Caring For Commercial Furniture: Leather

There was a quote I heard once, that said “Living in the lap of luxury is great, but what happens when luxury stands up.” The truth is that we all love luxury and luxurious things, but luxurious things require maintenance. Today a lot of residential and commercial furniture is made of leather, and there are many different choices and styles that leather furniture is made in. But of course, leather furniture is expensive and because of its expense, its important to know how to maintain it well. When you give leather the correct care you will avoid damaging the furniture.

The first thing you should know about leather is that it is somewhat thinner than other upholstery, so leather is more fragile than other materials. Leather needs pliable and moist so that things like sharp objects like heels and buckles can’t damage it. Leather is very difficult to repair and rips and cigarette burns can damage it permanently. Not only that, but things like smoke leave permanent nicotine particles on the leather pieces.

Leather Repair
Leather repair can be done but it’s not an easy process and it is expensive, that’s why its important to do leather maintenance, especially on furniture that is in high traffic areas.

The following tips will help you better care for those fine leather and wood furniture.

* You usually only need to dust and vacuum and be sure to clean in crevices and even on the bottom of the leather piece.
* When you use a new cleaning product or method use it on a hidden area first, just to make sure that the results are what you want and it doesn’t negatively affect the leather.
* When there are minor spills or spots, make sure you get the liquid up quickly with a clean cloth, preferably one that is absorbent. You can also use a sponge for this. Avoid using soap or water. This may cause more damage than good.
* Don’t use cleaning solvents on leather that are not made for leather, solvents like furniture polish, varnish, oils, detergents, ammonia, or abrasive cleaners.
* When the stain is an oil stain, you know butter, grease, or oil, use a clean dry cloth and then give it some time on its own. The leather should absorb the oil spot.
* If you have wood areas on the leather furniture clean these by dusting several times a week with a clean lint free cloth.
* Don’t place this type of furniture in direct sunlight as it tends to dry out both leather and wood, plus it causes leather color to faid.
* Avoid extremely moist or dry air, because this will cause drying and cracking of leather
* Don’t put the furniture near an air duct.
* Every three to six months clean leather with mild damp cloth then use saddle soap. You can find saddle soap at any tack store or places where they sell horse equipment. You may also be able to find it in your local grocery store.
* If you can’t find saddle soap then you can use leather conditioners which work just as well

Leather is easy to maintain, and is one of the most elegant types of furniture you can have. It creates a nice effect in any room in your house. But you need to keep it well maintained and clean and you should probably know as much as you can about the particular leather you have in your furniture.

Aniline Leather
This leather is preferred because of its natural looks, and it may even be known for its marks. The quality of this type of leather is that certain marks are visible on this type of leather and that is what the buyers of this leather want. You can see the barbed wire marks, scratches, and defects in the hide on this type of leather and that is what makes it attractive looking. To protect Aniline leather you need to clean it often with a soft dry cloth and then vacuum. You can also use a special leather cleaning solution about once a month to keep the leather soft and supple.

Aniline specialized leather
This type of aniline leather has been colored and treated so that there are fewer marks and scratches on it. This treatment also helps it be resistant to stains. This is the most common of leathers in leather furniture. To clean it you need to go over it with a soft dry cloth and use a special leather solution every once in a while to keep the leather supple.

Nubuck
This type of leather has the appearance of velvet or is known as suede. It is lovely leather but marks and spills are more noticeable on this type of leather. This is more likely to stain and fade than the other types of leather. There is a specialized Nubuck cleaner that you can use which will make it more resistant to staining. T his leather although very attractive is harder to keep clean than the aniline leather.

Remember furniture will wear, it is only natural and no amount of cleaning will remove every single stain, or avoid the piece from wearing or fading. But you can make it last longer with the right care and by using the right products to keep the leather supple.

Besides cleaning it regularly, you also need to check all the furniture on a regular basis to make sure that it hasn’t been damaged. If you do see damage then you need to contact the manufacturer or a well known leather repairer before the damage worsens.

Caring for your commercial furniture is important, especially if you are in the hospitality industry. Customers, guests are drawn to a certain business because of its service, its food, and especially because of its décor, so when that décor becomes old and worn, its time to start thinking of a change.