When caring for your leather products, it can be very tempting to use common household cleaning products. Lots of people gravitate towards products they already have around the house, like baby wipes or other types of cleaning wipes. While these seem like an excellent way to keep your leather looking clean, they are actually terrible for leather.
Products like baby wipes contain chemicals that can cause the pigment in your leather to peel and crack, completely ruining the finish of your leather products. Nobody likes their leather to look worn down and old! Protect your leather by avoiding products like baby wipes that contain high levels of chemicals.
For general leather upkeep, there are some basic things you can do to ensure your leather products stay in top quality shape.
• Wiping leather down with a damp cloth can re-hydrate the leather and prevent the material from drying out, which eventually leads to cracks.
• Positioning your leather furniture away from any radiators can protect it from heat damage.
• Avoiding direct sunlight keeps your furniture from fading.
Following these simple tips and avoiding harmful chemical cleaning products will help keep your leather in tip-top shape. And don’t forget, Fibrenew is always available for any leather repairs you may need!
Sometimes furniture is way beyond repair. Either that or the repairs will cost more than the furniture is for. Instead, you may decide to go treasure hunting for old leather furniture rather than having it professionally restored. If you have never used Ebay before, you are in for a treat. The website has numerous options where you can search for an item that you are looking for and then either have the option to buy it now or bid on it.
When considering old leather furniture on Ebay, it may take a while to find because it isn’t something that is posted on a daily basis. You need to take into consideration how much you are willing to spend on a piece of furniture. You can’t forget to take into account how much it may cost to have it shipped to you. If you find a piece of furniture that is somewhat close to you in proximity, it may end up being cheaper to go get it and load it yourself after you have purchased it rather than having it sent via freight.
One thing about treasure hunting for old leather furniture on Ebay is that you need to be absolutely sure to know what you are getting. You don’t want another piece of broken down furniture that you will be disappointed in. Instead, feel free to ask the seller numerous questions and even ask for additional photos. If they are sincerely interested in selling the piece of furniture to you, they should be more than willing to accommodate for your needs.
There are a few things that you may want to ask the seller when you have treasure hunted and found an ideal piece of furniture for your home:
• What are the dimensions?
• Is there any damage to it?
• How did you take care of it?
• Does this come from a smoke free home?
• Does this come from a pet free home?
• What color is it?
• What company manufactured it?
• How old is it?
• Why are they selling it?
These are just a few suggestions to you to ask a seller when contemplating making a big purchase of furniture on the world’s most popular auction website. If it doesn’t work out for you, there are other treasures waiting to be discovered elsewhere. Happy hunting!
For general cleaning and preservation of leather, you need to use a good quality water-based leather cleaner. You should NEVER use anything containing oils, waxes or silicone. (Most ‘conditioners’ contain waxes or oils and furniture polish contains silicone) . DO NOT use mink oil. A bottle of good quality leather cleaner should do your furniture 1-2 times.
Baby wipes are the worst thing you can use as they will destroy the finish on your leather. They are very strong alkaline cleaners to neutralize urine (acid) on baby’s skin so they are not the right thing to use on leather.
Saddle soap is too harsh to use on today’s leathers and saddles need treating in a different way to furniture. A lot of leather wipes contain chemicals which will destroy the finish or leave residues on the leather which will damage it.
Fairy liquid and household soaps contain more salt these days to get things clean and this will break the finish down on your leather. This has been verified by the manufacturers (as with the baby wipes).
You should also follow cleaning with a good water based leather protector which will act like a ‘scotchgard’ and inhibit dirt and stains from being absorbed and make cleaning easier the next time.
It is important to maintain a regular cleaning regime. Cleaning dirt off the surface regularly and inhibiting the absorption of body oils into the leather with a protector is the best.
Using household products may appear to work but will, in the long run, deteriorate the leather finish quicker and it may then be impossible to restore. It may seem cheaper to use products from the supermarket but if they do not work or damage the leather then it is a short sighted saving.
If the finish or leather has started to show signs of wear or cracking then cleaners will not help you. You will need to call a technician who will be able to do repair/restoration work on it. Do not be tempted by DIY products as they can lead to additional problems.
We’ve all had furniture we “just loved” until the dog peed on it or the cat scratch her lovely claws down the upholstery or little Johnny spilled his grape juice all over the cushion. When does the damage from every day life mean it’s time to splurge on new furniture? Is it when the movers knock a leg or two off or when little Maggie cuts a hole in the back with her new scissor skills? Is all damage repairable?
The majority of damage to your furniture can be repaired. In fact, there are businesses that specialize in furniture repair and can even reupholster your furniture to look brand new. However, if you have experienced some of the aforementioned minor damages, you can do the repairs at home.
If you have a stain or spill on your furniture, you can usually remove the stain by using one of the many stain removal products on the market. However, a cheaper and more available option if you don’t keep stain remover in stock is laundry or dish detergent, warm water, and a tooth brush. Simply put some detergent with the warm water (don’t mix it up), dunk the tooth brush in then scrub the stain gently and it will disappear.
For fabric scratches, tears, or rips, it might be best to trust tough ones to the professionals. However, rips in your cushions can typically be fixed easily by removing the cushion from the couch and simply hand sewing the rips or tears. Many couches and cushions utilize covers which makes sewing the holes easier, especially when using a machine.
When furniture is completely broken down and uncomfortable, it may be time to get rid of it. Really the call is yours to make. Professional furniture repairers and do-it-yourself repair projects usually can solve the damages incurred from everyday life. However, if you’re looking for a reason to get a new set and little Johnny accidentally dumps his grape juice all over the cushion, there’s no harm in saying that the damage is too much damage to repair.
You might read that you can use window cleaner, nail polish remover, magic sponges, cleaning wipes, hair spray, shoe polish and markers to fix your leather auto interior. But, these products will damage your leather, and you should not use them.
If you leave more questions in the comments, we’d be happy to answer them for you. You can also find more information in our more in-depth posts about wives’ tales.
Oil products like olive oil, oil soap and WD-40 can ruin the leather seats in your car, so you should not use them. Old wives’ tales say oil helps soften up and condition leather, but that only works for baseball mitts and cowboy horse saddles – not your nice leather seats.
This video gives tips on taking good care of your car and keeping your dashboard looking new and lasting longer. These tips will help protect your leather from sun damage that can make the top layer separate from the rest of the dash.
If you have any more questions, check out our blog post on caring for your dashboard or leave questions in the comments!
Tree sap can melt into your vinyl boat seats, making it almost impossible to get rid of. Use the tips in this video to keep tree sap off your boat and to get it off before it is too late!
More questions? Check out our more in-depth blog post on getting rid of tree sap or leave questions in the comments!
