Leather furniture could be a good choice when you are on the lookout for suitable furniture to spruce up your living room. You can choose from a wide range of leather standalone pieces, sofas, love-seats, chairs and recliners that are available in an exhaustive range of styles and colors. Leather furniture, typically, requires less maintenance and can greatly handle spills and stains.
However, you need to take some measures so that your leather furniture keeps looking new for years. Here are some of them.
Clean stains immediately
Make sure you clean a spill immediately. Should the stain get time to sink, it could become more stubborn to clean. Besides, it has a high chance of reappearing some months later. Blot the stain lightly using a soft towel or cloth. Avoid smearing and rubbing the spill. This would spread it. In fact, it's best to clean spills on leather with mild soap and warm water. Don't use any strong cleaning chemical that could contain bleach, solvents or acids. Avoid commercially available cleaners as they aid in rapid re-soiling.
Avoid direct sunlight
Exposing your leather furniture to constant and direct sunlight could cause the tan of the leather to fade over time. It's best to place leather furniture under a shaded area inside the room and have the curtains drawn, should the furniture come under direct sunlight.
Avoid direct heat
Make sure that your leather furniture is placed away from heat sources like furnace vents. Exposure to strong heat can cause the leather to dry out and make it vulnerable to splits and cracks. It's advisable to keep the furniture at least a couple of feet away from possibly harmful heat sources.
Avoid air pollutants
Never expose the furniture to any potentially harmful air pollutant like cigarette smoke or excessive cleaning fumes. Air pollutants often change or fade the color of the furniture and even distort the leather in other ways.
Dust regularly
Keep the leather furniture free from debris by dusting at least once each week. Do this by wiping the furniture with a dry, soft cloth or using a vacuum cleaner gently. Make sure you dust the crevices and under the cushions where dust and dirt is more likely to accumulate. Dusting regularly would prevent your furniture from any long-term damage and the furniture would look like new for years to come.
Avoid exposure to harmful objects
Avoid exposing your furniture to any object that may puncture or scratch the leather like needles, pens, animal claws etc. Though a small scratch is simple to repair, large rips can cause lifetime damage to your leather furniture. It's also unwise to avoid leaving newspapers and magazines on the leather as the ink could bleed and leave behind marks on the leather's surface.
If properly cared, leather furniture can last for decades, looking as good as new. However, most of us tend to overlook the simple maintenance that such furniture calls for. Following the above simple steps will make your leather furniture keep looking, smelling and feeling new.