How to Care for your Leather
Understanding Your Leather
Leathers are not all the same. The way they have been finished alters how they feel, the absorbency rate of soiling, colourfastness and at times the need for different care products. Leather is a natural material with pores and hair follicles, similar to our own skin. All leathers are artificially coloured and while a pigmented, top coated leather is less porous than a pure aniline or nubuck, they are all still porous allowing the leather to breathe for your comfort. Leather will absorb soiling which, if not removed regularly will cause premature wear and discolouration.
DEFINING WEAR ~ It is not necessarily how many times you sit down and get up, but the total hours spent in your furniture each day. Understanding this helps you understand the maintenance required. Also important is the type of soiling. We break this into two areas, ie wet and dry soiling (wet being the most damaging). While some forms of wet soiling are obvious such as spillages, others are not and can cause damage over a relatively short period. Perspiration ~ from hair, arms and legs on areas of contact can cause colour destabilisation or loss, leading to breakdown of the leather, causing a repair which may have been avoidable with a little extra attention when cleaning. Thinking about wear and examining your furniture while cleaning, can help prevent small problems becoming large ones.
Maintaining your leather upholstery
Use cleaning and care products such as the Pelle System 'Peace of Mind' Leather Care that is formulated to international tanning standards and approved for sealed upholstery leathers.
Regular light cleaning followed by deep cleaning every 3-4 month. After deep cleaning condition and protect your leather to keep it soft and supple and provide protection against wear, soiling and spillages making future cleaning easier. Use special products for stain removal, spillage removal and scratch repair.
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Tips of the Trade
Prevention is the key!
To help extend the life of your leather furniture it is important to clean and condition the leather on a regular basis, usually every four to six months, depending on the amount of use.
After cleaning, the conditioner will help to prevent future spillages penetrating into the leather, and helps protect against discolouration, cracking or premature wear and tear.
Where possible, avoid excessive sun exposure. Leather that is regularly exposed to the sun can over time fade and become brittle and also damage the stitching.
