Keeping Your Leather Sofa Looking New

Posted on - 21st May 2021

Leather sofas come in and out of fashion every few years, and while we are in the midst of a wave of popularity, what better time to give you some tips on how to keep your leather looking new, and prolong the life of your leather suite.
Many of us will have either had an old cracked leather sofa or visited friends and family whose sofas are looking a little worse for wear. While in some cases it may just be the age of the sofa, many will just need a spot of TLC to get it back to its former glory.

All Important Instructions

If you are purchasing a new leather sofa a wise word of advice is to read and retain the cleaning instructions that should come alongside it. With many leather sofas, they will undergo a range of treatments, some to enhance colour, some to enhance water resistance and others purely to treat the leather. This means that they may each have different requirements when it comes to cleaning. Certain cleaning solutions can interfere with the leather treatments and may leave your sofa looking worse than when you started. If it's too late and you have already binned these instructions, many manufacturers will have them listed on their website.

Older Sofas

When it comes to older sofas the likelihood of many people having retained those cleaning instructions reduces drastically. Especially if you have moved house in the meantime. Fear not! This just means that you might have to play it safe with anything you use, it doesn't make it impossible to restore.

Leather Cleaning

There is a vast range of leather cleaning advice across the internet, so who do you trust and believe? We like to think that the professionals know what they are doing. That's why we have taken their advice.
The most important thing to remember when cleaning leather is to avoid harsh chemicals. This includes all-purpose wipes and standard household cleaners and these can damage your leather.
We recommend that you aim to give your sofas a dust down almost daily. For example, at the end of each day, grab yourself a gentle duster and remove any of the day's debris. This means that there will be no collection of debris over time. Remember to regularly remove cushions where possible to rid your sofa of any hidden debris, you may want to use a hoover with a soft brush attachment for this.
There are a number of leather cleaning wipes available which make cleaning your sofa easier than using soapy water. However, if you do opt for soapy water, please ensure that you use this sparingly as too much water can damage your leather.
Always remember to leave your leather to completely dry before you sit on it to help it maintain its original shape.

Keep Your Leather Hydrated

Just like our skin, leather dries out and cracks if it is not appropriately moisturised. There are a number of home remedies and solutions across the internet with instructions on what to use and when. However, we strongly recommend putting down the home solutions, leaving the food for eating and the candles for decoration. Invest in a good quality leather cream of wax will help you to maintain the quality and structure of your leather.
Depending on the product you use and the use of your sofa will vary how often it will need to be treated. So remember to read your product instructions and adjust for use. If at any point you start to see a patch of your sofa looking a bit dry, schedule yourself in some time to treat it before t gets any worse, even if this is before you panned to treat your sofa.

For more information, or to check out our range of leather sofas, head in-store today or you can get in touch to speak to a member of our team today. You can also check back to our blogs regularly for more ideas and information for in and around your home.