Leather sofas are usually quite expensive and it pays heed to keep them well maintained. Below, we will give you tips on how to clean your leather sofa, helping you keep it almost as shiny and clean as the day you had it delivered from the showroom.

DO'S AND DON'TS OF CLEANING A LEATHER SOFA

WHAT TO DO WHEN CLEANING A LEATHER SOFA?

1. Test first – It is imperative that you test cleaning solutions on a small patch of your sofa’s leather first. Choose a small surface area that is hidden away from your usual line of sight. Try out the cleaning solution on that patch and see if the characteristics of the leather change. Remember, you sometimes have to wait for the patch to dry to tell if it will surely not affect the leather in any way. So, please be a little patient with testing cleaning products before you apply it to the entire surface of your leather sofa. Testing is particularly important on leather sofas with a light colour, like white or cream, as imperfections will show very easily.

2. Follow the Tag – Your leather sofa will have a tag that provides a cleaning code. Look for it. It’s usually sewn into the back of the sofa or maybe under your sofa’s seat cushions. Once you find it, you will see that the tag usually has a letter code. It will either say W, WS, X or S. W means water based cleaning solutions only. WS means either water based or solvent based cleaning solutions can be used.

X is vacuum only, with strictly no water allowed. S is solvent only. The cleaning advice we have provided below can be used if your leather sofa has the W or WS tag, which it mostly will. If your sofa has the X or S tag, it is best that you get in touch with your sofa manufacturer to have it professionally cleaned.

3. Use new microfiber towels – Microfiber towels work best to clean a leather sofa. If you don’t have any, buy some and put off your cleaning your leather couch until then. Depending on how large your sofa is, you might need several microfiber towels.

Remember, you will need separate damp towels to clean and dry towels to dry. Having a few towels will allow you to finish the cleaning at one go, without risking the possibility of mold or mildew formation because you ran out of towels.

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN CLEANING A LEATHER SOFA?

1. Don’t rub – Aggressive cleaning can scratch the leather, completely changing the look of your leather sofa. When cleaning with the solutions we will suggest below, it would be wise to wipe or dab and not rub the cleaning solution in. The gentler the better

2. Damp, Not Wet – When we tell you how to use cleaning solutions, you must remember that you must dip the cloth into the cleaning solution and wring it out before you clean. The last thing you want to do is mop your sofa hide with a slobbery piece of cloth. Leather and water don’t go well together. Damp, not wet, always.

PREPARING CLEANING SOLUTIONS TO USE TO CLEAN A LEATHER SOFA

pH balanced soap – Leather needs a gentle form of soap. pH balanced soaps are best for this purpose. Pick up a brand of face or body soap that is specifically marketed as pH balanced. Dove is an example of commonly available pH balanced soaps. Even this type of gentle soap needs to be diluted with water. And again, test it on a patch before you clean your entire sofa. Start with a weak dilution and work your way up to a level that your sofa’s leather can still easily handle, but is enough to get the dirt out.

White Vinegar Water – Water and white vinegar in a 50:50 proportion works great as a cleaner of leather sofas. Besides getting rid of stains, it can also eliminate most of the funky odors that have seeped into your sofa’s hide.

Tea Tree Oil + White Vinegar = Make a leather sofa shine – If you are particularly looking to make your leather sofa shine, add about 10 drops of tea tree oil to two cups of white vinegar. Apply this solution with a damp microfiber towel and leave overnight. Buff your sofa with a new dry microfiber towel the next morning. You should be able to restore a lot of sheen with this simple cleaning.

Ink stain remover – Ordinary rubbing alcohol does wonders on fountain and ball point ink stains. Use a towel to dab onto ink spots. When the ink starts to lift off the hide, gently smother it with a clean towel that will absorb all the ink away. Don’t rub as this will only smother the ink into a blotted mess.

Saddle cleaner – Saddle cleaners are used by Equestrians to keep their saddle in great condition. Saddles use very high quality leathers and are usually very expensive. So, if saddle cleaners work on them, they will work on your leather sofa as well. But, save the saddle cleaners for a once-in-a-year deep cleaning. For regular maintenance, use the other household cleaners we have suggested above.

Grease remover – Sprinkle baking soda onto the greased spot of your leather sofa. Let sit for 2-3 hours. Then, gently wipe away to remove the grease that should now come loose quite easily.

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR LEATHER SOFA – STEP BY STEP

1. Vacuum your sofa to remove all surface debris. Not vacuuming before cleaning will make loose particles sink into the leather, creating smudgy streaks when you wipe. When vacuuming, use a soft brush attachment as certain types of leather can scratch under the hard nylon brushes that usually come with a vacuum.

2. Apply one of the cleaning solutions discussed earlier. Remember to use a damp and not wet cloth. This is critical. Gently wipe the surface of the sofa with slow circular motions, covering the entire surface.

3. Wipe away the cleaning solution with a dry microfiber towel, without letting the cleaning solution dry up. If your sofa is very large, you might want to break up the sofa into sections so you can dry as you clean

4. Apply a quality leather conditioner (Optional). A leather conditioner can add sheen and life to your sofa’s leather. You can consider using it every 6 to 12 months. Read the instructions on the bottle of the leather conditioner and pay special attention to dilution recommendations to get the best results. Conditioning must be done only after a thorough cleaning. Skip the leather conditioner if you are using the tea tree oil + white vinegar solution we suggested for a sheen earlier. Only one of these methods is necessary for a cleaning. So, if you are using the leather conditioner, skip the tea tree oil + white vinegar solution.

HOW TO DEODORIZE A LEATHER SOFA?

If your sofa’s smell is more of a problem than it not being clean, a simple baking soda sprinkle and soak will be enough to make it smell like new. Sprinkle baking soda and give it 15 minutes to absorb months or even years of odors. Then, vacuum the soda away.

We hope you learned enough here today to give your leather sofa a great clean. Here’s a post we wrote on how to clean fabric sofas and how to clean crushed velvet sofas. Looking for a new sofa? We don’t have pure leather sofas at Abakus Direct but we have plenty of fantastic fabric and faux suede sofas at incredible prices. Check out our range of sofas here, all priced from as little as £345 to just over £600.