Using Leather Cleaners

I’ve always been intimidated by the prospect of cleaning my leather furniture. Luckily, our furniture stays pretty clean since it’s just the two of us. But I’ve always known there would come a time...

Everytime I read the label on a leather cleaner I see the suggestion to check for color fastness on a hidden spot. Just where IS that spot? Does damage happen to all grades of leather? They never tell you that on the label.  So I’ve purchased a number of leather cleaners with the best of intentions: “This time, by gosh, I am going to tackle that furniture!” and promptly stored them under the kitchen sink after a few days of deliberation.

My first leather purchase was a sofa and loveseat in a pale rose beige that I purchased new in the early 1990’s. The beige sofa’s only signs of wear are a cat claw scratch suffered when I’d owned it less than one year and, discovered recently, a number of
hairline cracks on one of its arms due to too many naps using it as a pillow. Leather will begin cracking if it does not get conditioned!  I winced and awoke to the reality that I had a resistance to using leather cleaners. Not surprisingly, the beige coloration had also changed somewhat (obviously some dirt) but it was evenly spread and, surprisingly, it really did not look dirty so still I waited to deal with it. Other purchases from the early 2000’s were blueberry and butter yellow chairs for our living room. I know, weird. But really beautiful! The yellow chairs are so rarely used that they look brand new but conditioning is important.   But when the blueberry leather looked dull and dirty I knew I could wait no longer. Alas! I tow the line on seeing dirty furniture when I come through the front door.

Still resisting the over the counter (OTC) solutions, I resorted to searching for a natural method and found a technique using baby shampoo which is supposed to be mild enough for cleaning leather. I tried it and it seemed to work ok but the leather did not like the rubbing--albeit softly.  Tiny flakes of color started to loosen. I immediately rinsed off the soap and quit. After an appropriate time had passed and I had decided against another method suggesting vinegar and oil (REALLY?), I decided to throw caution to the wind and use a leather cleaning product. I checked under the kitchen sink and found both a cleaner and a conditioner by Tanner’s Preserve. Reasoning told me that they would not exist if they didn’t work. Haven’t they been around forever? How could they stay in business if they ruined people’s furniture?  

I took it slow and before long I built confidence that it was not going to damage my furniture. It took me several days to clean & condition one sofa and four chairs. The results have been beautiful!  The blueberry looks especially fresh now.

• Amazon review of Tanner’s Preserve product & instructions for use
  

Alas, that loveseat is still waiting for me… But my confidence is solid!