In some cases, leather can last as long as 15 years or even longer if you take good care of it. But if you never have your leather furniture cleaned and let it slowly degrade, it obviously won’t last very long.
For that reason, leather cleaning and restoration services are very important if you care about your leather furniture and want to make sure it stays in good shape.
Leather cleaning services can do all the heavy lifting for you and you can make sure that your leather furniture lasts as long as possible. But what exactly is the process of leather cleaning and restoration? What is the difference between restoration and cleaning?
Keep reading and learn more about what the process of leather cleaning and restoration has in store.
What You Need to Know About Leather Cleaning
Cleaning leather furniture isn’t as difficult as you might expect, but there are certain steps you need to follow if you don’t want to accidentally ruin the leather. You will need to be particularly careful if your leather furniture is quite old since old leather is more delicate and susceptible to damage. The first thing that you need to know is that it is important to have your leather furniture cleaned on a regular basis.
If you never have your leather furniture cleaned, the leather’s top coat will start to wear down and look dull and faded. The top coat is very important because it functions to protect the deeper layers of the leather. Once the top coat is gone, the rest of the leather will be very vulnerable and dry.
Because of this, the leather will start to suck in oils from your body, which will ruin the leather and cause it to become discolored and dull. Very old leather might even start to crack and tear. This, of course, is not what you want to happen to your leather furniture.
This is exactly why cleaning the leather regularly is so important. When it’s time to clean the leather, you’ll need to use specific cleaning products. You can’t simply spray some harsh cleaners on it and call it a day.
If you use the wrong products on the leather, it will surely end up worse than it was before.
To start, use a damp rag to wipe away any excess dust or other debris that might have built up on the surface of the leather. After that, get a gentle cleaning product (preferably one that is pH-balanced) and apply it to a rag before rubbing it onto the leather.
The Details
Be careful not to put too much cleaning solution on the leather. Otherwise, the leather might become soggy.
After you’re done cleaning the furniture, you can either let the leather dry naturally or you can get a dry rag and wipe away the excess moisture yourself. After that, you can protect the leather by applying a layer of conditioner.
This will ensure that the leather remains hydrated and supple rather than dry. It will prevent the leather from cracking and it will also give the leather a nice, healthy shine. Applying a layer of conditioner will also ensure that your natural oils won’t penetrate the leather and ruin it.
Furthermore, the conditioner will help keep the leather’s top coat intact. The main problem is that doing all of this yourself is quite a pain. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could easily end up ruining your leather furniture.
For that reason, it is a far better idea to call up the professionals and let them do the cleaning for you. Professional leather cleaners have plenty of experience when it comes to caring for all sorts of leather. Even if your furniture is very old or damaged, the pros should be able to make the leather look better than ever after some cleaning and restoration.
Even if a professional service will cost you a bit of extra money, you will find that such a service will be worth it. After all, the professionals have all the right tools and experience to make your leather look as good as new.
What You Need to Know About Leather Restoration
It is important to understand that leather restoration is a very different job compared to leather cleaning. Leather cleaning focuses on removing excess dirt, oil, stains, and other debris from the leather. It also focuses on protecting the leather so that it can withstand the test of time.
The process of leather restoration, on the other hand, is a much more invasive process. This is because it focuses on leather that has already been severely damaged in one way or another. Simple leather cleaning won’t be able to do much with such damaged leather furniture.
Leather restoration, on the other hand, can completely transform a piece of old leather furniture so that it will look better than ever before. Once your leather furniture starts to crack or tear, it will be time to call the professionals for help. Keep in mind that you should not try to attempt to restore your leather furniture on your own.
The process of restoring leather is quite detailed and particular. If you try to fix the problem on your own, you’ll certainly end up ruining the leather even more. Old leather often needs to go through a long process of different procedures before it starts to regain some of its former glory.
The Process
For example, if your leather furniture is very faded, the leather might need to be completely dyed for it to look good again. More often than not, it is impossible to match the original color of the leather. However, as long as you choose a good leather service, the service should give you plenty of options for choosing a new pigment for the leather.
You can choose a color that is very similar to the original or you may choose a shade that is completely different. There are even mottled options that will give the leather a unique pattern and texture. Besides dying the leather, the professionals should be able to fix a variety of problems that your leather furniture may have such as tears and cracks.
This is often done by choosing specific products based on their pH levels and the leather’s pH levels. That way, the leather will be supple and moisturized again rather than dry and crumbly. The restoration process will also provide the leather with a new finish such as a glossy finish, a matte finish, or whatever option you might prefer.
Why You Should Hire Professional Leather Cleaning and Restoration Services
Many people are tempted to clean or restore their leather furniture on their own, but this is almost always a bad idea for a variety of reasons. Even though you might save some money by cleaning or restoring the leather yourself, the results will almost always be mediocre, especially if you don’t have any previous experience working with leather.
Often, people end up ruining their leather furniture by mistake because they used the wrong cleaner or ended up soaking the leather in too much liquid.
If you care about your leather furniture, this is the last thing you want to happen. For that reason, you should always hire professional services if you need to clean or restore your leather furniture. That way, you won’t have to worry about whether or not the cleaner you’re using is the right one or if you’re cleaning the leather in the right way.
Instead, the professionals can do all the heavy lifting while you can focus on other things. The professionals, of course, will have plenty of experience working with all kinds of leather. More than that, they will have exactly the right cleaning products to work with various kinds of leather so that there will be no chance of the leather getting ruined.
After the professionals work on your leather furniture, you will find that the leather will look fresher and more attractive than ever before. This is not to mention that the leather will last a lot longer once the pros are done with it.
All About Leather Cleaning and Restoration
Leather cleaning and restoration are very important if you want your leather furniture to last as long as possible. If you don’t care for your leather, it will eventually start to fade and crack until you’ll have no choice but to throw out your furniture. But as long as you hire the pros to help, your leather furniture should stay in great shape.
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