How to Care for a Leather Chair

A leather chair, or any piece of leather furniture, is no longer a luxury restricted to the very wealthy. As leather furniture becomes more affordable, and more people add such pieces to their homes or offices, the cleaning and continuing care of these pieces becomes paramount—especially because, being more durable than cloth or vinyl upholstery, leather cared for well can last more than two decades according to many furniture experts.

You probably clean all your furniture once a week if not more often, and leather furniture is no different. If your piece is not used frequently, a simple wipe down with a soft, dry, clean cloth will do the job nicely, but if it is used daily you will want at least to vacuum the piece with a bristle brush attachment and not a firm upholstery nozzle.

In the event of stains, swift removal is paramount for leather furniture. The moment a spill occurs, blot it. Wiping it can spread the stain and make it more difficult to clean. Clean, soft, damp cloths and a little soft soap and warm water can get the spill up fast and without spreading the stain, but the maker of the piece may suggest other methods to get rid of a spill or stain.

Leather includes natural oils that need to be replenished at least four times a year when you give a major cleaning to your furniture. However, before you think about that, you should think about the proper location for your leather furniture. These pieces should be kept no closer than two feet from direct heat—fireplaces, heat ducts, portable heaters, even direct sunlight if you plan to keep these pieces in rooms with widespread window lighting, especially because sunlight can cause color fading and drying out. In addition, it is a good idea never to sit in a leather chair or on a leather sofa unless your pockets are emptied. Objects like keys, key rings, pens, pencils, paper clips, and pocket knives can scratch or even cut leather.

When you do basic cleaning on your leather furniture every week, it is also a good idea to fluff their cushions and rotate them according to how much use they receive. This generally fights wear spots and uneven natural color fading, though good leather preservatives should keep the color as well as the material itself in good condition for years to come.

What about specific leather preservatives? Mink oil and castile soap have long been considered good leather preservatives, but manufacturers are now marketing several products blending certain oils and natural ingredients to do the job. Obenauf makes three products—leather oil, heavy-duty leather preservative, and White Jaguar. The leather oil is easy to apply whether your leather chair or furniture is fine or coarse grain, and is made to cover and protect large surfaces. It is rubbed on with a clean cloth and allowed to soak in with the excess buffed off. The heavy-duty preservative is considered industrial strength, is applied by rubbing into the leather with your hands, and is made of an all-natural formula mixed into a beeswax-and-propolis formula. White Jaguar is the company’s plant-ingredient mixture that uses no chemicals or bleach.

Summit Industries is marketing Lexol, a leather conditioner blending several oils without chemical solvents and using a small droplet system to penetrate leather fibers simply and strictly within the area to which you apply the solution. The problem with using chemical solvents, Summit says, is that they can migrate or bleed into adjacent materials and cause discoloration or other damage to your furniture. They can also be flammable or irritating.

Regular and proper cleaning and maintenance of leather chairs and other leather furniture is vital for one reason above all: once your leather chair is discolored or dried out, it can never be restored to its original condition.

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