NEWS COPY
Almost half of adults who have children or pets are put off buying nice items for the house over fears they will be ruined – by food, drink and animal dribble.
A survey of 2,000 UK parents and pet owners revealed two thirds (67 per cent) currently have a sofa which has been stained by a child or an animal.
The most common stains were caused by food, with 28 per cent having marks on their sofa from eating.
This is followed by pen marks (21 per cent), non-alcoholic drinks (16 per cent), grease from hands (14 per cent) and wine (13 per cent).
And many pets are the bad books too with more than one in 10 respondents (11 per cent) admitting their sofa is covered in animal dribble.
The average household has caused £117.93 of damage to furniture over the past 12 months - more than £2.3 BILLION across the UK, according to research by Furniture Village.
And 14 per cent said they paid a professional to clean their stained sofa in 2020 - costing a further £320 million across the country.
As a result, 45 per cent admitted to being nervous about buying anything nice in case animals or little ones stain or break it.
And 64 per cent are waiting until their children grow so they can invest in good quality items.
Furniture Village carried out the research to celebrate the launch of its new LivingProof range of stain resistant sofas.
Mark Reynolds, retail buyer at Furniture Village said: “Watching helplessly as a dog with muddy paws or a cheeky child leaves a stain on the sofa can be a painful sight.
“And us clumsy adults can’t avoid the blame either, with four in 10 grown-ups also responsible for accidentally marking the sofa.
“Unfortunate and potentially costly incidents are happening across the UK, putting families off buying the quality furniture they really want.”
The research also revealed that just 56 days after delivery, a valuable piece of furniture will get its first serious mark.
And parents admitted they must always stay on guard, with 44 per cent saying they’ve turned away for a moment to find their child had managed to leave a stain.
Because of this, 70 per cent of adults think companies need to make products which are more child and animal-proof.
Almost a third (29 per cent) said their sofa currently needs to be professionally cleaned, while 24 per cent have made a mark on the sofa worse by trying to fix it themselves.
More than a fifth (22 per cent) have even had to replace a piece of furniture because the stain was so bad it couldn't be cleaned.
And 19 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, said they have spilt more on their sofa since the start of the pandemic, blaming the increased use.
Mark Reynolds, retail buyer at Furniture Village added: “Technology is transforming the way we live but there will always be messy children, messy adults and messy paws.
“The new LivingProof range, which resists stains, prevents odours and inhibits the growth of bacteria, is designed for real life and ready for anything.
“Our customers are able to get the most out of their sofas without having to compromise on style or colour.”
More information - https://www.furniturevillage.
ENDS
