Tips and Tricks for Caring for Leather Upholstery

Over the time you have your sofa or couch, it will see about 782 people sit on it. It will also be spilled on an average of 1,663 times. After a house and a car, furniture is the third largest and most expensive thing most people will buy. If you have leather upholstery, there are some things you can do to keep it looking its best.

• At least twice a year, leather upholstery should be cleaned. You can use a combination of a mild facial cleanser, such as from Neutrogena or Dove, and tepid water. Use a soft rag or cloth. When cleaning leather furniture, you should pay close attention to areas where dust and dirt can hide such as crevices or indentations. Areas of your leather upholstery that are exposed to to skin oil should be cared for.
• Use distilled water when cleaning leather upholstery. Many towns and cities add chlorine to their water supply to keep bacteria at bay. This can damage your fine Italian leather furniture. That is why is is advisable to use distilled water on your leather upholstery. It has a much better chance of cleaning your leather or high end furniture that water that is straight from the tap.
• When you are through washing your leather upholstery, you need to wipe it with a clean rag or cloth. This will keep it looking lustrous.
• From time to time, use linseed oil and white vinegar. Take two parts of the linseed oil and one part of white vinegar and mix them together. Take your clean rag or cloth and apply the solution to your leather upholstery with circular motions. Let the the mixture sit on the furniture for about ten minutes. Take another clean rag or cloth and buff the furniture. This final step may need to be done more than once. Using linseed oil with white vinegar is a great way to return luster to your Italian furniture.
• When you first buy it, protect it. When you buy furniture with leather upholstery, you should also get a product from the furniture store to protect the leather. This will keep it protected from spills and oils from people’s skin.
• When you spill something on it, wipe it up as soon as you can. As soon as you spill something on your leather upholstery, you should wipe it up to prevent staining the furniture. It is much easier to prevent a stain than to deal with one after the fact.
• Be careful what you use on your leather upholstery. You should, under no circumstances, never use furniture polish, mink or other oils, wax, silicone or car care products on your leather upholstery. This will do damage to the leather and make it sticky and stained. If you use furniture polish near your leather furniture, be careful. Do not spray it near your furniture, if you can avoid it.
• You should avoid using products such as window cleaner, ammonia, bleach or saddle soap on your leather upholstery. These products are very harsh and will cause your furniture to be discolored and damaged. Other products that should be avoided include alkaline cleansers, baby wipes or other similar products. They will damage your leather upholstery.
• Use a conditioner. You should use a leather conditioning product on your leather furniture once or twice a year. This will keep it soft and looking great and can be purchased at most furniture stores.
• Keep your leather furniture out of the sun. The UV rays from the sun can discolor and dry out your leather upholstery. You should also keep a distance of about two feet between your upholstery and heating vents, radiators or fireplaces. Leather furniture should also not be placed right next to an air conditioning unit.
• Seek out professional help if your leather furniture gets very dirty. You may think that your leather upholstery is beyond help but professional leather cleaners can work magic on a lot of leather products. Find a company with experts in leather upholstery and they may be able to help restore the look of your furniture.

Leather is a great material for furniture. It is durable, attractive and very easy to maintain. These tips can help keep your leather upholstery looking great.

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