Leather sofas and soft furnishings are a great option for your home, offering comfort and a touch of luxury, and if you have kids, or pets they really come into their own for durability and long lasting good looks. However, with the best will in the world, no matter how carefully we look after it, your once pristine leather sofa is going to need cleaning from time to time. Fortunately this is a relatively easy chore, and not one to get stressed about.
What You’ll Need
- Warm water
- Rubbing alcohol or white vinegar
- Saddle soap – most supermarkets sell this, or if you know someone horsey, raid their kit box
- Leather cream – usually found next to the saddle soap
- Some soft cloths
The Cleaning Process
- Remove all the cushions, and check everywhere for loose change!
- Using the brush attachment on your vacuum, remove all the loose debris, digging deep to get it all out. Go over every inch as time spent now makes the actual cleaning process easier. Don’t forget the cushions.
- Taking a cloth, dip it into the warm water and then rub this on the saddle soap – you don’t want the soap too wet.
- Rub the cloth over the whole sofa and cushions. Keep going until the whole sofa has been done.
- If there are any marks that haven’t been removed by the saddle soap, a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol or white vinegar will remove it. Just be careful not to use too much or you may spread the stain. Once it’s vanished, go over the area with the saddle soap to remove the alcohol.
- Taking a clean dry cloth, remove the saddle soap by using a firm circular rubbing action all over the sofa. A circular movement works best as it gets into the grain of the leather more effectively.
- Allow the sofa, and yourself, to rest for a few minutes.
- The final stage is to re-moisturize the leather by applying a leather cream all over. Rub this in well, and you should start seeing that much admired leather glow returning to your sofa.
- Relax, admire your beautiful sofa and pop the kettle on!
