Hygienic, Cleanable, Relatively Non-allergenic Sofas, Loveseats and Chairs

Also practical in potentially high-water locations

Our upholstered furniture is quite different from typical seating in some very important respects with regard to health concerns:

1) We don't use cotton batting anywhere, thus eliminating a source (often found in normal furniture) of problems for many allergy sufferers.

2) There is less upholstery and padding and much less that's covered over. So there's less place for dust to collect on your furniture. On four of our models, the arm tops can be simply solid oak with a polyurethane finish, for maximum cleanability at that soil-collecting location. And there's far less by way of fibrous materials and concealed places inside your furniture where dust can collect, dust mites can thrive, and bacteria can grow. Underneath the cushions in our furniture, there is nothing but 1/2" of additional padding (covered with heavy-duty, slip-resistant fabric) plus a plywood panel with solid oak support under it, then open space down to the floor. That same space in normal sofas is dark, enclosed, and inaccessible for cleaning; but air, microscopic life and by-products of life can still pass in and out. On all of our models, it's also easy to clean the sofa parts that are directly below and behind the cushions, if you want to, by simply lifting out the cushions and the support panels.

3) As you can see below, it's also easy to clean the floor or carpet below this furniture. With typical sofas, dust would be collecting down there and living things could be hiding, breeding, defecating and/or decaying there between times you move the furniture for cleaning below. In addition to the model shown below, we have four other designs with exposed-wood frames and with very similar openness and accessibility for cleaning, which can be seen elsewhere on our web site.

4) We have some fabrics that are anti-microbial, as well as many that are very smooth and especially easy to keep clean: (1) vinyls, including some in excellent leather imitations, and (2) in a wider selection of patterns and with a soft, pleasant feel, we have fabrics that are stain and water repellant, in a line known as "Crypton." Also, keep in mind that you can provide the fabric to be used for the covers, if you find a source for fabric that you feel is especially suitable for you or your family members.

5) Formaldehyde (a probable carcinogen, according to the EPA, and also a cause of headaches, nausea, allergic reactions and possibly damage to the nervous system) in plywood is a matter of concern: Over 70 percent of American-made sofas in typical stores these days have entire frames made of plywood (you can verify this by reading any available product information about the furniture, which will probably refer to it as "engineered wood"). Our frames are made mainly of solid oak, using plywood only as a supplement to the hardwood frames. (For a moderate additional charge, we can seal that plywood.) A large and rapidly-increasing percentage of the upholstered furniture in stores is imported from China, and "...plywood samples in California in shipments from China have been determined to have as much as 30 times the formaldehyde off-gassing permitted by standards set back in the 1970's by Department of Housing and Urban Development." (Woodshop News, July, 2007, p. 48). The softwood plywood that we use for supplementary panels in our frames is "Plytanium" by Georgia-Pacific, which is APA rated, allowing only adhesives that are moisture resistant and so low in emissions that they are exempt from formaldehyde regulations from U.S. HUD and the state of California. At a surcharge, we can substitute plywood that has no formaldehyde added.

6) If potential high water or a flooding basement is a concern where your furniture will be, it's important that our furniture has much less upholstery than typical seating, especially in the bottom 10"; and it has little or no padding that can't be easily carried upstairs or out into the sun later. If submersion is a concern, let us know and we can finish the underside of the frame more thoroughly.

Recommended cleaning methods: Occasional-to-frequent vacuuming is recommended to prevent accumulation of particles that could cause permanent stains if left on or in the fabric. The recommended cleaning method with the vast majority of fabrics is to use upholstery shampoo while the covers are still on the cushions, or to have the furniture cleaned by a professional cleaning service. Some people incorrectly assume that the covers are intended to be removed for cleaning, since our cushion covers are zippered and the arm covers are removable. And indeed, we have heard from a number of our customers that they have had good results washing covers with cold water and then putting them back on while still damp; so removing covers for washing may be an option to consider doing, at your own risk. Just be aware that removing covers for cleaning is not recommended for most fabrics, so that you shouldn't expect replacement covers from us if you have problems doing that. If you do want to do it, it's best to try it with one cover first, carefully comparing the size before and after, before doing all of them; keep in mind that 1/4" shrinkage per cushion can create an ugly gap or gaps on a sofa. Also, you should get our instructions on how best to remove the covers and put them on again, which will help prevent damage to the zippers that can occur if you don't do it correctly. Removing and replacing our snug-fitting covers does require significant time and effort, so that should be considered in a comparison with the recommended cleaning methods, which don't.

Scotchgard , Teflon, or similar treatments: Customers desiring such treatments should be aware that research has found that the principal chemical used in such treatments has shown up in the blood streams of a very high percentage of the population, and that there seems to be reason for concern about long-term ill health effects of this. 3M Corporation has been phasing out the previous formulation of its product, Scotchgard, and the safety of any new formulation is unknown to us. You are encouraged to do your own research on this subject .

If cleanability of a fabric is important to you, and you don't want to take a chance on chemical treatments, it's best to be aware that some fiber contents are inherently rather cleanable: olefin and nylon especially, but the other synthetics are also good; cotton is not good. Also, darker fabrics and ones with some patterns will show dirt and stains much less than light, solid fabrics.

If allergies or sensitivities are a problem for you:
(1) We can provide an anti-dustmite barrier (with openings smaller than ten microns) inside cushions for $18 per cushion and inside toss pillows or padded arm wraps for $6.00 each;
(2) We can send you some samples of the padding, glues, wood finishes and selected fabrics that we use in this furniture, for a trial exposure before placing an order;
(3) If any member of your household has asthma, severe sinusitis or allergies, you should be aware that there normally is a substantial amount of exposed, unfinished oak inside our sofas and chairs; there is also a significant amount of plywood, although considerably less than in most sofas in stores. In over 25 years of selling furniture with unsealed wood and plywood inside, we have heard of only two of our customers (a married couple) who had unfavorable reactions to the wood in our furniture; they had previously had multiple problems with other wood furniture, and they had long since gotten into the habit of sealing all unfinished wood parts of new furniture with shellac. The words in bold, just above, were their suggestions as to how we should identify customers who should be concerned about this problem. Be aware, however, that we had a woman working in our showroom filled with this furniture for several years, who had both asthma and allergies, but she seemed to have no special problems at work. If this is a potential problem for you, we offer sealing of all wood parts for $35 for a three-seat sofa, $25 for a loveseat and $15 per chair; you would have difficulty doing this properly yourself, because large areas of unfinished plywood and oak are already covered with padding and fabric when you receive them.

To go to the Comfy 1 home page, to see our other models, other quality features, and pricing, click here.