What Is Performance Fabric & Is It Worth The Investment?
When we talk about furniture and upholstery fabric to people outside of the home industry, over half do not know what performance fabric is, let alone if it’s worth the investment. Since stain-resistant fabric is our passion, let us bend your ear on what it is and explain why our fabrics are a game-changer for families and pet owners.
What Are the Different Types of Performance Fabric?
Not all “performance fabrics” perform the same way. This is why you should consider how you will be using them.
Indoor Performance Fabrics
Crypton is an indoor performance fabric. We meet standard upholstery UV requirements, which means you can place your beautiful new sofa right next to the window.
Our fabric is designed to meet our high durability standards, and most withstands 50,000 double rubs or more – which is 20,000 more than the 30,000 industry standard.
Our patented process includes an immersion bath followed by a heat process that seals the moisture and odor protection technology into each individual fiber – not just the surface of the fabric. This is how we can promise that our stain and moisture protection lasts the life of the fabric.
Outdoor Performance Fabrics
In most cases, it’s the yarn that determines whether a fabric is “indoor” or “outdoor.” Two commonly used indoor/outdoor yarns that are inherently UV-resistant are “Solution Dyed Acrylic” and “Olefin”.
“Solution Dyed Acrylic” means that the dyes or pigments used to color the yarn are injected into the fibers themselves as they are being made rather than just sitting on the surface. This is a major benefit of synthetic fabrics. Unlike organic fibers, the color itself is part of the structure of the fiber. This makes acrylic fabrics extremely resistant to fading caused by the sun’s UV (ultraviolet) rays.
“Olefin Yarn” is another engineered, synthetic fiber, and it is made from polypropylene — a polymer byproduct of oil and natural gas production. Olefin shares a great deal of traits with the solution dyed acrylic fabrics described above. Since olefin is also synthetic and solution-dyed, it shares some of the same properties regarding ultraviolet light and fading (aka “colorfastness”), as well as a similar resistance to mold, mildew and other microbes.
What Exactly Is Performance Fabric?
You may have heard residential interior designers, contract/commercial designers, and furniture stores say performance fabric is magical, but what is it? In a nutshell, it is a textile made to resist stains, and our fabric also repels liquids, fights odors, and stands up to some serious wear and tear – all while looking beautiful and feeling soft to the touch.
Here’s what sets Crypton apart, making us the most trusted indoor performance fabric on the market:
Stain Resistant: Most liquids simply roll off of our fabrics, or they can be quickly blotted off the surface with a dry, clean cloth. The spot cleaning method of stain removal can be used for most light to medium stains, such as coffee, soda, crayon, and ketchup.
Odor Resistant: Crypton fabric resists the growth of odor-causing microbes, making it a must buy for pet owners and families with small children.
Durability: Our fabrics are built to last and can withstand 50,000 double rubs or more, which is 20,000 more than the industry standard.
Patented Moisture Barrier: Our flagship contract fabric is made for hospitality, education, healthcare, and senior living facilities. It has a moisture barrier that prevents liquids from absorbing into the cushion. Nothing gets through our commercial-grade fabric, nothing. It’s made to perform in the toughest environments.
Easy To Clean: Most spills and stains can be cleaned with warm water soapy, but we also make special upholstery cleaners for tough jobs.
Soft To The Touch: Unlike our competitors, our fabric feels soft and natural. They also come in many different textures like velvet, linen blend, plush chenille, and more.
No Harsh Chemicals: All our fabrics are PFAS-free and GREENGUARD Gold certified. That means our textiles are made without using harsh chemicals, heavy metals, or toxins because we want to help make your home safer for your family, furry friends, and the planet.
Is Performance Fabric Right for You?
There are a few questions to ask yourself before investing in performance fabric.
Are you buying light colored or white upholstered furniture?
While our fabric is not bulletproof, it does repel liquids and food stains. So, if you are eyeing a gorgeous white sofa or a light pink chair, performance fabric will be worth the investment.
Will your upholstered furniture be used daily?
Frequently used dining chairs and your regularly used sofa should be treated differently than a decorative side chair no one sits in. We highly recommend investing in performance fabric for high-traffic upholstered furniture.
Are you planning on selecting a luxury fabric like velvet?
Wear and tear can take its toll on luxury designer textiles. A velvet performance fabric will help your furniture last longer.
Do you have children or pets?
Sticky fingers, pet fur, muddy paws, outdoor shoes, spills, and drool (among other things) are just part of life when you live with kids and furry friends. Performance fabric will give you peace of mind when spills and accidents happen.
