Professional Leather Cleaners or You?

Cleaning any leather furniture is a process that asks for a huge deal of expertise and care. This is one of those materials that can be easily damaged when treated improperly. While most homeowners opt to do this task on their own, there are professionals who have been certified to address this kind of maintenance. They are the right people to call who have the right kind of cleaning materials and equipment.

Leather is preserved animal skin so it is wise that it should be treated in that manner. Any substance that can keep it moistened is the kind that could provide longevity to it.

Leather Prepping

Before you or an expert would begin to clean the leather furniture, make sure that the furniture piece has been vacuumed properly. This process may be simple but it can prevent waste materials from damaging the furniture.

Preserved animal skin is very fragile so you wouldn’t want dust or any waste to get stuck to it. Any kind of debris should be removed from it. You may use saddle soap or just about any gentle cleaning solution that can also treat the leather.

Veer away from strong chemicals as these can cause permanent staining on your leather couch, chair, recliner, or ottoman.

Leather Cleaning

As soon as you have vacuumed and prepped the gentle soap that you’ll use, be sure to apply the solution with a damp cloth. Use just a little pressure to apply and reapply the solution. Rinse the soap suds with clean water, again, using the damp cloth.

Dry the material right after it is rinsed. Use a dry cloth this time, using just a little amount of pressure.

Leather + Toothpaste?

There are stains that are deemed permanent which can actually be removed easily using toothpaste. Scrubbing will only damage the leather so it is best to make the tough stain come out using a cloth and toothpaste. If the stain remains, then have a professional take a look at your leather furniture. These experts have the safest equipment and solutions to use to remove the stain.

Leather After Stain Removal

After the stains have been removed, leather can be conditioned and treated. This must be done once to twice a year depending on how much exposure under the sunlight the leather furniture receives. Don’t think that simple silicone or oils can be used to clean leather because they have been known to stick and become permanent residues.

There are leather technicians who can expertly handle leather by erasing stains and other problems that are common to this material.

Choosing the Right Leather Caretaker

With a lot of leather cleaning companies to choose from, you might be wondering how you would end up with the best. To properly discern the best, be sure to do some research. Look for personal reviews of past clients, work samples, and their certifications. Among these three, it is important to check the last one. Certifications ensure that the business is competent enough to handle leather concerns. Certificates ascertain that the team has ample fundamental knowledge as well as the latest techniques to handle any leather situation.

So what sort of certificate should you be looking for?

Look for the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration Certificate. This is also known as the IICRC which is proof of their continued evaluation. Professionals who hold this certificate know how to repair, deodorize, maintain and even restore leather furniture.

Cleaning technicians also know the various fabric categories so they will be able to identify different fibers, sanitation chemistry, techniques of leather protection, and are even able to forecast a problem before it even happens.

Tags: caring for leather, genuine leather, leather, leather care, leather design, leather furniture, leather maintenance, leather upholstery, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, tips

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 6th, 2016 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Furniture, Home Maintenance, Interior Design 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.