3 Tips for Cleaning Leather Sofas

We have a set of leather sofas, which I love because of its durability and looks, and because of this, it is especially great with kids. But lets face it, even though they are very durable, with kids around the house, occasionally things are spilled, and for some reason, most of us lay people are nervous about how to clean our leather. I think the fear is cleaning up a spill, using the wrong product and leaving a dark stain on our sofa that we don’t know how to get rid out. We have all probably seen those ugly leather stains, they ruin the look of leather sofas, chairs and ottomans. Leather furniture is too expensive to ruin with an unsightly stain. But there are basic ways to clean your leather that does not need to be a mystery. Here are three basic tips to help you out when needed.

One, remember that leather is a natural material that is designed to initially repel liquids, this works to your advantage. Any spills should be blotted, not wiped - this just spreads the liquid. A dark spot will be left behind once the bulk of the liquid has been removed, but this it normal. It is liquid that was absorbed. Often times this will naturally evaporate, leaving no trace of the mishaps. Obviously, the longer it takes to clean up a mess, the more liquid that was absorbed, and the longer it will take to evaporate dry.

Two, if you have a more serious spot that doesn’t evaporate (more than water is often spilt), try cleaning it with a moisturizing, non-acidic soap (think mild, skin sensitive bar of body soap) or saddle soap. You do not want to lather up with a lot of water and soak your leather more. Instead, get a cloth wet, lather it a bit on the bar of soap and then rub it on the stain. DO NOT use circular motions, but back and forth OR side to side. Once you have worked over the stain pretty well, use a damp cloth to wipe down the area, rubbing in only one direction and then buff with a dry cloth. I have also seen recommendations to not wipe with a damp cloth, but just buff with the dry one, I just feel better going over it with the water only damp cloth, perhaps removing some of the excess soap. Regardless of how you do it, next you have to let the spot air dry. You may not know if the stain is gone from your leather sofas until after it dries, if it is not completely gone, then you may need to repeat the entire procedure.

Three, and this is very important, do not do the above cleaning process until you have tested it on an obscure area on the leather sofas first! You want to make sure that the soap you are using will not mar the leather surface, or make the stain worse.

Hopefully these tips will help you when you need to clean your leather sofas. With a little care and some basic rules, you can keep them looking like new for many years. After all, the life span of a leather sofa or chair should outlast fabric upholstery by four times. Though I find that the best way to preserve my furniture is to have a basic rule of no food or drink. No one thinks they are going to spill, but it happens to the best of us. And though I may ignore my own rule sometimes, as I tell my kids, it is better if I have a mishaps than if they do!