Leather furniture items add a dash of richness to your home. They look elegant and chic. However, maintaining these furniture items is not an easy job. To help you give a clean and shiny look to your leather sofas, chairs, tables and other items, we’ve jotted some tips. Here are these tips -
• Before buying a furniture item make sure that you ask the store about the details of the leather and the likely ways of keeping it new for the years to come. Know the specific leather type your furniture is made of since there are different variations; including top grain leather, full grain leather, split leather, corrected grain leather etc. and each of them require different cleaning treatments. Check the tags that are attached with the furniture or the users’ manual to get this information.
• Gather the items that you will need for the cleaning including vacuum cleaner with soft brush attachment, distilled water, buckets, soft rags, mild soap etc.
• It is important to vacuum the furniture from all the corners. Use the soft brushes as leather can get scratches and cuts easily. Check whether the suction of your vacuum is suitable for cleaning the leather furniture item. If not use the less powerful ones.
• Make a mixture of liquid soap and distilled water and apply it to a small corner of the furniture. First check the leather type and if it’s OK to cleans with soapy water then do the following - dip a piece of rag in the soapy water and wring out gently. Once done clean the furniture with it.
• To remove the dark stains, mix tartar cream and lemon juice. Apply the paste on the stain and let it remain for 10 minutes. After that remove the paste with a damp cloth and soap. Later, clean the furniture with a soft, dry cloth. It is important to clean the spills as soon as possible as leather is porous and it will be very difficult to remove stains if the liquid penetrates the surface.
• To keep the leather furniture in a good condition you need to maintain certain guidelines. Make sure that it is not placed close to windows. If you can’t place it elsewhere, cover the window with heavy curtains. Keep the furniture at least two feet away from air conditioning sources or from any sources of heat like fireplaces, heating vents, radiators etc.
• If you have pets you need to take some additional precautions to keep your leather furniture free from scratches and cuts. Cover the couch with cotton sheet and tuck it in behind the cushions and along the inner side of the arms so that the sheet doesn’t slide.
• Make sure that it is not exposed to cosmetics or body care products as most of them contain solvents and oils and these can cause damage to the leather finish.
• While planning a move, pack the leather furniture carefully. Gather packing tapes, bubble wrap and moving blankets to pack the delicate furniture securely. You can also hire the help of the Movers in NC who specialize in packing and moving leather furniture items.
