How do I clean/treat leather furniture?

MrsCrafty

judyb wrote: »

Please do not use baby wipes on these leaher chairs. Leathers is not skin it is a highly processed product that has a finish on the surface which is very expensive to replace when it has been removed which baby wipes will do. Baby wipes damage the finish on leather - we see it all the time.

The best thing to do would be to use a good leather protector which will act like a scotchgard and help any food to be removed more easily. A maintenance cleaner can then e used which is a quick spray and wipe and will only rake a few minutes.

I know how difficult it is with everythin there is to do in a morning but a quick wipe with a damp cloth as soon as eating has finished would make a big difference or over the chairs during mealtimes.

Hope this helps
Judyb
Leather Consultant

I am sorry but I have to disagree with you on this. We have used baby wipes on our black leather sofa for 9 years and it's still as good as new. It's not the best leather I grant you. But has certainly not deteriorated at all.

We polish leather shoes with boot polish and if I had a top leather suite, i would use dubbin, which you can polish saddles with. But to say you have to buy expensive cleaners is wrong. You don't.

judyb

Unfortunately whilst some types of finish on leather which are more robust can survive the use of baby wipes others can't. As they are not designed for cleaning leather and no individual knows what type of finish they have on their particular leather it is dangerous to suggest that they can always be used on all leather. We have seen finish literally peeling off leather sofas after the use of baby wipes and this is then expensive to fix so in the long term is not very cost effective.
We have literally dealt with thousands of cases of this over the years with the hundreds of technicians we have trained and as consultants we have enquiries every day from consumers with the same problem.

We just try to give the best advice to help people look after their investment.
Leather shoes and saddles are designed and finished for use outdoors against rain and the elements so can be treated in a very different way to the leather on your furniture.
Shoe polish should never be used on furniture as it will come off on clothing - it also contains silicones which seals the leather ( to protect the leather against rain etc.). but this can permanently damage the leather on furniture by sealing it against moisture which in a centrally heated room would cause cracking and drying out of the leather.
Saddle soap is far too aggressive a cleaner for finished leather furniture and again would damage the finish on the leather.
Oils do no need to be replaced in modern leathers (as they would need to be in saddles) and water based cleaners are essential to keep the leather correctly hydrated - a wipe over with a damp cloth on a weekly basis is a very good thing for your leather furniture (cost = price of the cloth and water) but if you do want to clean your leather please use products that have been well tested on leather otherwise it could end up costing a lot of money to be rectified so would be false economy.

Repaired a week old brand new sofa yesterday where the customer had used an internet method for removing ink from his very high quality leather and had completely removed the finish and colour down to the leather which we then had to recolour and refinish.

Sorry to harp on but in my role as a consultant these are the type of things we see all the time and expensive mistakes are heartbreaking for those that try this sort of information that they read.

Leather care does not have to be expensive but taking note of advice from those with years of experience in the industry can save you money in the long term.

Hope this helps
Judyb

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

judyb,can I pick your brains please.
I have a suite that cost me an absolute fortune and for obvious reasons I want to keep it looking good.
Its made from aniline leather (I think thats what you call it,its the stuff you can scratch and the scratch will rub out).
I've only used the products from LTT leather,the cleaner and protector however my problem is about fading.
The colour is a very soft mid brown and one of the sofa's seems to be a tad lighter lately.
What I was wondering is can you get something that can be rubbed/sprayed all over the suite to restore the depth of colour.
A bit like polishing your shoes I supppose.
I know you have to be caeful as aniline leather is porous so I don't want to be heavy handed and do something I'll be sorry for.
Any tips will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

scorpio_biker

For those looking for leather cleaner/protection can I recommend renapur. I'm a biker and I use it on my boots and leathers to clean and protect. It's doesn't appear cheap but a little pot of the leather balsam lasts years.

I have no association with this company apart from a happy user of their products.

judyb

scorpio_biker Renapur may be fine for outdoor garments such as biking jackets boots etc but once again should not be used on modern furniture leather etc where it will offer no protection to the finish of the leather (I know they say it can be used) but Balsams are not protectors of finish in the same way as leather protectors for furniture work - they are waterproofers against the elements and as such can seal the leather which would dry and crack if used on a lot of the furniture finishes.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE
Thank you for your enquiry about aniline leather. All aniline style leather fades over time, the rate will depend on the usage and position of th furniture - this is quite normal and cannot be stopped. The LTT Protector does contain UV protection and so will slow down the process but colour will always need to be added back to bring it back to its former glory.
The colour needs to be replaced with aniline dyes which soak into the leather the way it did when it was originally dyed. There are specialist dyes available for this that can be mixed to suit the colour of your furniture - it is easy to apply and well worth doing. If it is not done the leather will just keep on fading.
Please do not use polishes, balms (these are pigment based products and do not work on aniline - even if they say they do!!!) or shoe polish etc. as these will all damage the leather.

Hope this helps
Judyb
Leather Consultant

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

judyb wrote: »

scorpio_biker Renapur may be fine for outdoor garments such as biking jackets boots etc but once again should not be used on modern furniture leather etc where it will offer no protection to the finish of the leather (I know they say it can be used) but Balsams are not protectors of finish in the same way as leather protectors for furniture work - they are waterproofers against the elements and as such can seal the leather which would dry and crack if used on a lot of the furniture finishes.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE
Thank you for your enquiry about aniline leather. All aniline style leather fades over time, the rate will depend on the usage and position of th furniture - this is quite normal and cannot be stopped. The LTT Protector does contain UV protection and so will slow down the process but colour will always need to be added back to bring it back to its former glory.
The colour needs to be replaced with aniline dyes which soak into the leather the way it did when it was originally dyed. There are specialist dyes available for this that can be mixed to suit the colour of your furniture - it is easy to apply and well worth doing. If it is not done the leather will just keep on fading.
Please do not use polishes, balms (these are pigment based products and do not work on aniline - even if they say they do!!!) or shoe polish etc. as these will all damage the leather.

Hope this helps
Judyb
Leather Consultant

Hi Judyb,
thanks for your advice.
Would you be able to recommend any products and where I can obtain them and is it difficult to do.
Also is this expensive to do if a professional does the job for you and can they do it in situ.
Don't fancy having my sofas removed.
Thanks.
Thanks.

zippychick

We have a thread on cleaning leather sofas, and another one on cleaning leather furniture which may help?

DO let us know what works and i will merge this later

Zip