Since the early 2000’s leather sofas have fast become a regular feature in Irish households around the country. No matter what style of décor you are trying to establish in your living room, there’s surely a leather sofa out there that can help to perfect its look. Given the popularity of leather sofas, many people automatically assume that leather is extremely durable and can withstand all kinds of wear and tear.
And while this material is definitely durable, many people don’t realise that leather can be quite delicate to contact with many substances. When it comes to cleaning a leather sofa, a vast majority of people will take a baby wipe and give it a quick wipe down. Baby wipes are great and can be used to clean several surfaces, right? Wrong!
Baby wipes can actually do damage to leather material sofas. How? Keep reading…
Baby wipes are designed for one purpose
As the chemicals that are used in baby wipes are there solely for the purpose of cleaning skin, baby wipes are designed to quickly clean skin and nothing else. Several of these chemicals contain alcohol content that is effective for cleaning skin but can have disastrous effects on other materials and fibres.
The chemicals break down leather
The alcohol content of the chemicals in baby wipes can, over time, serve to break down the lacquer finish of leather sofas. The more you use baby wipes to clean your leather sofa the more the lacquer finish which protects the colour of the leather continues to break down. Once the finish is diminished, if you continue to use baby wipes to clean your leather sofa, the leather will actually change colour and lose its initial high quality look.
Permanent damage
Once the lacquer finish is diminished, your sofa will become more prone to damage from several sources. Any food, drink, sweat, spills, soil or even clothes that come into contact with the leather will then enter the leather colour pigment, permanently discolouring the colour of the leather. At this stage the sofa has suffered permanent ruin and will require re-colouring and re-lacquering to be restored to its former glory.
How should you clean a leather sofa?
A leather sofa should only ever be cleaned with specific leather cleaning products. These products have been designed especially for the job at hand. Leather cleaning products should not just be used in the event of a spill or soiling as it’s an investment that needs to be properly maintained from new. By regularly cleaning a leather sofa with the appropriate cleaning products, you can prevent a build-up of soil and contaminants that can be very difficult to remove once embedded in your sofa.
Using a baby wipe might seem like an easy, quick solution but, as you’ll have now learned from the above, it could likely lead to the ruin of your beautiful leather sofa. What was purchased to stand as the pinnacle piece of furniture in your living room could soon become an eye sore if discolouration or damage becomes visible.