How To Care For Your Leather Recliner Chair
As I mentioned on a previous page, a leather recliner chair is much easier to clean than a fabric-covered one, which makes it a great choice for your home.
However, like with any kind of furniture, you have to know to clean it properly, otherwise you could end up doing more damage than good.
Here are my top tips for looking after your leather chairs and sofa. Remember, I’ve been a fan of leather furniture for many years, so I’m giving you the facts, backed up by my experience.
Dust your sofa and chairs when you do your normal house cleaning. You can use a soft cloth, or a feather duster as you please. The main point is to remove the build-up of dust that happens in every house.
- If you need to clean any marks or stains from the leather, you can try dabbing it gently with water. Don’t rub, just dab! Tap water is OK for this, but distilled is even better as it contains less impurities. Don’t wet the cloth too much, and certainly don’t soak the leather, as this will put too much water on, which can cause permanent staining. Once you’ve done this, leave it until the patch is completely dry (usually takes at least until the next day) before doing anything more to it. It’s very hard to judge how effective the cleaning was when the skin is still damp.
- If your leather chair gets a grease mark on it, use a neutral soap, as this will cleanse without marking. Only use a very small amount of soap, and dab gently with distilled water as above. Don’t ever use regular furniture cleaner, bleach, washing up liquid, solvents, polish or similar on leather furniture as this will ruin them. Under no circumstances should you use baby wipes, as the chemicals in them will ruin the leather. The best thing to do is buy a cleaning material specially designed for treating leather. Even this shouldn’t be used too often though, and is only intended for tackling grease or oil marks.
- If you get a really bad mark on your leather recliner chair, don’t try and handle it yourself, as you could end up damaging the leather permanently. Call in a professional and have them assess the mark. It might cost a bit more than doing it yourself, but it’s cheaper than the cost of a new chair if you get it wrong!
- It’s probably a good idea to get the chair cleaned by a professional once or twice a year. This will help keep the leather supple and clean. Once that’s done, treat it with a protecting formula, which will give long-term durability to your chair. The professional may well be able to do this as part of the cleaning.
- Depending on how well-dressed you are when you sit on your leather chair and sofa, you may find that the oils in your skin will rub off on the leather, which can tarnish it over time. Again, a gentle wipe down with a soft cloth can sort this out. Make sure the cloth is a soft one though, and don’t use a brush as this can be too abrasive.
- Regular exposure to direct sunlight can cause the colour of your leather recliner chair to fade, and make the leather harden, so make sure to position it somewhere where this won’t happen. If you really want to keep it in a conservatory, or other sunny place, get a nice throw that you can put over the chair when you’re not using it. Whilst not as attractive as seeing your chair in all its glory, this can go a long way to preserving the softness and colour of your prized leather chair.
If you follow these guidelines carefully, you should have many years of love and life out of your leather furniture.