Though mainly used as comfortable seating, sofas add up to the aesthetic beauty of your living area. Leather sofas and couches glorify the indoor décor with its amazing and glossy finish. The luxurious look brightens up the entire space. When you sit on the couch, the smoothness and warmth you experience determine the quality of the leather used.
Real leather is easily damaged. Such sofas can also be used in your workplaces as it has high durability if preserved in the right way. Routine cleaning will protect your furniture from getting worn away. Leather products are dust and dirt-prone. It will quickly catch hold of all the dirt and if the clean-up is prolonged, these heavy particles will not be easy to get away with.
Residents of Sunshine Coast love to equip their houses with the latest fittings out of which leather sofas are the trending ones. Leather usually has a wide range of subtypes and hence cleaning techniques differ accordingly. It is divided into different categories and is described in detail below. Always make sure that the appropriate leather care for the sofa is given without any deviation.
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3 Easy and Effectively Ways To Clean the Various Types of Leather Sofas
1. Learn and Understand the Different Types of Leather
You should research and study the leather types before you go ahead with the cleaning process. The cleanup whether harsh or mild depends on the particular kind of leather your sofa is made up of. Generally, there are two categories of leather; the protected and the unprotected one. No matter what type of leather it is, if you skip the regular cleanup, you will have to rush for replacement which can be an expensive task.
a. Protected leather
This type of leather is water and scratch-resistant to a great extent. The dirt marks or any other kind of scars are not easily noticeable when it comes to protected leather. Semi-aniline, corrected, and pigmented leather all fall under the category of protected leather. Semi-aniline is commonly preferred because its maintenance is not hard.
The dirt patches on such a surface are not prominent and can be seen only if closely observed. It is comparatively smoother than all other types of leather. A grain-like pattern is seen on corrected leather and it is not as soft as pigmented leather. This is due to the various substances it is treated with for making the cleaning process quicker. Pigmented and corrected leather is somewhat similar apart from the fact that the pigmented ones are softer.
b. Aniline leather
Aniline leather is commonly known as unprotected leather. This kind of leather is quite costly because of the rich glow it provides. You may have to apply a layer of oil after cleaning a sofa made of aniline leather as it can get stained within not much time.
The three subtypes of unprotected leather are oil, wax, and pure aniline leather. Wax and oil leather should be treated with a layer of wax and oil respectively, once cleaned. Do not scratch the surface of pure leather as its marks will be visible on the soft and smooth surface.
2. Deep Clean your Leather Sofa and Retain the Shine
Leather should be handled with care and so does the cleanup. Use a mild brush or a cloth to dust the surface of the sofa. In this process, all the hidden dust will be removed. If this is time-consuming, you can always use a vacuum to clean the couch. Wet the cloth with water, preferably the chlorine-free one to protect the texture of the couch.
The usage of distilled water is advisable. Do not dip the cloth in the water. Do not let the leather absorb a lot of moisture. Hence mild dampness will do. Wipe the area gently and leave it to dry for a while. You can also seek the help of expert house cleaners to deep clean your house and your couch, if the dirt and dust are still stubborn. This need not be done often. Do not let the luxurious look of your favorite couch fade away.
3. Few Tips and Hacks for a Perfect Maintenance
Cleaning alone will not keep the sofa intact. Adequate leather care should be ensured, only then will the shine be everlasting. Systematic maintenance is a must if you have a leather couch. Leather, being a soft material, is crack-prone. It also contains an oil coating on its surface. Proper conditioning of the sofa is required to keep the leather polished and dust-free. Use a commercial leather conditioner for the same.
Do not expose your couch to a lot of sunlight as leather is vulnerable to heat. Place it in a place where the light does not strike through directly. Get rid of the stains and spills as soon as you notice them. Do not let it sustain for a long time as it may turn arrogant. Clean it with tissue paper or cloth without any delay. If the patches are still resistant, use a cleaning agent to get rid of them immediately.