Leather has long been a popular choice for home and office furnishings. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing couch for your living room or sophisticated chairs for your commercial space, leather furniture should be on the top of your list.
The versatile visual appeal is one major aspect that attracts furniture shoppers. Leather is a timeless material that goes well with all styles of interior design. Luckily, you don’t have to sacrifice comfort for style. Leather only gets more supple and comfortable with time.
One factor that makes people hesitate to buy leather furniture though is the cost. But the high initial cost should not be taken at face value. A piece of leather furniture offers a much better value for money in comparison to fabric and vinyl options, making it more of an investment than an expense.
That being said, the longevity of leather furniture relies on timely and proper leather cleaning. Leather cleaning may seem simple, but if the correct products aren’t used or DIY hacks are undertaken without properly understanding how the leather will react, your leather furniture will quickly deteriorate. We’ve taken some time to explain the processes and leather cleaning techniques used by professional leather cleaners to keep leather looking great.
Leather Cleaning
Leather and vinyl products can last a lifetime if adequate leather cleaning and maintenance is undertaken. Leather and vinyl are sturdy, durable materials, as long as they’re treated with appropriate leather cleaning products and not left exposed to harsh environmental factors.
There are a number of ways you can care for and clean your leather furniture to keep them looking as good as new for years to come. When cleaning leather, it’s important to understand the type of leather you’re working with, as different types of leather require different methods of cleaning.
Whilst it may be tempting to use homemade concoctions to clean your leather and vinyl surfaces, it is advised that you engage professional leather cleaning services to ensure the job is done properly. A good quality leather cleaner helps remove the build-up of dirt and body oils, whilst a premium leather conditioner helps nourish leather and maintain its top-coat seal.
The best way to maintain leather is to clean it with products that are specifically formulated to protect and add moisture into leather. Forget the generic supermarket products and the copious number of leather cleaning wives tales… They will do your leather more damage than good – we promise.
Your leather will thank you and will last for many more years if you use good quality, fit for purpose leather cleaning and protective creams on them every 6 to 12 months.
Yes, that often!
When you undertake a thorough leather clean and condition, (or have a professional do so), the results are typically pretty remarkable! Many customers are amazed to see how dirty their leather actually was, and how good their lounge looks after it is properly cleaned/how soft it becomes after a condition.
With regular professional leather cleaning and maintenance, your leather has the potential to look and feel great for decades. By taking the necessary action to have your leather cleaned and conditioned professionally every 6 to 12 months, you will help to ensure it stays in optimal shape and condition. If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to consider a professional leather cleaning service.
Stain Removal
Here at the Leather Doctor, we constantly receive calls from people concerned that they have ruined their leather furniture attempting to clean or repair it themselves. In many cases, they have undertaken a seemingly simple DIY method they came across online, recommending the use of products they might have lying around the house. Unfortunately, most leather cleaning and leather repair DIY method ends up ruining leather furniture, leaving customers with a bigger and more costly problem on their hands.
Just like cleaning leather, the myths behind removing pen marks, ink stains, slime or food stains from leather are generally pretty unreliable. Using acetone 
products (eg- nail remover), magic erasers, hair spray etc may be tempting to use when you’re panicking about getting a stain off leather, but these ‘fixes’ also strip the top-coat off leather, strip colour out of leather, and can cause more damage than you were initially trying to get yourself out of. Word to the wise – call a professional!
The ability to actually undertake the leather cleaning and leather repair work (and give you a high-quality result) is niche and should be undertaken by someone who is highly trained and is able to offer a warranty on their services. Just remember, you wouldn’t use a painter to build a deck… and the same analogy applies when it comes to leather cleaning and leather repair!
For a demonstration of the damage household products can do to leather, watch this video
Odour Removal
Since leather is quite porous, it tends to absorb sweat, pet urine and other bodily fluids. If accidents or spills occur (that give off an odour) and are not
adequately cleaned, there is a high risk that your leather furniture will quickly start to give off a foul odour. The removal of odour from leather furniture is not as simple as using good quality leather cleaning products.
Often the proteins in vomit or urine find their way into the foam and webbing of the furniture.
Without also treating or replacing these elements, the odour will likely remain. In order to properly undertake leather odour removal, you should seek the services of professional leather cleaners who are equipped not only with high quality leather cleaning products, but also understand how to disassemble furniture to undertake internal foam and webbing repairs or replacements.
Scratches & Scuffs Removal
Whether you have naughty pets or spirited toddlers, leather furniture subjected to rough use is bound to develop scratches and scuffs. Unfortunately, fixing scratches on leather is not as simple as routine leather cleaning. Handing over this task to a professional leather cleaning and repair service is recommended.
The key to keeping leather and vinyl furniture and finishes looking good and lasting a long time, is to ensure they are regularly cleaned using high quality 
leather cleaning products to help maintain the finish and seals on the material.
If scratches, cuts, tears or dents appear in the leather or vinyl, have them attended to asap to prevent damage worsening (and inevitably costing more to repair later on). Leather cracking can also be a common occurrence when leather is not regularly cleaned and conditioned. Repairs to cracked leather, torn or ripped must be handled by an expert (to ensure the repairs are properly undertaken and to give you a warranty on the work being completed).
Fading and colour damage is another common issue customers experience with their leather, which again, should be properly addressed by a leather expert who is trained in leather re-colouring and sealing.
Leather Conditioning
Put simply, leather is the skin off a living animal. And just like human skin, if it is cleaned with soap but no moisturiser is applied afterwards, it will dry out, leading to cracking and splitting. Every time leather cleaning is undertaken, leather conditioning should follow. Professional leather cleaning services will be able to offerthe application of a leather conditioner to restore moisture and keep your leather furniture supple.
DIY leather cleaning and leather repairs using basic household products may seem like the way to go.
But this is just not the case.
Just like when it comes to human skin, using soaps, alcohol based products or chemicals on leather will lead to damage – whether it be drying it out, discolouring or stripping away protective layers.
Whilst intermittent leather cleaning can be done at home (via the use of high quality leather cleaning products), skimping on the cost of having professional leather cleaning or leather repairs and instead trying to do the work yourself often leads to an undesirable outcome.
Whilst it may look easy to professionally clean or repair leather, it’s actually a skill set that takes extensive training and the use of specialty products. Using high quality leather cleaning products, or engaging leather professionals will help ensure your leather is properly cared for, giving it the best chance of looking better, for longer.
