Taking Care Of Finished And Unfinished Leather Sofas
They are some of the most important pieces of furniture the room, and tie the décor together. Their state weighs in on the overall look and feel- especially due to the sheer size of the sofas. They come in different types, broadly categorised as finished and unfished. To keep your units in their optimal state, different aspects are important, including:
Keep pets off the sofa
Sure, they are part of the family. Furry, energetic, loyal and with the capacity to light up your mood, and you want them to feel completely at home. However, cats- and occasionally dog as well, will scratch the leather, which ruins the material. In fact, they are some of the main causes of damage witnessed on leather upholstery. Teaching them to stay off the sofa will protect your unit.
Properly positioning your sofa
Where the leather sofa is set up in the room has an impact on its longevity. You want to avoid high temperatures and a dry setting. This is to prevent the upholstery from losing moisture to the surrounding, which would cause it to start cracking. Positioning the leather furniture right beneath the air-conditioning unit, or next to the radiator, will dry out the material. Placing it close to the fireplace will have a similar effect.
How the sun affects leather sofas
Sunlight is one of the main factors that leather sofa owners grapple with. That blazing ball in the sky can easily ruin your favourite sofa unless preventive measures are taken to protect the unit. Exposure to sunlight leads to the fading of the leather, and it also dries and cracks. This premature ageing takes away the appeal of your set- which can happen in just 4-6 months.
UV rays affect the natural oils that are in the leather. What’s more, the chemicals and solutions that the material is soaked in during the tanning process are depleted on exposure to sunlight and heat. They were applied to the leather to protect it from decomposing, but once they are depleted, the decomposition of the unit resumes. At this point, not much can be done to salvage the situation- and you’ll need to patch the leather or call in a professional to assess the extent of the damage, and see if it can be re-dyed or it will need to be written off.
Why are leather car seats much more durable in the sun compared to the sofas in the living room? Certainly, you rarely see them shrivelling up yet they stay for hours in parking lots being backed in the heat. Well, car leather is designed to take much more abuse compared to the upholstery used for sofas. They are bolstered to handle the drinks, sweat, dirt, cigarette ash, and UV radiation that they encounter on a daily basis, being finished with more pigments to protect them from staining. The UV protectants that the material is treated with further enhance the protection. However, it doesn’t mean that this protection lasts forever. Even car leather needs to be conditioned- at least twice a year, with products that come with formulations to withstand UV rays. One the other hand, since the leather furniture are mostly indoor items, the stain-resistant pigments and UV protectants usually come as an extra feature, and not always something to be expected. Many of the units are not meant to be placed for extended periods near the window. The darker coloured sofas are more vulnerable, since they will be absorbing more light and heat. This causes them to fade and dry out faster than the lighter-coloured sofa. Faded leather can be fixed by having it re-dyed and colour matching it, which should be done by a professional. Scheduling an in-depth sofa cleaning and conditioning also helps in providing protection for your set.
For the sofa cleaning, turn to a pro
Leather sofas come with a hefty price tag- but its attributes make it worth the cost. From the elegance they bring, that natural look, the soft and supple feel, nature of the material to adapt to the body temperature of the person sitting on it- plus the enhanced décor that the interior space gets- you want to protect it. Using the wrong cleaning chemical can permanently ruin the leather. Products with incompatible pH will weaken the finish treatments applied, and corrode the leather itself. It’s like skin, and should be treated with care. Even the procedures used for the cleaning come into focus. Take water for instance. While it is used for nearly all cleaning tasks, when it comes to leather, water can end up doing more harm than good. In fact, water stains are a common problem witnessed, which will require additional attention to get rid of. You also don’t want a scenario where the water ends up soaking the stains deeper into the material. Specialized leather cleaning products are required- that are suited for your particular type of upholstery. Turning to the professionals to carry out the cleaning will enable you to ensure the job is carried out appropriately.
With expert leather sofa cleaning services, you also get peace of mind. Dealing with those stubborn stains can be frustrating, especially since you need to determine the suitability of the methods used to work on it when you choose to go the DIY route. A slight blunder can cause anything from the stain setting deeper into the upholstery, to permanent damage to the upholstery. However, with professional services, you are certain that your unit is in safe hands. When selecting a company to provide the services, you want to be sure that they are up to it. This can be assessed by going through their reviews and ratings, observing what other clients have to say about the services offered the various social media platforms, all through to business directories that have the review feature. Testimonials and references- which you can even ask from the company itself and follow up to call the clients and ask them about their experience, will aid you in this. Aspects such as the licensing of the company, whether it has insurance coverage, and even the guarantee offered for the services should be considered as well.
