When you are buying leather upholstery for your home, you are seeking comfort and luxury. But you also need to know that leather upholstery requires your time and attention to retain that opulent look.
The dust that settles on other household objects settles down on your upholstery as well. Your leather sofa can gather a coat of grime that is hard to remove. Perspiration from your body can make its way to your couch. If you have kids and pets, then food crumbs, ketchup spills, crayons or dirty paws could mar the look of your sofa.
With consistent efforts, you can maintain the brand new look of your leather upholstery for a long time. Let us discuss how you can keep your leather upholstery clean.
DIY Weekly Maintenance For Your Leather Sofa
By spending a little time on the upkeep of your precious leather upholstery, you can prolong its life.
Follow a cleaning schedule along with an annual visit from a leather cleaning technician to keep your leather furniture bright and new.
· You should remove the accumulated loose dust from it at regular intervals to minimize its wear and tear. Light dust can be removed using a feather duster.
· To remove dirt coat, take a soft cloth and dip it in warm water. Take care that the water is warm and you can comfortably dip your hands in it, it should not be scalding hot. Also, you don’t have to make the cloth dripping wet, just make it damp. Wipe the sofa clean with the damp cloth.
· In case your spill anything on the leather, use a cloth to blot the spill immediately. This will stop the spill from spreading out and creating a bigger stain. Then opt for professional help.
When to get a professional leather sofa cleaning done?
· Leather upholstery can look beautiful for years provided you take good care of it. While removing loose dust is easy, it is very tricky to remove deep stains, molds or mildews, etc. from your leather couch without spoiling the material. Hiring a professional leather upholstery cleaner not just saves time and effort, the results are great as well. Professional leather cleaners will use the right cleaning agents to leave your upholstery sparkling clean.
· Annual maintenance from a professional leather upholstery cleaner can work wonders for keeping your leather furniture pristine clean. It also helps in preventing the leather from drying out and cracking, thus increasing its lifespan. If you have pets in the house, we would recommend you to call home professional upholstery cleaner once every half or quarter year.
Some tips for preventive maintenance-
ü When you bring home leather upholstery, try to place it away from direct sunlight. If your leather sofa sits on a spot where it receives direct sun, put on drapes on your window.
ü Avoid eating or drinking while sitting on your leather couch to save it from food stains.
ü Do not let your kids use pen, pencils, markers, crayons or sketch pains, near your leather furniture.
ü Clean spills without any delay to prevent stains from setting in.
ü If you are hiring a professional cleaner, don’t just call home any cleaner. Make sure that they specialize in cleaning leather upholstery as leather care is not the same as cleaning any other material.
A few things that are a strict no-no-
- Do not use furniture polish, any oil (like mink oil) or any product containing waxes or silicone (like car care products) on leather upholstery. These products can make leather sticky and damaged.
- Do not use ammonia, varnish or bleach on leather sofa, as these substances can discolor the leather.
- Do not clean your leather couch with baby wipes or other alkaline cleaners. Alkali can damage the leather.
With proper care at home and the services of a good leather upholstery cleaning professional, you can keep your upholstery dirt-free and your home spotlessly clean.