big complaint is the same as ojoy's. Buttprints! DD's beige one showed them as well and also began looking dingy--not really dirty, but yet... Microfiber wears really well though and cleaning it is simple. Personally, I'll never get it again and neither has DD. I just hate the way you can see prints on it from whatever was there...kind of like plush carpet that shows all the footprints. Maybe in a dining room chair that would be pushed in, it would be no big deal though.

My issue is it gets a shiny look. It doesn't fade like some prints would when wear is showing instead it gets a shiny rubbed look that doesn't go away when you shampoo the chair. With all the hype of the NEW mico fiber I had hoped this wouldn't be the case but it still is. I am disappointed in my two living room chairs for this reason. They are both solid colored so maybe a patten would be different?

We had one (although a less expensive sofa) and did not like the way the fabric tended to grab me and prevent me from moving around. It almost reminded me of micro velcro. It did show wrinkles after a few years but nothing serious. I had to go back to leather after that experience.

I almost used microfiber to recover my dining chairs. I had read that it was very sturdy and pet friendly, so when the samples arrived, I spent some time rubbing them on the cats. Yes, I did...it was a no-go for me, as most brands seemed to just grab on to the hair like velcro. I ended up using a patterned fabric in a canvas weave that had stain and fade protection.

I just recovered those chairs, so I have no opinion about how it'll wear, but so far, no pet hair.

Had it on recliners hated it! now have leather luv it! yet still do have it on my 2 PC chairs and already arms are worn glossy and natural body oil has stained dark, and don't care what you use you will not get body/skin oil out!

We just bought a microfiber sectional sofa and like someone said, there are different grades that will introduce different issues. The suede like microfiber causes clothing to stick to it and butt prints. The microfiber with shorter fibers can be shiny and harder to get lint off of. What most people never realize or are told is that microfiber isn't a true fabric material at all, it's plastic. And since it is plastic, it also retains a lot of static which makes it easy to get shocked all the time. It's much cheaper for manufacturers to make and popular because of all the different styles it comes in as well as the way it wears. I like our sofa ok, but I have to admit, I like the feel of fabric better and it does bother me to know that our new sofa is basically plastic.