Owning a leather couch can be a really nice experience. However, you need to take care of the couch properly.
If you don’t look out for the couch, it’s going to get ruined fast. A leather couch that isn’t conditioned right might experience cracks or other issues.
Read on to learn how to condition a leather couch naturally. This will make it easier for you to take care of a new leather couch when you’ve never owned one before.
You can follow the information below to learn exactly what you need to do. Before buying a leather couch, it’ll be wise to learn everything that you need to know about the conditioning process.
How to Condition Leather Naturally
Leather must be conditioned, or it isn’t going to stay in good condition. Thankfully, conditioning leather naturally is as simple as whipping up a natural conditioner that you can use.
Making your own leather conditioner won’t take much time. It also doesn’t cost a lot of cash.
There’s no need to go out and buy leather conditioner from the store if you know how to make a homemade batch. To get started, you’ll need water, vinegar, and natural baby soap.
One quart of water, one tablespoon of natural baby soap, and two drops of vinegar will be enough. Mix everything up in a bowl.
Now grab a microfiber cloth and start rubbing the homemade leather conditioner into the couch. Don’t soak the couch with the conditioner.
You just want to moisten the leather and leave the conditioner on the couch. The oils in the baby soap will both clean and condition the leather.
There are other types of homemade leather conditioners that you can make as well. If you don’t have baby soap, you can make a homemade conditioner using two parts linseed oil and one part vinegar.
No matter what type of mixture you decide to go with, the idea is going to be the same. You’ll have to apply the mixture to the couch using a microfiber cloth.
When rubbing the conditioner into the couch, it’s best to rub in a circular motion. Allowing the mixture to sit on the couch for ten minutes is ideal.
After enough time has passed, you can use a dry microfiber cloth to buff the surface of the leather and make it look shiny. Before using the couch, it might be necessary to buff it several times.
How Often Do You Need to Condition a Leather Couch?
You don’t want to condition a leather couch too much. If you condition it too often, it’ll make the surface of the couch gummy.
Ideally, you should condition a leather couch once per year. Try to keep track of when you condition the couch by marking it on your calendar.
If you can write it down somewhere, it’ll allow you to condition the couch again roughly one year later. Sticking to a conditioning schedule such as this will help you to make the couch last for as long as possible.
Since the act of conditioning the couch isn’t complicated, you shouldn’t have a hard time keeping it in good shape. You just have to remember to do what you’re supposed to do on a yearly basis.
If you don’t condition the couch, it’s going to fall into a sad state. The couch won’t look as nice, and it won’t feel as good to sit on it either.
People usually spend a fair bit of cash on leather couches. Owning a real leather couch is a treat, but you need to put a small bit of effort in to keep it nice for the long haul.
How Should You Clean Leather Couches?
Cleaning leather couches needs to be done the right way. If you use the wrong type of cleaner on a leather couch, it’s going to cause problems.
The easiest thing to do is to make your own cleaning solution using vinegar and water. Mix up one part vinegar and one part water in a bowl.
Take a microfiber cloth and apply this mixture to the couch to clean it. Rub the couch in a circular motion and you can remove dirt or grime easily.
Every so often, you’ll need to return the microfiber cloth to the bowl. Wring it out and continue the cleaning process after getting it wet again.
If the bowl gets really dirty, empty it and mix up more of the cleaning solution. Note that you don’t need to soak the leather with the cleaning solution to clean the couch.
Just rub the leather in a circular motion with the damp microfiber cloth, and you’ll lift the dirt and grime off of the couch. This is a simple method that should work for cleaning all types of leather furniture.
White leather can be a bit trickier, but it still isn’t that hard to keep it clean. If you have a white leather couch, you can try cleaning it with toothpaste.
Wet the dirty area of the couch using a damp cloth first. Next, apply a bit of toothpaste to the area of the couch that you need to clean.
You must use non-gel toothpaste to get the proper results. Grab a soft-bristled toothbrush and start rubbing the grime away.
Once you’re finished, you can wipe the spot clean using a microfiber cloth. Dry it off with a standard towel and everything should be nice again.
Don’t use cleaners that contain ammonia or bleach to clean leather furniture. This can damage the leather and it’s not going to be worth it.
Can You Remove Stains From Leather?
Yes, you can remove stains from leather. It’s important to try to do so the right way.
How you’ll want to approach stain removal will depend on the type of stain that you’re dealing with. For example, a dark stain is going to be different than a simple water stain.
