Dos and Don’ts of Leather Cleaning
Every homeowner aspires to decorate their home with highly elegant, beautiful and timeless leather furniture. Apart from being immensely comfortable to cuddle in, leather furniture enriches the look of your home with its fine and plush texture. However, since leather furniture is vastly durable, most people forget to take care of its regular cleaning and maintenance to keep up with its luster and shine. It is crucial for home owners to understand that leather furniture can last much longer provided that it’s given due attention and care.Just as you should avoid placing leather furniture under direct sunlight, it is equally important that you follow some dos and don’ts of taking adequate care of leather cleaning. Keep reading to embrace some of them:
Do’s of Leather Cleaning
- Make it a point to read the manufacturer’s instructions or manual prior to cleaning leather furniture. If you don’t have it, contact the store you purchased the furniture from and take some useful tips from them.
- Get hold of a high-quality leather protectant that prevents the furniture from regular wear and tear and stubborn stains.
- To keep your leather furniture looking spanking new and shiny, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar and 2 parts of linseed oil and use it to clean your leather furniture with a soft, white cloth. Once cleaned, buff it ten minutes later to see its shine and gleam.
- Understand that your leather furniture will absorb natural body oils and regular dirt. To get rid of it, wipe the furniture with a plain cloth. Then, take a mild soap with a pH level of 7 and blend it with water. Take a small sponge and apply that mixture onto affected areas. When done, dry it up thoroughly.
Don’ts of Leather Cleaning
- Be careful not to use tap water when cleaning leather furniture. This is because tap water consists of some chemicals such as chlorine that can damage the leather skin and ultimately discolor it. For best results, use distilled water.
- Baby wipes are a complete No-No when it comes to cleaning leather. The alkaline properties of baby wipes leave an adverse impact on the leather skin.
- Avoid using oils when cleaning leather. Oils such as mink oil, lemon oil and other substances such as wax or silicone make the leather sticky and cause it to damage earlier than it ordinarily does.
- Do not use nail polish removers, dish soaps or hair sprays to clean leather. The cleaning agents present in these solutions end up de-glossing the leather, causing it to look old, gray and obsolete.