Whether you need a solution for a routine cleaning or a piece of extra advice on how to clean leather furniture or remove specific dirt or stain from your furniture, keep your eyes on the article. You can make a solution from products present in your household or buy some leather cleaning products from the store.
Depending on the dirt or stain you want to remove from your leather furniture, you should use different solutions and products. While cleaning leather furniture, you should use soft fabric towels and rub the stained area without too much pressure. Thus, let’s discover more!
How to Clean Leather Furniture
Before making any homemade solution or buying cleaning products, you should inspect the dirt and determine how you can clean it up. You can not clean everything only with a damp cloth, but it is good to wipe the leather furniture with a damp cloth first, to remove all the loose dirt and dust from the surface.
Homemade cleaning solution
Make a 50/50 routine cleaning solution using distilled water and white vinegar. The amount depends on the furniture surface you need to clean. For darker stains, you can try mixing lemon juice with baking soda or cream of tartar. Use mil-based, conditioning leather cleaning products for leather furniture protection and cleansing.
It might remove most dirt from the furniture that is not dried out or absorbed in the leather. Use a cotton fabric piece of cloth, white towel, or microfiber towel and dip it into the solution, making it damp, not wet.
Make circular movements with low-intensity pressure. The vinegar might kill a large percentage of the bacteria from the surface that often live in our furniture and bedding.
If the dirt is dark and stubborn, you can try making a paste of lemon juice and baking soda or cream of tartar. The blend should look like a paste. You put paste onto the stain and leave it for about ten minutes. Then, you wipe it off with a damp cloth.
After cleaning dirt and stains from your leather furniture, use leather conditioner milk or oil to moisturize the leather and extend its good look lifetime.
Routine cleaning
You can clean your leather furniture once a week or in ten days. For routine cleaning, it is best to first wipe the furniture’s surface with a damp cloth. This will remove the dust and all the loose dirt and traces that have lent on the surface.
Then, you can go with the water and vinegar solution. For routine cleaning, add a smaller amount of vinegar in warm water, whether distilled or tap. Dip a white towel or cotton fabric into the solution and drain the excess until the cloth gets damp (not wet). Wipe the furniture and allow it to dry at room temperature.
The vinegar has antiseptic power and might kill many home-living bacteria from the furniture’s surface. For routine cleaning, you can add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture. Olive oil will give a nice shine and moisture to the leather.
Dark and stubborn stains
Sometimes, mild solutions might not help with darker stains. If you need to remove a darker stain from light leather furniture, you can try it with the juice of one lemon, baking soda, or cream of tartar.
In a lemon juice of one lemon, add one tablespoon (or more) of baking soda or cream of tartar. The mixture’s texture should be paste-like. Put a tiny amount of the paste on the stain and leave it for ten to 15 minutes. The lemon juice’s acids and baking soda react and act like bleach.
After ten to 15 minutes, use a damp cloth and clean the area with circular motions. Do not overpressure because it might scratch the leather’s surface and damage its natural shine. Wipe the excess paste and put a leather conditioning product to protect the furniture’s surface.
Ink stains
If you need a solution for ink or marker stain removal, we recommend using rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. These two options might help you clean up the mess without blending the stain and making the mess bigger.
No matter the stain size, you should always go with a cotton swab. Dip the cotton swab into the alcohol or polish remover and blot the stain carefully. Do not make wide circular motions because you may only spread the stain.
If the ink remains on the leather, it is best to search for a special leather cleaning product that may clean up even the most difficult stains.
Homemade Leather Furniture Conditioner
Beeswax
You will need beeswax, coconut oil, and a pan or pot. Therefore, put the beeswax and coconut oil in the pan and wait until they melt. Wait until the blend cools (it should look like a thick balm).
Using your fingers, massage the conditioner on the leather furniture. Use a soft dry cotton cloth to buff the furniture’s surface and make it shine.
Essential oil
You will need only essential oil. In this case, we recommend using lemon essential oil because the practice has shown it is much safer for conditioning and might not damage the leather furniture. Also, the lemon essential oil might give your leather furniture much longer protection and moisturize.
Drop ten to 12 lemon essential oil drops on a soft dry cloth. Wipe the furniture with circular motions and leave it to absorb for five to ten minutes. This method also gives a fresh scent to your room.
Things to Consider
There are things that you should not do while cleaning leather furniture, such as:
- Do not expose the leather furniture to the sun. Dry it at home;
- Do not use hard-hair brushes or coarse cloth for cleaning;
- Do not pressure-clean the dirty area on the leather furniture;
- Do not use abrasive products or bleach when cleaning leather furniture;
- Do not scratch dried stains.
Also Read: How to Treat Dry Leather Furniture
Conclusion
Whether you are a newbie or experienced in home cleaning, sometimes you might need extra help and cleaning tips for maintaining a clean home.
We are happy if our “recipes” have helped you find how to clean leather furniture and keep it moisturized using everyday products.
