Cleaning office leather armchairs: better products and materials

A leather armchair makes the furniture of a studio elegant and refined. But it is unfortunately impossible to unlined, as with fabric armchairs. It will therefore be necessary to use a suitable system, especially to clean it. Otherwise there is a risk of creating unsightly stains or fading the leather of the armchair.

The following tips will therefore show you how to clean a leather armchair. You will need: water, hoover, neutral soap, soft cloth, buckskin cloth.

Start by removing the bulk of the dirt with a hoover. It will be good to prepare the armchair by removing all the crumbs, hair and dust, which inexorably get into the smallest cracks. But above all, you will need to check under any cushions. However, be careful not to scratch the skin when using the hoover, as it is very delicate. After vacuuming the leather, we will perfect the removal of dust with a dampened buckskin cloth. If necessary, we add diluted soap, such as Marseille soap.

We absolutely avoid using aggressive detergents. Without exaggerating with water, we wet the armchair, soak it lightly and at this stage we will make the leather of our armchair soft and make sure it stays soft for a long time. We will use a product that is easy to find: a liquid body cream with a neutral pH is sufficient. With the help of a cloth, we distribute the cream over the entire leather surface of the armchair. If we think it is necessary, we will also apply more than one cream. Let the cream absorb for a few hours. Finally, we remove any excess cream with a soft cloth and rinse it off.

It is good to pay attention to the corners. If the armchair has buttons, Chester style, we also check the holes housing them. At this point we can dry the armchair with a dry cloth or let it air dry. Remember that leather is a very delicate material, to be cleaned and treated properly and constantly. The better we treat it, the longer it will last. There are various products on the market for cleaning a leather armchair. However, before using them, you must make sure that they are suitable for your armchair. In this way we will avoid ruining it irreparably.

A solution for every type of stain

• Traces of mould on leather armchairs are quite common, to eliminate them simply pass a solution of warm water and a little alcohol and dry it carefully. Thorough and regular cleaning, especially in wet periods, is often sufficient to avoid this problem.
• Warm water and liquid Marseille soap are effective for most stains affecting leather sofas and armchairs, respecting the delicacy of this product. On the other hand, common spray degreasers used for domestic cleaning should be avoided, as they can easily dehydrate the leather, discolour it and make it dull and faded.
• Spread a few handfuls of bicarbonate of soda all over the sofa, leaving it to work for about twenty minutes before removing it with a hoover and wiping it with a freshly damp cloth, effectively removing dust and thoroughly sanitising the surface of the sofa.
• Beeswax, used in small quantities, is an excellent product to polish and nourish a natural leather or eco-leather armchair, protecting it from dust and stains.

• Making the sofa with wine, coffee or other coloured drinks is quite easy, but usually does not cause serious consequences. However, it is necessary to act quickly, before the stain dries, dabbing it with a sponge or a sheet of kitchen paper to absorb most of the liquid, and clean the remaining halo with warm water and liquid Marseille soap or a leather-specific detergent.
• Cold milk is also the most suitable method for removing traces of pens or make-up from the skin. For the traces of dirt and dust that tend to accumulate on sofas and armchairs, before proceeding with the chosen treatment, leave some minutes of the bicarbonate powder directly on the area to be treated and gently remove it with a microfibre cloth.

If despite your efforts and numerous attempts the stain is still there? Let a few drops of vinegar act for a few minutes and rinse immediately. To be sure, try the treatment on a hidden part of the object first.

For those who do not prefer household and natural products and want something more energetic, there are special products available on the market for cleaning leather sofas and armchairs, generally recommended by manufacturers and retailers themselves when purchasing the sofa. These products are usually ready to use, in the form of sponges, creams or sticks.

How to Clean a Red, Brown or Black Leather Armchair

For dark, red, brown or black leather armchairs, dust is one of the biggest problems, it tends to accumulate in corners and crevices and is very visible and annoying. To remove it, you can use a normal hoover with a thin nozzle, and then wipe the entire surface with a damp cloth and detergent. In this case it is necessary to use a detergent that can clean the coloured leather, which usually gives a more than satisfactory result.

To nourish and make the dark leather of a sofa soft and shiny, a minimum quantity of shea butter can be used, leaving it perfectly absorbed and removing any excesses with a dry cloth.

How to clean a light leather armchair

An armchair in white leather or a very light colour, for example ice or cream, is very elegant, but it is just as difficult to keep clean and tends to get dirty easily. In order to keep it bright again, you must first vacuum, always with the utmost care, and then clean the entire surface with a cloth moistened with water and very little mild liquid soap, Marseille soap is also perfect.

If the white leather of an armchair, after a certain period of time, appears dull and yellowed, you can try to bleach it by spraying a spray stain remover and passing a cloth soaked in warm water and well wrung out, once to clean and a second time to rinse.

One of the most frequent problems with white skin are traces of biros, felt-tip pen and ink and the like. This type of stain must be treated immediately, before it spreads and penetrates deep into the skin. To begin with, the stain should be dabbed with a dry sponge or paper towel. The trace that will inevitably remain must be removed with an ink and dye remover that will dissolve and remove it completely. Once the trace of ink has been removed, to make the skin soft, simply wipe it with a cotton pad and a small amount of cleansing milk.

How often do you clean a leather armchair?

Even if there are no particular stains, a useful suggestion is to subject leather sofas and armchairs to a thorough cleaning at least two or three times a year, in order to preserve their natural beauty and prevent the accumulation of dust.

An important precaution is to avoid placing sofas and armchairs covered in natural leather next to heat sources, radiators or other sources, as the leather could dry out and crack. Even exposure to sunlight, especially if amplified by glass, could burn or discolour the delicate leather of an armchair. This problem mainly affects natural leather, whereas faux leather sofas and armchairs are much less delicate.