How to Care for Leather Furniture - The Easy Way

 

Your leather furniture will last for years if you take care of it. But because leather comes in so many different varieties, it can be difficult to know exactly how to care for it. To make sure that your leather furniture lasts for years to come, follow these simple guidelines!

Cleaning your leather furniture regularly

You’re going to spend the majority of your day (and your furniture) on your leather furniture, so it’s important to keep it clean. You can spot-clean your leather furniture if you want, but a weekly treatment is usually more effective. Cleaning your leather furniture regularly is as important as any other part of your furniture maintenance routine. It’s what will keep your furniture looking brand new, and will prevent build-up of scale and grease. You can either wipe down your leather furniture with a soft, lint-free cloth or use a leather cleaner. Make sure to clean your leather furniture regularly, and clean it well after each use. Letting your leather furniture air dry is also important, as moisture will attract dirt and grime.

Avoid overfilling

Overfilling can occur when you don’t fill up the holes in your leather furniture properly. If you’ve got a pair of old shoes sitting in the corner of the bedroom, you might not realize that they aren’t quite full enough to hold the full weight of your clothes. To avoid overfilling, try to keep your furniture upright when you’re not using it. If you lean it against something, like a dresser or the wall, it will tend to fall over. This is a signal that the upper portion of the furniture is too full. And when you try to sit on it, you’ll immediately feel the same pressure as if you were sitting on a rather large pair of shoes.

Don't use hard water

Hard water can wreak havoc with your leather furniture. If you have hard water, it’s important to test the water in your leather furniture before using it. A water hardness scale can help you determine how hard your water is, but keep in mind that it’s not a 100% accurate way to measure water hardness. Your leather furniture should hold up well with hard water, but it’s recommended that you use water softer than you think your furniture’s “water hard” scale indicates. The water hardness scale also largely ignores mineral content in the water, which can be a very important factor for sensitive skin. Hills and other areas with high mineral content water have much harder water than the average water in cities, so your leather furniture’s water hardness could be a lot harder than you’re comfortable with.

Don't use too much soap

Soap is aicd a natural substance, and while it’s important to wash your clothes, furniture and car, you should only use so much of it. Keeping your leather furniture clean is important, but using too much soap will strip your leather of its natural oils. Here’s why: When you wash your skin, you’re actually exfoliating it. The visible effects of that are sandpaper-like marks on your skin. These marks will eventually go away, but the texture of your skin will remain sandpapered. If you keep your furniture clean, it will still retain its original texture and feel, but it will be significantly softer and less resistent to wear and tear. The reason that soap strips your leather of its natural oils is because it’s water-based; water is what makes your leather furniture soft and flexible, not the soap.

Always let your leather furniture air dry before putting it away

Leather requires very little in the way of maintenance, but it’s also important that you let your leather furniture air dry before storing it. Moisture will attract dirt and wrinkles, and will also cause your leather to color badly. If you have to store your leather furniture somewhere other than where you got it, let it air dry. This will help your leather to maintain its shape and color better. This also extends to your ironing board and iron; leave them to air-dry as well.

Final words

When it comes to caring for your leather furniture, there are a number of things you can do to help it last longer. Clean it regularly, keep it from getting too cold and don’t overfill it. When you take care of your leather furniture, it will last for years to come!