How to clean a leather sofa: practical tips and remedies
Leather sofa: cleaning, care and maintenance
Do you have a leather sofa in your living room and have no idea how to care for it? Cleaning leather sofas, in general, is always a question for all housewives who find themselves with a sofa in their home that does not have a removable cover.
The essential thing is not to be afraid of ruining them by using products that are too aggressive but to follow the instructions on the label of the covering, in this case leather. Here, we will give you a guide on what to do and what not to do to have a leather sofa always impeccable, tidy and clean.
Sunset Bontempi Casa corner sofa with chaiselongue
How to moisturise a leather sofa? Our tips
Before we understand how to clean the leather of the sofa in our living room, we need to know how to keep the upholstery of our leather sofa ‘alive‘, i.e. shiny and bright.
Leather needs to be moisturised and nourished, just like that of the human body. Therefore, the first thing to do is to place the sofa away from heat sources, such as fireplaces and radiators, which dry out and discolour the leather. Also, it is good not to expose the leather sofa to direct sunlight, because leather is sensitive to UV rays.
To moisturise and nourish, therefore, a leather sofa, it is useful to use products, easily found on the market, with a high ‘fat’ content. However, there are also home-made solutions, such as moisturising body cream or cleansing milk.
These products are simple to use, just apply a small amount of product on a soft cloth or chamois and massage in gently. This can be done every two months for proper maintenance.
Other natural remedies for the maintenance of leather sofas are provided by foods. For example, banana peel is useful for smoothing cracks and lines that may appear after years on a leather sofa because it contains glycerine.
Leather also tends to dull. In this case, whipped egg whites can also be used to polish the part of the leather that has become dull.
If, on the other hand, the leather sofa is very damaged, you can use black soap mixed with lukewarm water because it has a very greasy consistency.
Atenae Cantori Sofa
How to stain a leather sofa: what to do?
How do you clean leather sofas in the event of stains? The first rule to know and to follow is not to rub the leather but to dab it, perhaps using a cotton wool pad and without insisting.
As with any cleansing, you should try it on an area of skin that is not visible to notice any reaction. Ideally, however, you should act immediately without drying out the stain and so that the leather does not get soaked.
Natural methods for cleaning stains are vinegar and cleansing milk to be applied with a pad and dabbed gently without rubbing. Once the stain has disappeared, wipe with a damp cloth to rinse and then polish with a chamois cloth.
It must be said that for each type of stain there is a different solution. For example, how to clean a leather sofa from ink? In this case, you have to apply a solution of 90 degree alcohol and water with a cotton swab to that spot only. This also applies to stains from sugary foods such as coffee, tea and alcoholic drinks.
Ever More Bonaldo Sofa
How to clean white leather sofa? What to do
How to clean leather sofas is essentially what everyone who has a sofa with this covering in their living room is asking themselves. Especially how to clean beige leather sofa or, in general, how to clean light leather sofa can be a difficult manoeuvre. Let’s take a look at some steps together:
- obtain a hoover or brush for leather garments
- two or more soft cloths (microfibre)
- a chamois cloth
- skimmed milk, white vinegar or mild soap
- leather cream or conditioner
When cleaning leather sofas on a weekly basis, you should first brush or vacuum the sofa to remove the most visible dust or dirt. Beware of using a hoover, which can scratch the leather; the advice is not to let the nozzle stick to the upholstery. In the area of the stain or on the yellowed part, apply, as seen above, the most suitable product for the type of stain, and dab with a soft cloth or cotton ball. Skim milk as well as cleansing milk are the most timely natural remedies to act on dirt. After this, remember to moisturise and polish the leather by applying a glycerine-based cream.
Cleaning the white leather sofa is not at all easy, if we think that it can also be stained with the dyes from the clothes we wear. Again, using a mild soap, Marseille soap, with the techniques already mentioned could help in this specific case. An eraser (bread eraser) is also recommended to remove surface stains that the leather has not absorbed.
Ginger Felis Sofa
Product to clean the leather sofa: which one to buy?
In addition to home remedies, there are many specific products on the market for caring for your leather sofa.
When purchasing a new leather sofa, it is a good idea to also obtain the product recommended by the upholstery manufacturer and, as a good habit, always have it at home.
Marseilles soap diluted in water is a good method for washing leather sofas. However, care must be taken not to leave the sofa wet and to remove soap traces thoroughly with a dampened cloth, which could in fact dry out the leather.
If, on the other hand, you want to opt for a specific product, leather care and maintenance products are usually similar to those for leather clothes. Here, it is important to read the label: many products have a very acidic pH, so the advice is still to try the product, especially if you are not sure, on an inconspicuous part of the sofa to do a kind of test. The pH of the product must be neutral so as not to ruin the leather.
Mod Driade Sofa
