Caring for your leather furniture is actually relatively easy! Leather sofas can be a fabulous choice for many reasons – they’re timeless, stylish and very durable.
A regular quick vacuum or simple wipe over with a dry cloth will very often do the trick, But when it comes to lighter colours, many of us may think that they can look dull and lack lustre over time. If this is the case, then here is our guide to caring for your leather furniture.
The approach that we outline works best when you have a stain that needs lifting, or as a deep clean every 3 months or so.
You’ll need the following:
- A vacuum cleaner
- Two or more micro fibre cloths
- Saddle soap, white vinegar and a gentle soap
- Leather cream suitable for the colour of your furniture
1. Vacuum and wipe any dirt away
You need to remove any dirt or grime from the surface of your leather furniture in a bid to avoid it being rubbed into it when you’re wiping it over with any cleaning solution.
You could use the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner which is quite gentle and won’t scratch the surface of your furniture.
2. Use a cleaning solution
The main rule of thumb when it comes to cleaning leather furniture is: the gentler, the better.
A mild PH-balanced soap is a really good choice for cleaning leather furniture – you can either use it in bar form or mix a few drops with warm warm water for a very diluted mixture. A simple dilution of 50:50 white vinegar and water works very well as it’s an effective but gentle stain remover for most types of leather furniture.
Saddle soaps can be used, but it’s important to use one that’s specifically made for cleaning leather. Failure to use the right one may leave your leather darker or the surface of the leather harder.
3. Test your cleaning solution on a small section of the leather
It’s best to test our your cleaning solution on a small section of your furniture first – preferably somewhere that you can’t see, just it case your solution discolours the leather. Apply a small amount and let it dry out to make sure that it hasn’t changed in colour or hardened the surface of the leather.
4. Clean the sofa with a microfibre cloth
Have two soft microfibre cloths to hand, one for cleaning your leather furniture and one for drying it. Start off by dipping one cloth into your cleaning fluid and wringing it out – you’re aiming for a damp, not dripping cloth! If you’re using a bar of soap, simply dampen the cloth and swipe it across the surface of the soap.
Work from top to bottom, rub the cloth softly along the leather surfaces, making sure you get into the corners of the furniture, rinsing and applying more cleaning solution as you go along. When you’ve finished this process, use the other cloth to gently buff up the leather and allow it to dry to a beautiful lustre. There’s really no need to rinse the solution out, but it’s vital to dry the sofa thoroughly to reduce the risk of mildew or mould.
5. Apply a leather conditioner
Leather creams and conditioners should be used to restore moisture and suppleness. But don’t over do it! We would suggest that you should use these products every 6-12 month only.
Stains to be dealt with immediately – and spilled water, food, ink or oil or ink should be mopped up before it has time to set or penetrate the leather. If you have any ink stains, for example, you could try rubbing alcohol or baking soda works well on grease stains.
We are The Furniture Factory Outlet – run by father and son team John and Robert Mack. Between us, we have amassed over 100 years of experience in the furniture trade so you can rest assured that we really do know what we are talking about.
Take a look at our website for our range of furniture and special offers, or if there’s something specific you’re looking for, simply give us a call on 01452 741 880
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