So, you’ve got leather furniture, maybe a leather reclining chair or an at-home office chair made of quality leather. It’s pricey and you want to maintain it as best as you can, so you’re curious ‘how do clean leather furniture naturally?’
Today’s article details ways you can clean your leather furniture and ensure the highest levels of maintenance for your pieces of furniture.
Caring for Leather and Leather Furniture Naturally
You see, leather, and by extension, leather furniture, don’t require such painstaking care as is with other materials. It is a rather supple and luxurious but tough material that can stand the test of time on its own.
However, with time, dirt, dust, ink, oils, and several other kinds of stains may collect on the furniture and cause it to lose its shine. That is why it is important to always clean your leather furniture occasionally.
There are several ways and tools that people use to clean their leather furniture but today we are going to walk you through how you can naturally overcome those stains that might want to deface your leather furniture.
General Leather Cleaning
Generally, your leather furniture can be cleaned by using a mixture of water and vinegar, a bucket, a vacuum cleaner, a soft cloth, and a soft brush.
You firstly vacuum the furniture to remove things like dust and sand. Then you should soak a soft cloth in the vinegar solution and promptly apply it to the stained areas of the leather furniture.
The vinegar solution should be 50/50 in composition – that is 50% water and 50% vinegar.
To clean, keep rotating the wet cloth in a circle on the problem areas until the stain has been worn off completely. You can occasionally wring out dirty water from the cloth and re-wet it in the mixture for another round of cleaning.
PS: It is not advisable to pour the cleaning mixture on the leather, but use a clean soft cloth to apply it to the furniture.
How Do I Clean My White Leather Sofa Naturally?
Leather comes in attractive colors, the most prominent being black, brown, and white. Brown and black leather are easier to maintain but white leather doesn’t conceal dirt and hence you must keep your eyes peeled if you want your furniture to look good for a long time.
You can clean white leather with commercial cleaners but we are focused on tips to clean your white leather with natural kitchen materials.
Use toothpaste:
Did you know that a non-gel toothpaste can be useful in alienating stains like scuffs from your white leather furniture? If not, well now you do.
How to use: Identify the stained area and dampen it with some drops of water. Apply the toothpaste to the spot with a piece of a soft toothbrush and scrub it till the stain wears away.
Wet the soft cloth once again and use it to wipe the cleaned spot of the lather from the paste and dirt.
Use a mix of lemon juice and tartar cream:
Mix the tartar cream and lemon juice into a paste and apply it to the stained spot of the white leather furniture. Leave it for about 10 minutes then use a soft clean partially damp cloth to wipe the spot and the stain will come off with it.
PS: It is not advisable to try staining removal products on obvious parts of your furniture as it may ruin your leather. It is best recommended that you try them on areas that are not easily seen first and then when you see how well it works then you can go all out on the obvious area of the sofa.
Read: Best Hanging Chair (for Bedroom/Patio/Other Outdoor Spaces)
What Household Products Can I Use To Clean Leather?
If you use a harsh cleaning agent, you are going to discolor and damage your leather furniture in no time. Therefore, you must research what is usable before applying any cleaner to your leather furniture.
Household products come in handy in cleaning leather and we are going to show you some of which you can use in cleaning your leather furniture.
Rubbing alcohol:
Direct from the medicine shelf, rubbing alcohol can be useful in removing stains like ink and mildew.
Just apply some rubbing alcohol onto the stained spot and then apply a little onto a clean cotton material and then clean thoroughly. Always endeavor to try the cleaning agent in conspicuous areas first before using it on obvious areas of the furniture.
Vinegar and olive oil:
Apply some vinegar onto stained areas of the sofa and scrub off the stains. After a while, dab a soft cloth with olive oil and apply it to the furniture to create a shine.
You can also make a solution of olive oil and vinegar in equal amounts and then use it for cleaning the problem areas of the sofa with a soft cloth. After scrubbing clean, use a separate clean cloth to wipe the stain away and remove excessive oils.
Water and soap:
If your leather is littered with basic stains and dust, a mixture of soap in warm water can be very useful in eliminating it.
If you have a vacuum cleaner, use it to remove the tiny debris, and then use a cloth soaked in the mixture of soap and water to clean the dust.
When the soap-laden cloth must have gathered so much dust, you can use a clean and dry cloth to clean off the leather and buff-dry it.
What Is The Best Homemade Leather Cleaner?
If you have a piece of leather furniture where the manufacturer specifies that you should seek professional help for cleaning, then it might be dangerous to use homemade cleaning agents.
However, if there are no instructions and you want to use homemade cleaners, it is advisable to try it out with a small conspicuous patch of the furniture to see the effect before going all out on the visible parts of the furniture.
There is no best homemade cleaning agent for leather. Every cleaning agent works on different kinds of stains and here are some of them:
- Toothpaste (non-gel)
- Mayonnaise
- Hairspray
- Essential oils and coconut oil
- Rubbing alcohol
- Castille soap
- Vinegar
Can Vinegar Ruin My Leather Furniture?
Vinegar is very common and popular for cleaning leather. There are various types of vinegar used for cleaning leather – white vinegar, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and wine vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar and rice vinegar are very mild and won’t discolor the leather. However, if not properly diluted, white vinegar or wine vinegar can cause discoloration and ruin your leather furniture.
Read: 8 Best Wall Hugger Recliners for Small Spaces This Year (Review & Guide)
Final Thoughts
Leather is a very beautiful and durable material and leather furniture can bring beauty to your home. It also doesn’t need as much care as most other furniture materials but occasional cleaning is fine.
There are different natural ways to clean leather, especially by the use of kitchen products like vinegar. However, when not properly diluted vinegar can ruin your leather furniture and cause discoloration.
It is important to know what is harmful to your leather furniture and what isn’t so that they will look nice for long.