DESIGN TIP: Cat owners will get the best results from their Crypton upholstered furniture by choosing a low-pile, tightly woven construction made of 100% polyester.
Do you love to host?
Dinner parties may involve red wine, and spills happen. If you love to entertain, we recommend purchasing stain-resistant dining room chair upholstery fabric.
Is Crypton Available In Colors Besides White?
Yes! Our most popular fabric is Nomad Snow (a gorgeous linen blend), but our textiles come in almost every color, pattern, and texture you can think of. Don’t believe us, check out the new chenille fabric designs available at Kravet Fabric.
That being said, our commercial fabrics are only available to the trade, so if one catches your eye, you might have to purchase fabric by the yard through an interior designer, but don’t worry, there’s still a lot of residential fabrics to choose from.
You’ll see a lot of people opting for furniture upholstered in white because it’s classic, timeless, and goes with everything. But as you know, white fabric can get oh-so-dirty, oh-so-fast, and be difficult to clean. That is why interior designers recommend you use high-traffic upholstery in performance fabric.
But how do you know if what you’re looking at is performance fabric? A furniture store like Arhaus should have Crypton-branded upholstery fabric swatches available. If not, ask for it by name or search the store’s website for Crypton.
Is Performance Fabric Worth the Investment?
If you use your sofa daily or sit on upholstered chairs for dinner, we recommend investing in Crypton fabric, especially if you live with a mess-maker.
There are a lot of fabrics out there claiming “performance” features, so you want to read the fine print. Many are simply exterior coatings that wear down over time. Our patented process gives you lifelong stain, moisture, and odor protection that never fades or degrades.
Why Does Performance Fabric Cost More?
In short, innovation. We have a team of scientists, artisans, and specialty weavers who are experts at their craft and are constantly working to improve our textiles. That being said, the best thing about performance fabric is that you get a massive return on your investment when you follow simple maintenance and fabric care steps. Performance fabric that offers lifelong protection (like ours) ensures you won’t have to reupholster or replace it before you’re ready.
What’s the Best Way to Clean Upholstered Furniture?
Great question! Contrary to popular belief, performance fabric requires a bit of maintenance. Like a coffee table, dust naturally settles on the surface of your upholstered furniture and needs cleaning. We suggest vacuuming your performance fabric once a week to prevent it from becoming dingy over time.
Watch our short video on how to care for and clean performance fabric, or hop on over to our “How to Clean a White Couch” blog post.
Is Performance Fabric Safe for My Home?
Our scientists have been working on innovative technologies for years to ensure our products are free from harsh chemicals. All our fabrics are PFAS-free and produced using zero fluorine (that “forever chemical” you hear so much about). You can rest easy knowing that Crypton fabrics offer the protection you desire while providing the safety you need. You can read more about our sustainability here.
Ultimately, only you can decide if performance fabrics are worth the investment; however, we believe that if you’re investing in upholstered furniture, choosing performance fabrics is the only way to ensure those pieces have heirloom potential. When you choose Crypton, you will see and feel the difference immediately.
If you’re a “try it before you buy it” kind of person, we invite you to order a free fabric test kit because seeing is believing. Go ahead, make a mess.
Learn More About Our Fabrics and Where to Buy Crypton
Check out the latest sofa sectionals available in Crypton from Jonathan Louis Furniture.
The new Society Social x Nick Mele furniture collaboration blew us away. See the latest collection.
Check out the latest commercial fabrics that are now available at Burch Fabrics.
See what you missed at High Point Furniture Market in our highlights.
See the new performance fabric patterns debuting at Reid Witlin Textiles.
Why Crypton?
Crypton Home Performance Fabric is the leading stain-proof, odor-resistant interior performance fabric. Choosing Crypton Home Performance Fabric protects your investment in the upholstered furniture you use every day—sofas, sectionals, dining chairs, bar stools, and more.
Crypton Home Performance Fabric is spill-proof and stain resistant because life gets messy. We’ve made the fabric cleaning process as easy and pain-free as possible. By brushing off dirt and wiping up spills as they happen, you can keep your upholstered furniture like-new by following our simple maintenance instructions.
Crypton Home Performance Fabric is available from the brands you already know and trust, including Ballard Designs, Arhaus, and many more. Shop a wide selection of sectionals, sofas, accent chairs, ottomans, dining chairs, and more by selecting “Crypton Home Performance Fabric” for your upholstery.
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The indoor performance fabric brand
trusted by millions.
Crypton guarantees beautiful, easy-to-clean upholstery fabrics designed for indoor spaces that live work, heal and play. Found across all the top names in design, our upholstery fabric is easier to find now than ever before. To get started, tell us who you are: