Safe, Wipeable Fabric for Covering Kitchen Chairs

May 29, 2012, by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from NewEnglandSara.

Hi there, we just bought a new set of kitchen chairs (via Craig's List), and my husband wants to re-cover them with fabric that we can wipe down since we have three young kids. When we did this four years ago, we bought reasonably priced fabric and then a clear plastic to put on top of the fabric. The solution worked great, but I now realize that the plastic must have contained PVC and surely off-gassed. I am wondering if you know of: 1) fabrics that are wipeable but low in toxins OR 2) a plastic-style overlay that will be less toxic. I welcome your thoughts! Thanks so much, Sara 

Debra's Answer

This is a good question to ask, and I'm sure I can't give a definitive answer at the moment, but I will think out loud here.

The two options would be a waterproofed fabric or a sheet of nontoxic plastic.

Waterproof fabrics are natural or synthetic fabrics that are laminated to or coated with a waterproofing material such as rubber,polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), silicone, fluoropolymers, or wax. The difficulty with fabrics is that it can be almost impossible to find out what the fabric is waterproofed with. You could search on "waterproof upholstery fabric" like I did and come up with gorgeous designer fabrics for $69 a yard used in hospitals, but which have no information on the waterproofing process. It will take time to research and review various waterproofing processes, but I think it's worth opening this post for this purpose as this type of fabric is needed for outdoor use as well as indoor uses such as yours.

I'll just tell you that "oilcloth," which comes in many bright patterns and colors is vinyl, so don't use that.

For your needs, I would probably go with just replacing the fabric cover. The first idea that came to mind was to go down to IKEA and buy a PVA shower curtain for about $4 and cut it up. Transparent and nontoxic. Or you could buy a polyethylene tarp. Both of these plastics are relatively nontoxic.