Review of Origins Microfiber Tablecloth

When my husband and I got married, we were in college and had nothing. For awhile, we lived in furnished apartments, and even when we moved to an unfurnished apartment, we couldn't afford furniture. All we had was a bed and a couple small bookcases.

My mother-in-law was ready to upgrade her furniture, which she had had for 20 years, and offered to give us her old furniture, which included a dining table, dresser, and chest of drawers. As you might imagine, the dining table was showing wear, and the leaves that went with the table were all different colors depending on the wear they had received.


So, needless to say, a tablecloth was required. I prefer vinyl tablecloths because they are easy to clean, and now that we have a little toddler, that's pretty essential. The problem is I haven't been able to find a vinyl tablecloth that is simple and attractive. It's like designers of these tablecloths despise vinyl so much that they cannot stand the sight of them and so purposely make them ugly. I really don't get it. My mother-in-law told me that they used to make attractive vinyl tablecloths that looked like fabric, but if they still exist, I haven't been able to find them. As a last resort, I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond to see if they might carry some. I was pretty surprised to find that they don't have ANY vinyl tablecloths, but what I did find was they had a whole bunch of cloths that claimed to be as easy to clean as vinyl, but made from cloth.

One of these types was a microfiber material. We bought a microfiber couch a few years back, and so I was familiar with how easy they are to clean, so the thought of a microfiber tablecloth was interesting. On top of that, they were so much more attractive than the vinyl cloths I've found. After all, they're made of fabric! They should look better.

I decided it was worth trying to see if it lived up to its claims. Right out of the package, it needed to be ironed, but it ironed really easily and quickly and looked great afterward. I then put it on the table and first impressions were really good. The table looks really nice with the new table cloth. A big difference from the one above, don't you think? And much better than previous tablecloths we've tried.

Now on the package for the table cloth is a picture of a wine glass tipped over with a purple liquid (presumably wine) beaded on top. So I couldn't resist trying it out myself to see if that actually happens. I don't have any wine, but I figured grape juice would do the trick. Let's see what happens.

And voila!

As you can see in the picture, the juice did indeed bead up and sit on top of the tablecloth. Next I took a napkin and let it soak up the juice. When I pulled it away, there was virtually no juice and no staining. It's hard to see in the picture, but there actually is a small spot on the cloth left from the juice, but it's hardly noticeable. Overall, for liquid it seems to work really well.

But now that I've had the cloth for a few months, I've found that it doesn't do as well with food. In fact, most food does leave a stain on the cloth. I thought I'd be able to just wipe the food off, since it does say "instantly wipes clean" on the label, but this just isn't so.

Its one saving grace in this department is the tablecloth washes clean. I've washed it several times since I got it, and everything has come out so far, and we're talking about pasta sauce, canned pasta, salsa, smeared blueberries, and chili. Anything my toddler can get on it has come right out. I did have one time when it came out of the washer with a little stain still on it, but I just took a rag and some soap to it and it came right out before I put it into the dryer.

A few weeks ago, I went back to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought a second tablecloth, same color. This way I have another cloth to use while the first is in the wash. I don't regret buying these tablecloths at all and really love them. They may be a little more trouble than vinyl, but they're worth it for how my table looks.

Just the Facts

Store Where Product Was Purchased: Bed, Bath & Beyond
Price: $14.99
Date Purchased: June 2009
Rating: 4.2/5

Overall

This tablecloth looks great and stains wash out easily, without need to pre-treat or pre-soak. Would purchase again.