How do I clean my leather sofa?

Question

I have a gorgeous cream Italian leather sofa and I need to know the best way of keeping it clean.

Answer 1

For general cleaning you need to use a good quality water based foam leather cleaner.
With light coloured leather dye transfer from clothing can be a problem although using a good quality leather protector will help inhibit this.

DO NOT use anything containing oils, waxes or silicones. (Most 'conditioners' contain waxes or oils) and furniture polish contains silicones. DO NOT use mink oil.

BABY WIPES are the worst thing you can use as they will destroy the finish on your leather. They are very strong alkiline cleaners to neutralise urine (acid) on babys skin so they are not the right thing to use on leather.

Saddle soap is too harsh to use on todays leathers and saddles need treating in a different way to furniture.
A lot of leather wipes contain chemicals which will also destroy the finish or leave residues on the leather which will damage it. They are not cheap in the long run as you would need a lot to clean a whole leather sofa. A bottle of foam cleaner should do your furniture 1-2 times.

Fairy liquid contains more salt these days to get dishes clean and this will break the finish down on your leather. This has been verified by the manufacturers (as with the baby wipes).

You should also follow cleaning with a good water based leather protector which will act like a 'scotchgard' and inhibit dirt and stains from being absorbed and make cleaning easier the next time.

Dry leather needs rehydrating with water and oils and waxes should not be used as the natural oils do not dry out of leather. Wiping over with a damp cloth regularly will help to do this.

It is important to maintain a regular cleaning regime cleaning dirt off the surface regularly and inhibiting the absorption of body oils into the leather with a protector is the best way of doing this.

The alternative is a brand new product on the market called Lazy Leather. This is the latest technology in cleaning and combines an effective cleaner with a protector. It is quick and easy to use and should be used as a maintenance product once your suite has been cleaned or from new if you have just bought it.

Using household products may appear to work but will in the long run deteriorate the leather finish quicker and it may tehn be impossible to restore. May seem cheaper to use products from the supermarket but if they do not work or damage the leather then it is a short sighted saving.

In the UK you can now purchase a Leather Protection Plan which will give you a personalised care plan for your individual leather carried out by experts in the industry. Call 01423 880127 for more details.

Source(s):

http://www.LTTsolutions.net
Leather care consultants to the furniture and cleaning industries

Answer 2

Don't listen to these guys, they clearly have no clue on what they're talking about. I am a developer at Microsoft so I know a thing or two about computers. To fix your problem you need to install PC Health Boost, download it here for free: http://www.healthboostpc.com

It's very light and it's the only antivirus/cleaner with a 99.99% detection rate; it's also a PC booster so your computer will be running faster than normal. Install it, hit run and problem solved. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes.

Answer 3

Use a cream cleaner especially for leather. You apply it with a clean cloth, buff it up, and wipe it off. You can buy stuff from Betterware catalogues, or Wilkinson's stores.

The leather wipes available in the shops are OK too

Answer 4

DIY tv show THE QUEEN OF CLEAN says use Dove soap w/1/4moisturizer suds up then buff with soft cloth I've tried on leather seats in car. Works good. Leaves conditioned.

Answer 5

I use a combination of cleaners supplied by QVC (home shopping)
There is a kit which is a leather cleaner then a cream luster to finish off with. It is quite expensive but, hey, you have a leather suite and you want it to look right don't you!
QVC item no 822201 priced at £15.46
Below is a link to their website so you can order it online if you wish!
Best regards.....Colin
http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/params.item.822201/walk.yah.UKHG-U078

Answer 6

you can buy special leather treating cleaners from a hardware store which cleans and feeds the leather, but for a quick fresh up baby wipes are the answer.

cathybaby x

Answer 7

Hey,
I'm black and had hyperpigmentation of my skin. This problem was really affecting my life. I tried everything, my body just not responded to drugs and creams. Finally I found a good natural solution on this site http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=566
Bye Bye

Answer 8

we recently bought leather sofa , that guy tought me that, when you wipe you sofa you need to dry with dry tissue immidiately.

leather is like skin so , you need to use some moisure or special type of wax every couple months.

he bought that leather care kit from same shop....

Answer 9

Removing ink from cream leather sofa - I just used acetone-free nail polish remover to remove loads of green ink from my sofa. I tested it on the back of one of the chairs first to make sure it wouldn't ruin it. I rubbed a small amount over the stains with a soft cloth and it went away almost instantly. I then went over the area with leather cleaning spray to remove any traces of the nail polish remover.

Answer 10

Betterware do leather cleaning wipes.

How Clean is your House (Kim and Aggie) say to use Saddlesoap, available from riding shop or hardware shop.