1. Colour Loss/Fading:

General Causes: Sunlight/UV, age, too close to a heat source.
Prevention: Screen or rotate the upholstery from direct sunlight and open fires/heat sources.
Treatment/Cure: Sometimes it is possible to re-colour or re-dye on pigmented and Anilines.

2. Dark Oily Grease Patch: from body oil and perspiration contact (head and hands):

General Causes: Natural body oils and hair products can often attack the leather and build up and discolour where regular contact is made. Usually the headrest or where hands have been on the arms.
Prevention: Covering with throws etc will obviously reduce the likelihood of transfer. Regular cleaning and protection also helps.
Treatment/Cure: Grease patch removal by a professional is recommended. Some colour damage and repair may be required.

3. Accidental Spillage, Staining & Scratches:

General Causes: Food, Drink, Body fluids, Pets, Jean Dye transfer etc.
Prevention: Regular cleaning and protection. General care of use.
Treatment/Cure: The success of stain removal can vary vastly depending upon the type of leather and its finish, to the source of the stain. A drip of cool coffee from a cup may easily be removed from a well-protected pigmented chair with a damp cloth, whereas a urine deposit from a pet dog on an Italian Aniline sofa may well result in a replacement and insurance claim.

If unsure, of what approach to take, contact your professional for advice.

4. Peeling and Cracking Surface:

General Causes: Temperature variations through the seasons, age and lack of maintenance and body oil (see above).
Prevention: Protect from extreme temperatures and follow a cleaning and maintenance plan. Protect the leather from drying out.
Treatment/Cure: Minor issues may be repairable, however more severe cases may require re-upholstering.

5. The loosening of seat leather (known as puddling) – where areas of greater use become slack and rippled:

General Causes: Continuous use.
Prevention: N/A.
Treatment/Cure: Check furniture warranty if recently purchased, or contact an upholsterer for advice.

6. White chalky patches appearing (known as leather Spew)

General Causes: Build up of natural oils in the leather (similar process to white salty patches on brickwork). Sometimes confused with mould.
Prevention: N/A.
Treatment/Cure: Normal cleaning will see the issue return. Contact your professional for the application of leather spew treatment.

There are quite a few options for DIY cleaning and maintenance products on the market and endless advice on the web about what to use and how. These range from the endorsement of using gentle soaps/neutral PH soaps (such as Dove) as a cleaning product, to packs of leather wipes; not to be confused with baby wipes (DO NOT EVER USE BABY WIPES TO CLEAN LEATHER), all available from many shops and online sellers. Conditioners and other leather protectors can also be purchased from the same suppliers. Ensure that you have the correct product for your leather type and always test first.

On purchase of new leather furniture, it is almost nailed on that it will be supplied (sometimes at an additional cost) with a leather home care kit, so you don’t even have to think about what to use on cleaning day, you have one already under the kitchen sink.

Whatever you’re cleaning and conditioning weapons of choice are, many people admit that they start off with the best of intentions to stick with the regime, only to find that after a while, maybe the results are not as impressive as hoped and they tend to stop using them.

This can be due to a few different reasons. Maybe due to our busy lives, the maintenance program hasn’t been as regular as it should have been, or possibly additional issues such as spillages or forgetting to change out of those gardening trousers before flopping down on your comfy sofa has taken its toll and started to leave dark areas on the seat that you can’t remove.

This maybe is the point to call a professional for a deep clean and protection, to draw a line in the sand and prevent further damage being done, which may be much more expensive or even impossible to repair.

DIY cleaning and maintenance is an essential part of owning and enjoying beautiful leather furniture, but be aware, that ignoring an issue for too long can result in irreparable damage and inevitable replacement.

Buyers guide to leather furniture

Once your mind has been made up and it’s time to choose a new piece of leather furniture, where do you start?

New or second-hand? Natural traditional Aniline or a cool grey modern pigmented? You will probably have an idea of what your style and colour will be, so now let’s look at a few details that may not have occurred during the initial decision-making process, that just might influence your final choice.

Probably the first thing to consider after the style and colour, because let’s face it, that’s the fun bit. Would, next, be the environment that your furniture will inhabit. Is your upholstery destined for a sun porch with direct sunlight, or a snug with wood burning stove, but a north-facing window? Both have environmental factors to take into account.

Also, what is the dynamic of your household’s occupants? Are you retired and in a generally quiet household? Or do you have an all-action young family? Is spending £7,000 on an Italian Aniline suite a wise move with a young family and bouncy dog? Think of all the claw marks and Ribena staining that potentially will be decorating your sofa in a short time of ownership. This may be an extreme example of ‘not fit for purpose’ however it does happen more often than you would think.

Many people are sold soft furnishing without considering (or being made aware of by the seller) the cleaning and maintenance responsibilities that come with the purchased item.

Is your furniture likely to have spillages? If so an Aniline sofa may not be a great choice. You might be wiser to have something that can be wiped down and has a good level of protection, such as a pigmented or even a synthetic sofa fabric/faux leather. The colour may also play a factor in this, as the lighter the finish is, the more that a spillage will be visible.

Is your furniture destined to be placed in a sunroom, or a room with strong sunlight? Can it be screened, or protected in some way? If not, is it the best choice for that space?

Pets can be an issue. As I mentioned already, a lively dog with no boundary awareness can scratch Aniline or slice through the surface of pigmented leather, leaving unsightly marks. Cats, in some cases, love the arms of a good leather sofa as a scratching post. These issues can in some cases be repaired, however, unless you can stop the problem at its source, your furniture is always going to be vulnerable. Dogs aren’t renowned for putting on house slippers before jumping on the settee!

Buying second-hand can be a very cost-effective way of acquiring a quality piece of furniture for a fraction of the new-to-buy price. Be aware, and do some homework before purchasing. Why is it for sale? Is there a fault that you may not be aware of until it’s in your home? If the item needs cleaning, or there is a suspect smell about it. Find out from your professional before committing to purchasing, if the issues you have noticed can be rectified or not. You should also ask for an estimate for the work and add that to the overall cost.

Leather furniture is often the centrepiece of a living space, but be aware of the pitfalls. We need to do our research and grill the salesperson for information in the same way we make other huge life purchases, such as cars and houses. Because after cars, houses, and kids, your home interior is up there with the items you will spend the most money on in your lifetime.

There will be a correct choice of upholstery somewhere for you, it’s just a matter of not letting your heart and desires influence the decision 100% and using a little bit of knowledge and common sense to make the correct decision.

Good luck with your purchase!