Problems With Living Room Furniture

Breakage

• Chairs and couches can take a heavy beating, particularly in households with children or heavy sitters. It's all too common for upholstered furniture to react to abuse with broken or worn out springs, cracked support beams, or broken feet and legs. When these things happen, your options are to throw the furniture out, prop it up on something, or have it properly repaired. The better quality furniture you acquire in the first place, the less likely these problems are to plague you. It also helps to train the household not to abuse the furniture by jumping on it or crashing down into it as though it were a swimming pool.

Toxicity

• The fabrics, fillers and adhesives used in much modern furniture are often made with toxic substances, and can be disturbing to people with allergies or sensitive respiratory tracts. Off-gassing of formaldehyde from carpets, foam, and some wood products like plywood, MDF and pressboard has become an increasing concern in recent years. In combination with the nearly airtight nature of much new construction, these unhealthy materials can deteriorate the air quality within a living space and can potentially be a health risk to vulnerable individuals.

Animals

• Cats are the natural enemies of upholstered furniture. Particularly in the case of leather furniture, cats love nothing more than the feel of their claws tearing through the material, and their joy appears to be in direct proportion to the value of the furniture. Dogs are not as actively malicious, but can also damage furniture with their claws and the dirt and oil in their coats. Mice and rats can cause major damage to living room furniture if they choose to nest in it, as they will chew apart the inside to use as materials for their nests. Although it is unusual for animals such as raccoons or squirrels to gain access to a living room, this does sometimes happen, and they may use furniture for storage of food, thus damaging it themselves as well as attracting mice and rats.