How to Properly Clean and Care for Your Leather Furniture

Furniture that’s covered with leather used to be found in the homes of the wealthiest people. Nowadays, leather recliners, straight chairs, couches, loveseats, and other pieces have found their way into many homes around the world. And why not? Leather is a natural material that comes from either cow hide or lambskin. It’s much more durable than cloth. In fact, it’s holds up better than any other type of upholstery fabric. Typically, a piece of leather furniture that’s properly cared for can last for two decades or more!

As for its attractive appearance, this natural material comes in a wide variety of colors. So you can always find just the right hue to match your home decor.

Leather made from either cow hide or lambskin is porous. Therefore, it’s breathable. This characteristic makes it cool to sit or lie on during the summer months, and toasty warm in the winter time as well.

Just like everything else in your home, in order for your leather-upholstered furniture to stay looking good over the years, it will need some proper care.
One of most important things to do is to clean your furniture every week. If
your leather recliner, straight chair, couch, or loveseat is lightly used, you can simply wipe it off with a soft, clean cloth. But if your leather furniture is moderately or heavily used, it will need to be vacuumed with a brush attachment. This will remove the dust, dirt, and dry human skin flakes that will accumulate on the leather.

Whenever an accident happens, and a spilled food or drink, et cetera, makes a spot on your leather furniture, you should clean it up immediately. Blot the stain. Do not wipe it or you can spread it.Otherwise, the spot can turn into a permanent stain. Generally, you can use a clean, soft, damp cloth and a gentle soap and warm water to remove the spill. However, check the care tag on your leather furniture tag to find out what type of cleaning method the manufacturer recommends.

Stubborn stains such as gum, pen ink, magic marker, blood, et cetera, should immediately be cleaned up. Again, blot the stain. Do not wipe it or you can spread it. Generally, you can use a leather cleaner. But again, check the care tag In order to achieve the best results, be sure that you read and follow the manufacturer’s directions on the container. After the leather is cleaned, apply a preservative to that area.

Your leather-upholstered furniture should be cleaned three to four times a year. After each cleaning, you’ll need to apply a preservative to the material. The preservative will help keep the natural material soft and pliable. It will replace the natural oils that are lost and keep your leather furniture from cracking.

Besides regular cleaning, your furniture needs to be located at least two feet away from direct heat sources. Examples of these include fireplaces, heat registers, and portable heaters. Direct sunlight is another enemy of your leather furniture. Heat from an artifical source, or, from the sun will cause the leather to dry out and possible crack. Sunlight will also cause color fading.

You can’t post rules for sitting on your leather-upholstered furniture for your guests to follow, of course. That would be rude. But be sure to tell your family members to remove any sharp objects such as key rings, pens, et cetera, from their pockets before they sit or lie down on the furniture.

To prolong the life of the cushions on a couch or loveseat, you should fluff them every week or so. Also, rotate them and turn them over every week or so, depending on how much use they get, to avoid wear spots on the leather.

And finally, you can purchase repair kits for your leather furniture in case of punctures, holes, or tears in the material. But, these kits are difficult to use. It would be a better idea to consult a professional leather repair person.