To remove a dark stain on a leather couch, mix lemon juice and cream of tartar together to create a paste. Rub the paste on the stain and let it sit for approximately ten minutes.
After ten minutes have passed, you need to apply more paste and rub it into the leather a bit. When this is finished, use a damp sponge to remove the paste and the stain should be gone.
Water stains are simple to remove overall. Moisten the area a bit and then allow it to dry.
That’s really all that’s necessary to remove water stains. Just don’t let the leather dry in the sun since that can damage the couch and make things worse.
Oil stains might seem stubborn at first, but you can remove them by using cornstarch or baking soda. Simply rub your chosen material into the stain and then let it sit for several hours.
Later, you can wipe the powder away using a cloth and the stain should be gone. This is a handy trick that makes dealing with oil stains on your leather couch not so bad.
Ink stains can also be dealt with. Rubbing alcohol is what you need to use, and you’ll want to swab the ink-stained portion of the leather couch with a cotton ball that has been soaked in it.
Blotting the area with the cotton ball should allow you to pull the ink stain up little by little. You can try the stained area using a blow dryer.
If the stain is particularly stubborn, you might need to try using cuticle remover to get rid of it. You must use non-gel and non-oily cuticle remover, though.
Mold can sometimes be a problem on leather couches. If you have a moldy spot that you want to take care of, you can do so by mixing up one part rubbing alcohol and one part water.
Get a cloth wet with the solution that you made and wipe the moldy spots on the couch. After you’re done, clean the area by wiping it down with a damp cloth.
Sometimes, people stain their leather couches with road salt as well. This occurs in areas where road salt is commonly used to make the roads safe during the winter.
Stains like this can be annoying, but you can get rid of them by mixing one part water and one part white vinegar. Dip a cloth in this solution and blot the stain out.
It might take a few times to get all of the road salt stains to go away. Even so, you can get the job done reliably with this method.
Check the Label on the Couch to Be Safe
Checking the label on the couch before doing anything is a good idea. Some types of leather couches are only meant to be cleaned or conditioned in certain ways.
You see, there’s information on the tag that will tell you how the couch is meant to be cleaned. If the tag says “W” it means that you can use water-based cleaners on it safely.
Tags that say “S” indicate that the couch is meant to be cleaned professionally via dry cleaning methods. If the tag says “SW” or “WS” it can be cleaned either way.
This is something to keep in mind before you move forward. You don’t want to accidentally harm your couch by doing something that you weren’t supposed to.
Some choose to test the various methods on small sections of the couch that are hidden from sight. This allows you to see if what you’re doing will have a negative impact on the leather or not.
Be Careful Not to Stain the Couch
As you might expect, it’ll be best to avoid getting your leather couch dirty. You can get rid of stains by using the advice in this article, but it’s better to not have to deal with such things.
Some stains might be so bad that they will permanently damage the leather. Thus, it’s a good idea to try to be careful with your couch.
It’d likely be good to avoid doing certain things on your couch. To start, you should try to eat at the table instead of eating while sitting on your couch.
This will limit the likelihood that you’ll spill something greasy or oily on the leather. Be careful when drinking near the couch to avoid spilling water, soda, alcoholic beverages, or other types of liquids.
When you sit on the couch, you should ensure that you take your shoes off. Shoes can get dirty, and you certainly don’t want to track road salt into the house during the winter months.
Keeping the pets off of your couch will be a good idea when you own leather furniture, too. The nails and claws that your pets possess might puncture and damage the leather.
If you keep these things in mind, it’ll be easier to keep the leather couch in good shape. You want it to last for a long time, and that means being safe while using the couch.
Final Thoughts
You should feel like you have a good handle on how to condition your leather couch now. The conditioning process is actually quite simple.
Conditioning the couch naturally is as easy as mixing up a solution. You can use water, vinegar, and natural baby soap to get the job done.
It doesn’t take that much effort to condition the couch and it makes it much better overall. Conditioning the couch protects it and keeps it in good shape.
You only need to do this once per year to keep things safe. Don’t condition the house more than once per year since that will make the couch gummy and not as nice to use.
Cleaning leather couches is easy enough so long as you’re not using ammonia or bleach-based cleaners. Be careful when cleaning the couch. You want to use gentle cleansers to avoid ruining it.
Do your best to avoid staining the couch if you can. If you do stain the couch, you can remove stains by using different methods depending on the type of stain that you’re dealing with.
Use all of this information to keep your leather couch in good shape. You’ll be able to feel proud of how your couch looks for many years when you do things right.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.