Cleaning and maintaining leather furniture

Leather furniture can be a good investment for many homes: it adds a touch of sophistication and timeless elegance, and a little glamour to enjoy in your leisure hours—with the added benefit of durability and a long lifetime.

With these benefits comes maintenance: without proper care and cleaning, your leather furniture may lose its lustre, soft and supple texture, and rich colour as it ages—or suffer damage from sun exposure and neglect. But the good news is that there are a few easy ways to protect and nourish your leather furniture with very little effort, so it’ll age gracefully, and you’ll be able to enjoy the distinguished look and luxurious texture for many years.

Attend to spills and stains immediately

Your leather furniture is often the centrepiece of the areas in your home where you enjoy yourself the most, so it’s inevitable that it’s going to get the odd splash from a toppled glass of red sometime in its respectable lifespan. The properties of leather upholstery place it in a good position to withstand some fair abuse, but it’s still imperative to get to messes before stains set in.

If you attend to spills quickly, blotting with a soft, dry cloth, you’ll prevent discolouration of the leather, and usually without needing any other cleaning fluids. But if you’ve just noticed a contribution from a messy toddler that appears to have been sitting for a while, you might need to use a water-based cleaning fluid or stain removal product. But be careful: stains from greasy or oily substances will get worse if you use a water-based product, or a product that isn’t right for your upholstery.

Choosing the right products

Ask advice from your retailer when you purchase your leather goods, to ensure you know which products are right for your furniture. If you can’t contact your retailer, ask a leather upholstery cleaning specialist to assess your furniture and give you advice. It’s a wise investment: while using the wrong products can cause permanent damage and unsightly defects in the leather, using the right emollients and conditioners can improve its appearance over time and extend its lifespan.

There are many products on the market for leather upholstery, but a number of old-fashioned remedies can do the job just as well: saddle soap, and various mixes of olive oil, vinegar, eucalyptus oil and lemon oil, can clean and rejuvenate your leather items without the expense or the chemicals.

If you’re unsure of the effects a particular product might have on your furniture, or if you’re using a product for the first time (even if it’s been recommended to you), spot test it on an inconspicuous area first, and give it some time to settle to ensure it won’t damage the leather before going over the whole piece. And remember that although leather is durable, it is porous, and any heavy chemical products that include bleach or ammonia are a definite no-no.

Dust, vacuum, cover, shade

Regular vacuuming can do wonders for your leather furniture. Use a soft brush attachment to avoid scratching, and go over your items regularly to remove dirt and dust from all the crevices. This will remove anything that can compromise the integrity of your furniture—preventing stains from setting in, and removing substances that can damage the surfaces.

If you’re not going to be using your furniture for a while, store it properly. Cover it to prevent harmful dust from collecting on it, because dust particles contain a mixture of organic and non-organic matter that can cause abrasion and discolouration of leather. And try to ensure an ambient temperature that isn’t too dry or humid, because too much moisture can cause mould and mildew to breed on it, and dryness can cause cracking.

And always remember to protect it from the sun—as a Brisbane resident, you know how intense the heat and light belting in your windows can be in the middle of summer. Prevent your leather products from exposure by arranging them by walls rather than windows, or by using appropriate window coverings to block direct heat and light from draining them of moisture and colour.

Professional leather cleaning services

Recruiting qualified professionals to expertly clean and condition your leather furniture on a regular basis can help you to protect your investment. There are many products and techniques to clean and nourish your leather items, but none of them can really compare to the calculated and expert care that specialist knowledge and experience delivers.

Professional cleaning processes often involve cleansing your leather furniture from damaging soiling, gently heating the surface to open the pores for deep cleaning and moisturising, and applying protective conditioners to smooth, restore and prevent cracking. It’s generally recommended that you have your leather furniture professionally cleaned around twice a year, to prevent the build up of damaging oils and substances that you often can’t even see.

Taking the best care of leather furniture requires specialised skills and training: at Terry’s Steam Cleaning, our qualified technicians have years of industry experience in maintaining high-quality leather furniture, and you can trust us with even your most valuable pieces. Contact us anytime for advice or a quote, and we’ll be happy to help you maintain the luxurious look and feel of your investment throughout its long lifetime.

Contact us today for more information on looking after your leather furniture; (07) 3878 6000 or 3878 6079