Caring for Leather Sofas – Six Steps to Success

Our product range has extended to include two essential products designed to help keep your Russkell Furniture leather sofa and  in mint condition for many years to come. The Leather Care Kit and the Leather Cleaner Power Pad form part of a full cleansing and nourishing routine that keeps the tough yet delicate fabric looking and feeling as good as new.

Leather is made from animal hides which are subjected to a number of processes, most notably tanning, to form a tough and durable yet smooth and flexible material that has thousands of uses from upholstery and clothing to drum skins and bookbinding. Since the Palaeolithic Era, more than two million years ago, humans have been using these hides to enhance the quality of our lives.

As technology improved, the uses of leather became ever more varied, with tents, shoes, ropes and parchment made from the material; parchment developed into vellum, a material used to this day for recording British Acts of Parliament, creating art and calligraphy documents, printing religious texts and in the production of musical instruments including the banjo.

One of the widest uses of leather is for upholstery and Russkell Furniture offer a wide selection of styles and colours to choose from when creating your perfect, unique sofa and chairs. Looking after your new purchase so that it can be enjoyed by generations is essential and so here we present our six-step guide to caring for your new Russkell Furniture made to order leather sofa.

1 - Repair

The first step of six is to make any necessary repairs; this may seem like it should be done after the cleaning but the fact is that, during the cleaning process, it is possible to inadvertently make any damage worse. Every piece of our made-to-order furniture is hand-finished and checked to ensure it meets our rigorous health, safety and quality standards and so, if properly treated, will not require any repairs for a long time to come.

2 - Vacuum

An unbreakable rule of keeping a leather sofa in good condition is to make sure dust is not allowed to gather in the natural grooves and depressions of the upholstery. Use the correct attachment and make sure the entire area is completely dust-free before running a lightly-damp cloth over the sofa to make sure every last speck is collected. Once the leather has been allowed to totally dry, the cleaning process proper can begin.

3 - Clean

In addition to the light daily task of keeping your leather sofa clean, it should be regularly treated with an effective and safe leather shampoo. This will bring the leather to a brilliant shine, steadfastly protecting it from any sign of premature wear or fading. The strong-yet-sensitive formula penetrates deeply, hydrating the material and maintaining its current healthy condition whilst prolonging its future life.

By combining these cleaning products with the innovative disposable Power Pad, it is a matter of simplicity to remove all traces of dirt without labour-intensive scrubbing. The Power Pad features an innovative molecular structure which greatly expands upon contact with cleaning formula; this expansion causes the surface of the pad to mould exactly to the natural veins of the leather, fully encapsulating all dirt before lifting it completely away.

Leather shampoo and a standard cleaning cloth are included in our new Leather Care Kit though Power Pads are sold separately in convenient and cost-effective packs of three.

4 - Condition

Leather, like hair, benefits greatly from being conditioned after cleaning. This easy process nourishes the material to improve its hydration retention levels, ensuring continued suppleness and preventing the leather from becoming brittle. Once applied using a soft cloth, the formula gets straight to work and leaves the leather looking and feeling revived, displaying an attractive sheen combined with a fresh scent and renewed levels of comfort.

Specialist leather conditioner is included in the new Leather Care Kit.

5 - Protect

Once cleaned and conditioned, the fabric must be sealed and protected. This will preserve its natural beauty by minimising the risk of stains, maintaining the material's breathability, repelling water and preventing the growth of mould or mildew. The final stage of leather production is lacquering, where a sealant is sprayed onto the material to protect its colour. Friction caused by everyday usage causes this seal to wear away over time, allowing the colour underneath to become exposed and start to break down. Several companies manufacture convenient and easy-to-use aerosol sprays of leather sealant which, in a choice of satin, matt and gloss sheens, offer instant protection to the material. Products of this type are known for being used in professional furniture-selling environments to achieve that appealing 'showroom shine'.

6 - Position

After following this guide, your sofa will be in tip-top condition and all that remains to do is to check its positioning in the room. It is absolutely essential that leather furniture is positioned well away from sources of heat such as radiators or fires; excessive heat promotes drying out of the leather which causes it to become brittle and crack. Making sure that leather furniture is not placed into direct sunlight is also important as this will cause colour fading over time.

Check out the brand new leather furniture care products now available on our website!