Homemade Alternative to Scotchguard

Household products
Written By Debra Lynn Dadd

May 21, 2007 by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Diana

My husband and are are going to reupholster our dining room chairs, and since we have 2 kids under the age of 4, we'd like to pretreat the fabric to make it more stain repellent. I don't like the idea of a chemical fabric protector like Scotchguard, so I'm wondering about the alternatives since I won't be able to just take the covers off and wash them! (We're planning on stapling them to the chairs permanently.) 

I read somewhere online about soaking fabric in borax to make it more stain repellent, but I think stains would still soak in according to that anecdotal test. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is there some natural recipe I can use to pretreat the fabric before I cover the chairs? 

Thanks 

Debra's Answer

A reader recommended melted wax mixed with vinegar and water sprayed on to the fabric.  I have not tried this so I can't comment on whether it works.

Toxic-Free Q&A

These are archives of Q&A asked by readers and answered by Debra Lynn Dadd (from 2005-2019) or Lisa Powers (from 2019-2020). Answers have been edited and updated as of December, 2020.

Debra Lynn Dadd