Any reason not to Scotch Guard my cloth seats?

I have a couple of cans of the stuff and since I have a 6 week old daughter, it seems like it will be a good idea in the near future.

Hey guys! So I dug up this ancient thread from 7 years ago and decided to bump it
My question is a bit different. I was disappointed to find out that the cans actually say the stuff needs to be re-applied every 3 months. Do any of you have experience with Scotchgard? Why the need to re-apply? Do dealerships/furniture stores use different stuff to be able to offer quite long warranties (5 years)?
Wife and I just bought a Forester with cloth seats. We are expecting our first child. Messes are going to be a fact. I'm also intending to treat my 05 LGT interior with this stuff.
Dealer offered a 5-year warranty on their own treatment but they wanted $350. I said no.

Yes.

Maybe?

It's not really worth it. Here's the real secret... don't let messy things in the car. No eating allowed. With a baby it isn't going to be much of a secret, but the second you let your 3 year old in the back seat with a tube of yogurt and a red velvet cupcake you can expect a mess that no amount of Scotch Guard is going to protect you from. Trust me (three kids later) when I tell you that better than Scotch Guard are these things: Just an example, but you get the idea. You'll get far more dry crud dropped from your child than wet stuff. The occasional wet froot loop might fall down there and then watch out. It will leave a lovely little stain. Since car seats typically don't go in and out of cars, the crud will stay in the seat for sometimes months. Getting something like that car seat protector, or at the very minimum use a towel under the car seat, is the only way to really protect the fabric. The real damage will come later when the kid is in a booster and much more mobile and brings in messier things. You've got two or three years before that happens, but when it does I suggest getting a vehicle with leather in it just to make your job easier. Trust me on that.

I thought Scotchgard was going to be the saving grace
I was planning to get seat covers like that

Yeah, not really. The only way to bulletproof your car from kids is to just watch what your kids bring into it. Set rules that even the adults follow. No open containers and nothing but dry foods, if anything, gets brought into the car. Shoes get stomped out before you get in the vehicle just like your house. And even with the best intentions you can bet that someone is going to rip open a bag of gum drops and spray sugar everywhere that you'll have to deal with, so Scotch Guard really isn't going to save you from much. It will help save you if you catch the spill right after it happens, but it doesn't last very long and you have to keep reapplying it.

It is sort of like car insurance. I've been paying it for twenty years and never needed it, but you know the one time I miss a payment is going to be the time I rear end someone. The one time you skip applying it will be when they lick the top of their strawberry ice cream cone right down the middle of your seats. It is better to just get into good habits about what goes into your car.

But the car seat mats serve more purpose than just catching stains. The first car seat you have in there is going to be buckled down for probably at least a year and a half or two years if not more. Then they'll need something larger than the backwards facing seat and you'll be strapping down a bigger chair for the next three or four years. Kids have to be in car seats till they are somewhere between 8 and 12 years old and the seatbelt fits them correctly. So whether it is four point harness seats or just booster seats, there is going to be something strapped down back there for a very long time. You can always tell the cars that have had car seats in them long term because there are wear marks in the upholstery or leather. Covers like the one I showed you will save your car from damage from the car seat as well as catch stain causing crud from ruining them further. In my experience it is that first car seat that does the most damage because it is the one that is buckled down the hardest. So definitely at least put a towel between the platform and the seat before you lock it down.

Oh, one other idea someone gave me was to use bathroom runners. Those bathroom mats have grippy bottoms on them so they don't slide off the seats. Kind of clever I thought. They would probably do the trick at protecting the seat from car seat damage too. Just a thought.

So that $340 dealer treatment was just a money making scheme. They were also trying to sell a $600 paint sealant job
And there are no other stronger or longer lasting products than Scotchgard?
The dealer demo was impressive tho.
Spilled coffee and all of it was just bead up. None got absorbed.

I've done some checking and it appears that 303 Fabric Guard is a better product, if one were to want to treat cloth. Here is what I was able to find out

Silicone Fabric Guards may repel water just as well as this product, but that’s where the similarities end. This fabric guard will also repel oil, soil, grease, and dust. Silicone treated fabric lasts on average 2-3 months, as compared to High Tech Guard that protects for up to three years."

Here's a good site that talks about the difference, plus a video
http://www.myboatstore.com/scotchguard.asp

I've ordered a bottle from Amazon, I'll let you know how the application works.

I have a lil' one in my newer Subie...Scotchguard is a must. I also made a rule that only water is allowed to be consumed in a ride....SAY NO TO MILK! Also any foods that are messy are completely forbidden. So far so good...and now she is a toddler. Just make sure to pack your car with toys! LOL!

I never heard of the Silicone Fabric Guard but that stuff sounds like a good idea too... something for the future perhaps...

The car seat protectors are great ideas, however (iirc), none of them are approved for use with a car seat. they also void all car seat manufacturer warranties and protection guarantees. Basically if you use them, and your car seat 'fails', it's all on you.

I used to soak my jeans in scotch guard till they were DRIPPING with them to turn them into water tight ski pants.

If they would apply something LIKE THIS to the seats, then I would be all for it.

http://www.neverwet.com/

I'm just waiting for them to put something like that into an application that can be applied to a car. Either a sealant or in the paint itself. That would be awesome. Say good bye to washing your car in the winter!

Originally Posted by jasejase

The car seat protectors are great ideas, however (iirc), none of them are approved for use with a car seat. they also void all car seat manufacturer warranties and protection guarantees. Basically if you use them, and your car seat 'fails', it's all on you.

True, however 303 "addresses" that issue. See my link.
Whether or not it is "approved" by manufacturers unfortunately it's another issue.

I scotch guarded Mrs. KRB. It was a difficult process, what with having to tie her down and such whilst she struggled, but in the end, I think she's been preserved rather well by the process. She's really easy to clean, too.