How do you protect your fabric covered scrapbooks?

So I've always shied away from fabric albums because I thought how on earth would i keep it clean? Some come with plastic covers but I always expand my albums so then the cover would not fit. Some come in a nice box, but I wouldn't want to display them like that. So i've just steered clear of them and own tons of leatherette albums.
THEN i saw an album with the cutest retro cameras printed in white on black FABRIC! EEK! I gave in & bought her & now need ideas on how to keep her clean. It's a Binder style album.
I was thinking maybe Scotchgard?? Has anyone done this before? Do you think it will work? (IF i could sew i would make a plastic cover but, i am not blessed with those skills.)

Hi plumeria and welcome to the boards!

I have no idea but I can see where it would get dusty - would a lint brush work.

I use the linen 3ring albums by WeRMemory Keepers and I don't actually use anything on them....just take my chances. They are in a bookcase and if they get dusty, I would just vaccuum them!

If you really want to try a spray....I would go to the fabric store and buy a fabric spray. I think there are lots of options....

Alison

I have several albums that I covered with fabric and I have not had any problem with them getting dirty. I store them on a shelf on my bookcase though.

I don't! I think I only have one fabric one though. I guess I never thought about it, but I do store my books in a cabinet with a door.

I dont have fabric covered ones. I will be checking this post to see what responses you may get.

I like the idea of a spray! I made a really nice one for our trip to Cancun several years ago, and the cover is a gorgeous light dusty blue color. We kept it on the shelf under our coffee table for the longest time. The dust was really hard to get off, but the worst was when we had some spilled drinks that dripped down and now there is a water spot right on the cover. If I'd thought to spray it, maybe it would've come off! Dangit! What a great idea, too late for me (unless I transfer to a new cover)

My ongoing Tahoe album is cloth covered and so far I've kept the plastic cover on, but it's getting tight. The next time I add pages, the plastic is going to have to come off, so I'm glad you mentioned ScotchGuard. I hadn't thought about using it, but it should at least help.

I know the OP said they don't sew, but for anyone who does, it's easy to make a fabric cover that can be removed and tossed in the washer. I made my mom and dad a photo album like that. I used pretty country-looking quilted fabric and made it like a schoolbook cover so it can be slipped off. I added a fancy lace and photo insert with their wedding-day photo in it on the front, but velcroed it on so it could come off easily.

No difficult sewing is needed and you could actually do it with needle and thread...or maybe crochet or knit a cover ~Judy

The vast majority of my albums are cloth and I haven't noticed any big problems with dust...and trust me, I'm not big on every day "keep my house clean as a whistle" cleaning! I have at least one leather album and I will try to avoid buying another one because it has scratches in it which I'm not happy about...

I wasn't thinking of dust so much, although dust does seem to be one of my collectibles (maybe I should scrap it!), but I'm thinking more of oil & dirt from hands, plus drips. Maybe my friends and family are slobs, but I think I'll try the fabric spray...can't hurt ~Judy

My thought is that it would be no different than anything else that is covered with fabric... furniture, car seats, pillows, etc.

That's what I'm thinking...I just hadn't thought about using the spray on my fabric album. I've been trying to keep the plastic on as long as possible while I'm working on it so klutzy me doesn't get ink, stickles or anything else in my vicinty all over it. I have some spray...just hadn't thought to use it (and it probably won't protect against stickling :>) )~Judy

I'm going to share a funny small-world story. I don't think Plumeria will mind.

I got a pm from Plumeria - she asked me if I was in Hawaii recently and asked if I was married to the man who likes to run dollar bills through the Big Shot.

I told her that it was me and then the light went off. Plumeria is the wonderful person I always enjoy visiting with when I'm in Oaha at Scrapbook Clubhouse!

I told her about scrapbook.com and she also said she and the other ladies in the office have download the scrapstash app and are enjoying it.

The scrapbook store where she works is awesome. Anyone who is in Oahu - check it out. And say hi to Plumeria!

Ha ha Henri - yes it's a small world - especially to a world traveler such as yourself. I'll see you next time you are in town!

I wish I had a 12" deep cabinet to house all my albums with glass doors to keep the dust out....

This is a black and white album so the stains may show on the white and the dust will show on the black LOL!

But for now... I will tell you that I was going to go the Scotchgard route until.... I pulled up all this info about it being unsafe! Well then I decided to try decoupaging a small area on the inside of the album to test it as a sealer.

It looks shinier & feels stiffer, so i'm not sold. I used the matte variety.

I researched Scotchgard a little more today and read that there is now a newer, safer formula so I guess I'll give it a try, i need to pick some up from Walmart.

Will Scotchgard make it easier to keep dust free? I wonder....

Thanks to all who commented! I'll post again to let you know how it went!

Please let us know because my wedding album is in a black and white fabric album. I haven't had a problem yet but will.

I use 3-D ring binders almost always (except for my wedding) and those are about 16 1/2" from spine to front. Shelves would need to be 18" or 20". I had planned to have very simple shelves built but I think I may investigate glass fronts - I hadn't thought of that. Would definitely help the dust problem.