Leather furniture is among the most stylish, cool and elegant of all furnishing that you can put up in your interiors and the best part is that it goes well with both the modern look and even the laid back retro style. Leather furniture can look beautiful and age gracefully, but many people still harbour doubts about making leather a part of their home. Leather furniture is often perceived as difficult or tedious to care for! Learning how to care for leather furniture is in reality no harder than caring for other types of upholstered furniture. The tips below will help you keep your leather looking and feeling its best.
The basic care routine for leather upholstery is simply wiping the furniture down with a dry cotton cloth. This will remove dust from the leather and keep it looking its best.
Just as with any other piece of upholstered furniture, the best way to remove the dust and debris that gradually builds up in crevices and under cushions is by using your vacuum’s hose attachment. No special precautions are necessary when vacuuming leather furniture.
The most common mistake that people make is using excessive water and soap to clean their leather furniture. This is an absolute no-no as it disintegrates the surface and speeds up the cracking and breaking process. Do not use strong solvents and stuff like ammonia on it as they could bleach the leather. Even when there is a stain, use the minimum water required for cleaning up and do not allow the water to remain stagnant on the surface.
The most notable difference between caring for leather versus fabric upholstery is the need to condition the leather. Leather conditioners are products that have a creamy consistency and are designed to be buffed into the leather. Conditioning the leather regularly keeps it from drying out and developing cracks.
When anything is spilled onto the leather upholstery, wipe it away as soon as possible. Use a dry cloth or sponge to absorb as much of the spilled liquid as possible, only resorting to a moistened cloth if necessary.
Remember that leather was once the skin of an animal and just like too much sun and heat are no good for your skin, they are not all that welcome for leather as well. If your leather sofa set sits close to a sunny window, the use a window treatment. Keep your leather furniture away from the fire place and at a spot that is cooler.
Take special care of your favourite spot on the leather couch as it will be the first to show signs of wear and tear. Since you will excessively use it for reading your newspaper, watching TV and playing your Xbox, it will automatically require extra attention. Switching spots once in a while is cool, but even if you do not wish to, the make sure that the ‘hot spot’ is pampered enough.
Unlike fabric upholstery, leather should never be cleaned by prolonged soaking in soap or water. Doing this can damage the leather even more than the initial stain you are trying to remove.
Because leather is made from animal hide, it can occasionally dry out and develop small cracks and scratches. These scratches can be coaxed into healing themselves, however. All you need to do is buff them gently with a microfiber cloth until their appearance fades.
Whenever you buy leather furniture, make sure you ask the seller about the details of the leather and the suggested ways of keeping it new as long as you can. This will be the best piece of advice you will ever get as leather varies with its place of origin and only by knowing its exact variety can you actually take the right care.