A leather sofa is stylish, beautiful, and comfortable. However, beauty is impossible without systematic care of its surface. It is important to know about the features of leather furniture so that it lasts a long time and looks like new for many years.
It is important to understand that a product made using leather requires a lot of attention:
- it requires regular maintenance to remove dust from the surface;
- high-quality surface cleaning products should be used;
- it is necessary to have available preparations that can quickly remove the spots that appear on the skin;
- It is necessary to protect furniture from direct sunlight.
Content
- What you need to know before you start working
- Choosing a Detergent
- How to clean a sofa
- Cleaning furniture made of dark and colored leather
- We tidy up a white leather sofa
- Regular cleaning – fast, thoughtful and gentle
- Post-cleaning care
- VIDEO: How to clean and protect a leather sofa yourself?
- Cleaning a Leather Sofa: 50 Photo Ideas
What you need to know before you start working
Before cleaning leather furniture at home, you need to prepare everything necessary for high-quality and effective cleaning.
To do this you will need:
- vacuum cleaner;
- clean soft cloths or napkins;
- leather furniture cleaner;
- detergent.
It is important to know what cleaning and washing products can be used for the type of leather used in the manufacture of the sofa. Otherwise, irreparable damage can be caused to the leather upholstery and the furniture can be ruined. It is worth noting that saving on cleaning and other care products for a leather sofa is inappropriate: if chosen incorrectly and inexpensively, it can ruin the upholstery of the furniture.
Before cleaning the upholstery, you need to vacuum it, paying special attention to the places where the cushions are located and making sure that its plastic parts do not damage the leather covering. Then you need to carefully wipe the surface with a clean, soft damp cloth soaked in water.. If the furniture is not seriously dirty, then this cleaning can be limited. But if it is heavily dirty, an effective detergent should be used for cleaning.
Choosing a Detergent
Selecting a leather sofa care product requires special care, as leather is a capricious material. In order not to spoil the upholstery, it is best to use a solution of high-quality toilet soap. Preference should be given to products that contain olive oil: it softens and does not dry the leather. Cheap "harsh" soap will give the opposite effect.
The use of traditional synthetic detergents is not recommended, as the surfactants they contain can lead to the destruction of the structure of the skin and the appearance of cracks and peeling of the material on the surface.
How to clean a sofa
To extend the "life" of furniture, you need to know how to clean a leather sofa. But first, having prepared a warm (not hot!) soap solution, you should conduct a test by applying the solution to a small area. At the same time, you cannot rub hard, so as not to "drive" dirt into the pores of the leather.
If the testing was successful, you can start cleaning:
- wet a cloth in soapy water and wring it out;
- wipe dirty areas with a damp cloth so that the leather does not get too wet;
- Alternate wiping with a damp and dry cloth.
However, if the surface of leather furniture is not completely dirty, but has only individual problem areas, then it is worth focusing on them, rather than rubbing the entire surface. For heavily soiled areas, you can use a special wax-based cleaner, but you must approach its selection with extreme caution and carefully read the instructions for its use.
Any cleaning agent should be used with extreme caution and not rubbed vigorously to avoid damaging the coating.
Cleaning furniture made of dark and colored leather
Each type of leather has its own characteristics and requires taking them into account when cleaning. If dark or colored leather is used for upholstery, then the same products used for light material are suitable for its care, except for vinegar or acetone, which can spoil the paint. But in any case, before using a cleaning product, it is necessary to conduct a test to check the effect of the product on the color of the leather.
Experienced owners take care of leather goods using natural products, which are often more effective and safer than synthetic ones. For example, many recommend using fresh natural cow's milk for cleaning. It should be slightly warmed up, a clean cloth should be moistened, squeezed out well and the surface should be wiped. Such milk treatments make the skin soft and shiny. And to achieve the best effect, you need to take care of the furniture regularly, and your favorite sofa will delight you with its beauty, comfort and softness for a long time.
We tidy up a white leather sofa
A white leather sofa is a beauty, a demonstration of wealth and exquisite taste. However, keeping such furniture clean is a big problem: children's "art", accidentally spilled wine, strong tea or coffee will certainly leave marks on its snow-white surface. Therefore, a beautiful white sofa will require special care.
If it is possible to remove the stain immediately, cleaning a leather sofa should be done immediately, because old stains are much more difficult to remove from a white surface. Moreover, each source of contamination has its own methods of elimination.
- Stains from spilled wine or juice can be removed using a clean cloth soaked in a weak alcohol solution, after first collecting the remaining liquid before the stain spreads.
- Removing traces of a ballpoint pen is a big problem. It is recommended to get rid of them using sticky tape, which should be applied to the dirty area and then carefully removed. After that, you need to clean the surface from traces of the tape itself, wiping the place with a weak soap solution. If the desired result is not achieved, you will have to use a cotton pad soaked in acetone or alcohol, carefully wiping the dirty surface with it.
- Marks from felt-tip pen can also be removed with rubbing alcohol and then the surface treated with a leather furniture care product.
- You can remove the gum by placing pieces of ice wrapped in a bag around it. If it does not "voluntarily" want to leave the surface, you will have to carefully remove it with any blunt object.
- Wax stains are removed just like chewing gum.
- You can get rid of coffee or tea stains using a light soap solution, which requires high-quality toilet soap.
A weak vinegar solution helps to remove many types of dirt.
Regular cleaning – fast, thoughtful and gentle
In order for a leather sofa to serve as long as possible and please with its beauty and comfort, it needs to be regularly looked after. This will prevent the appearance of difficult to remove stains and premature wear of the upholstery material.
Weekly required:
- vacuum the furniture;
- wipe gently with a soft damp cloth;
- clean dust from seams and folds.
Post-cleaning care
After cleaning the product, it should be treated with a high-quality care product for upholstered leather furniture, which will prevent cracks from appearing on the surface of the upholstery and will give it shine and strength.
It is worth remembering that the skin does not like bright sun.. To prevent the colored upholstery from fading and the white one from turning yellow, you need to find a place for it away from the window where direct sunlight penetrates.
The humidity level of the room where the furniture is located is no less important. Otherwise, it may become infected with fungus or mold, which will very quickly ruin the leather upholstery. If this does happen, you will have to wipe the affected areas with a weak solution of vinegar and water. It is important to do this very carefully, and if you fail to get rid of the mold the first time, you will need to repeat the procedure in a day or two.