This week we're bringing you a new blog post on caring for your leather sofa! With proper care, leather furniture improves with age, ensuring it will be a part of your home for years to come. If not maintained properly, however, the quality may deteriorate over time due to wear and tear, accidental spills and exposure to sunlight. Leather is kept soft by oils in the hide that over the years can harden and escape the leather, which can cause it to go hard and even crack.
Leather surfaces can stretch over time, resulting in a relaxed appearance on seat cushions and the backs of seating surfaces. As leather is a natural product, differences in colour, texture and unique characteristics are to be expected. Scarring, insect bites and wrinkles can be visible on all leather furniture. We are always getting inquiries on furniture care so here are our top tips on caring for your leather sofas!
Caring for your new leather furniture
- Avoid allowing caustic substances to come in contact with leather furniture. Some examples of caustic substances would be chlorine from swimming pools, salts, ammonia, bleach, hair products, and animal flea and tick treatments.
- Sit on the cushions, not the backs and arms of sofas, chairs etc. Premature wear, if not frame failure, may result from people sitting on or applying unnecessary pressure to arms, edges of cushions etc.
- Prevent children or animals from climbing or jumping on the furniture. Sharp buckles, claws, toys etc., can easily snag and produce tears and cuts in the leather.
- Ottomans, recliner footrests, and the end of an opened sleep sofa are not designed to hold body weight; if sat on, these pieces can break.
- If a (fifth) centre support leg is included with a sofa, screw it into place (in the middle) to maintain the structural integrity of the frame. Often, the centre support leg is suspended ½” above the floor, making contact with the floor as weight is applied to the sofa.
- Maintain screw-in legs by tightening when needed. Do not over-tighten!
- Move leather furniture by lifting it. Dragging or pushing furniture can damage furniture and floors. To reduce the movement of your leather sofa or sectional pieces on hardwood floors, place furniture cups with rubber bottoms under the legs.
Maintaining the appearance of leather
- Cleaning and conditioning leather using leather conditioning products helps keep surfaces clean, soft and supple. Conditioners, when used in tandem with the cleaner, re-moisturizes surfaces and helps keep them looking their best.
- It is recommended to clean and condition leather four times a year; more often in dry and/or sunny rooms, homes with pets, and high-use rooms.
- Leather is not stain-proof. Quickly blotting spills from leather surfaces help prevent stains from setting.
- Body and hair oil from people and pets can discolour and cause fading and peeling of the leather.
- Hand cream, hair styling products can be absorbed by leather surfaces, resulting in a stain.
- Regular cleaning and conditioning can reduce damage from surface spills, body and hair oil, and cosmetic creams and lotions.
- Bonded leather and bi-cast leather do not need to be treated with leather conditioning products, but still, need to be maintained on a regular basis by wiping the surfaces with a soft damp cotton cloth.
We hope that you found these tips and tricks on leather sofa care helpful. We'd love to hear from you so why not share with us your top tips on caring for your furniture over on our Facebook page!
