Leather auto seats tend to get worn out and old looking quickly if you don’t clean them the right way. This video will show you how to clean the leather seats in your car and make them last three times as long.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments. We’d be happy to help! You can also check out our more in-depth post on cleaning leather car seats.
Hair spray has always been a favorite fix-all by old wives’ tale believers. Hair spray has been hailed as a solution for stain removal, stopping runs in tights and is now being used to remove stains from leather furniture.
While many of the ladies here at Fibrenew do insist that it works wonders on stocking runs, we are all 100 percent in agreement that you should NEVER try using it on leather.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather. We do not advise using:
Questions or experiences with hair spray on leather? Post them in the comments!
The business of dying leather is a tricky one, and you really can’t replicate it with any marker. People come to us all the time asking us to fix problems they’ve created trying to fix a bleached out or discolored spot on their upholstery with a similarly colored marker. The fact of the matter is that dyed leather usually has many layers and tones, and thinking you can find one marker that’s going to give you an exact match is like thinking a bottle of cheap hair dye is going to give your hair a natural look.
An example of a spot filled in with a brown marker
Now, if you just have a teeny tiny spot somewhere pretty hidden on your couch, car seat, etc. you might find marker results to be sufficient. But, if you want a discolored spot to match the rest of the piece, you really shouldn’t go the marker route. A professional, like Fibrenew, can usually re-dye spots for a very reasonable price.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather. We do not advise using any of the following:
Questions or experiences with markers on leather? Post them in the comments!
Most people, myself included, think of window cleaner as being one of the mildest of all cleaners. People consider it to be so mild they could use it on almost anything. Unfortunately, you really cannot use window cleaner on leather upholstery because almost all of it contains alcohol.
Alcohol will damage the surface of your leather, especially breaking down the protective top coat on fully-finished leathers that make up the vast majority of the leather upholstery market. Breakdown of this surface will leave your upholstery more susceptible to all types of damage in the future, like scratching and water damage.
Alcohol can also, in some cases, cause discoloration in leather.
This footrest has been slightly discolored with an orange hue because of an alcohol cleaner.
This couch has a slightly discolored mark because the owner used a cleaner with alcohol in it.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather. We do not advise using any of the following:
Questions or experiences with window cleaner or other cleaners containing alcohol? Post them in the comments!
It’s true that finger nail polish will remove marks on leather upholstery, but it also removes the dyes that are supposed to be on the leather, leaving a bleached out spot on your leather’s surface. Finger nail polish also wears down the top coat on fully-finished leathers, leaving them more susceptible to damage.
Fingernail polish remover took the color out of this couch when the owner tried to use it to remove the pen mark.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather including. We discourage the use of:
Questions or experiences with nail polish remover? Post them in the comments!
It’s true that finger nail polish will remove marks on leather upholstery, but it also removes the dyes that are supposed to be on the leather, leaving a bleached out spot on your leather’s surface. Finger nail polish also wears down the top coat on fully-finished leathers, leaving them more susceptible to damage.
Fingernail polish remover took the color out of this couch when the owner tried to use it to remove the pen mark.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather including. We discourage the use of:
Questions or experiences with nail polish remover? Post them in the comments!
It’s true that finger nail polish will remove marks on leather upholstery, but it also removes the dyes that are supposed to be on the leather, leaving a bleached out spot on your leather’s surface. Finger nail polish also wears down the top coat on fully-finished leathers, leaving them more susceptible to damage.
Fingernail polish remover took the color out of this couch when the owner tried to use it to remove the pen mark.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather including. We discourage the use of:
Questions or experiences with nail polish remover? Post them in the comments!
Disposable cleaning supplies and baby wipes are so handy that people have started using them to clean everything, leather upholstery included. I urge you not to use them because, though you may not be able to see the damage immediately, these disposable cleaning supplies typically cause damage to the surface of your leather, often leaving them discolored and more susceptible to damage in the long run.
Almost all of these supplies contain alcohol, and alcohol is a big “no no” when it comes to leather. Alcohol breaks down the surface of leather and especially breaks down the protective coat put on most upholstery leather (called fully-finished leather). Once this protective coating has been broken down, leather is far more easily damaged by water, scratches, etc.
This couch has a slightly discolored mark because the owner used a cleaner with alcohol in it.
This footrest has been slightly discolored with an orange hue because of an alcohol cleaner.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather. We discourage the use of:
Questions or experiences with disposable cleaning supplies and leather? Post them in the comments!
It is a common mistake to use shoe polish on leather upholstery. People try to use it on furniture and on their leather car seats, but it doesn’t work.
The leather used in upholstery is tanned differently from the leather in shoes. It does not soak up shoe polish like shoes do, so the polish will just sit on the surface of your leather and make a sticky mess.
Depending on the type of damage, you may have a number of other alternatives. Professional leather repair experts can usually fix scuffed, faded, torn or otherwise damaged leather for a fraction of the cost of replacing or reupholstering furniture and auto seats.
There are a number of other home remedies and wives’ tales about using home products on leather. We do not advise using the following:
Questions or experiences with shoe polish? Post them in the comments!
There are dozens and dozens of old wives’ tales on different household products that can be used to clean and repair leather. Heed my advice – don’t use any of the following products on your leather furniture! I’ve seen countless pieces of furniture ruined by these very things and wouldn’t want you to find yourself in the same predicament.
1. Olive oil: Lots of people use olive oil to moisten and condition their leather from time to time. It is also used to hide blemishes and dings on couches and chairs. While oil might make your couch look nice right this minute, you are really doing irreparable damage to your furniture. The oil will soak into the back side of the leather, eventually filling it up and causing ugly oil spots. Also, while some older leathers required some sort of moisture, leather today is tanned to hold in all of the moisture it needs. If you have a piece of leather that you want oiled because you want it to be soft regardless of how it looks (think baseball gloves), then oil may be OK. But, it is never advised on any type of high end or furniture leather.
2. Shoe polish: There are several types of furniture leather, and all of those types are very different from the type of leather used in shoes. Because of leather furniture’s different finishes, it will never mix well with shoe polish. The polish will just make a gunky mess on your furniture.
3. Beeswax: I’ve seen people try to use beeswax to water-proof leather. This can be a good option for leather work boots, but I do not recommend that you use it on leather furniture. It can make the leather stiff and waxy to the touch.
4. Hair spray: According to many a wives’ tale, hair spray can be used to fix just about anything from runs in stockings to stains in cotton to marks on leather. Don’t use it on your leather furniture. It probably won’t help the stain, it might have alcohol in it (which damages the surface of leather) and it will leave a sticky mess on your furniture. The sticky spot will attract dirt and oils, causing further damage to the spot.
5. Markers: People try to use markers to fill in spots on their leather furniture. As the marker will not match your couch exactly, I do not recommend it.
6. Window cleaner: Most people think of window cleaner as being one of the mildest of all cleaners. While it may be mild enough for most household chores, you should never use it on your leather furniture. It contains alcohol that will damage the surface of your leather, leaving it more susceptible to damage.
7. Finger nail polish remover: People use this to try to remove stains from leather, but it will also remove the dye, leaving your leather with a bleached looking spot all around the spot you were originally trying to clean.
8. Disposable cleaning supplies and wipes: Most of these contain alcohol, and you should never use alcohol on leather. It will break down the protective surface on your leather.
Good Rule of Thumb
Don’t ever use alcohol or acetone products on leather furniture. These two things are very commonly found in household cleaning products and will do long term damage to your leather, breaking down its surface and stripping its color.
Any questions or experiences? Post them in the comments!
