How to Clean Your Leather Sofa

When you’ve noticed your couch is looking a bit grubby and in need of a good old scrub, or perhaps your last tactic didn’t work out, and now you need some top pointers that’ll work some magic.

Whether your leather sofa is white and hideously exposing all the dirt, or black and naughtily disguising all the grime, you can get your sofa looking squeaky clean. And as furniture gathers a lot of bacteria, it should be cleaned regardless.

Some of us tend to underestimate leather. Although it is a hard-wearing, strong material, leather is a natural product that needs to be maintained with tender, love and care.

The truth is, animal skin is just like ours. When skin is not being looked after properly, it becomes unhygienic, looks unkept, and responds in an undesirable way.

Plus, leather sofas bring a luxurious elegance into our home, and it would be a downer to let it age before its time when you could take advantage of the long-lasting nature leather is destined to have!

With a cleaning routine using the right method and products, you can keep your leather sofa looking fresh and youthful for many years to come!

There is a variety of leather cleaning supplies you will need:

A soft micro-cloth

Rubbing alcohol

Cotton balls

Mild dish soap and water

Shoe polish

Leather conditioner

Leather oils

What household products can you use to clean leather?

There are plenty of household products you can clean a leather sofa with, and you probably have most of them available.

One home-made cleaning solution that works very well on this type of furniture and especially grease stains is equal amounts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. It’s just about as effective as most other cleaning products. The only problem with it is the vinegary smell. You can add orange or grapefruit essential oils to it, and it will actually help you with conditioning. You can also apply it in spots with a cotton ball.

How to condition a leather sofa – everyday care

brown leather corner sofa in a bright living room

First, let’s talk about easy day-to-day maintenance before any serious damage has happened.

These are the steps you should follow to take care of your leather couch or leather furniture on a weekly basis:

4 Steps in Leather Care Troubleshooting

Step 1: Catch it early

The best time to tackle a stain is while it’s fresh. Get to it ASAP with these tips to have it looking good as new in no time. Here are some of the more common culprits and tips on how to clean a leather sofa from particular contaminants.

Getting blood, coffee and food stains off of leather

We’re not asking how you got blood on your couch or if you need an alibi. But if you need to make sure it won’t stain your couch forever, here is what you do:

This is a biggie, so tackle it straight away. Dilute pre-wash stain remover with water and blot the area with a clean cloth in small circular motions. It’s best to use cold water – apply it with a damp soft cloth and then dry the area with a dry cloth. Repeat this process until the blood comes out.

If the blood has already set into the deep fibres of the leather, you can do as much good as you can by using the method above and then using saddle soap and conditioner. When you’re done, use shoe polish to mask the bloodstain – shoe polishes were made for leather and will usually easily match your sofa.

Getting urine off of leather

A dog in a close-up laying on a brown sofa

If you’re lucky enough to grab your pet before they pee on the sofa (we’ve all been there), dab the stain or affected area with an absorbent paper towel and warm water. If you missed it, pick up any residue with a soft bristle brush, then soak it with warm water and blot dry with a clean, dry cloth. Finish off with warm soapy water.

Some pets’ urine is very alkaline (if you happen to own a bunny, this one is for you) – it will literally bleach your leather furniture in a matter of seconds. The only way to get rid of this is to apply pigment to the couch. You can do this easily by applying shoe polish, and massaging it in with a microfibre cloth.

Step 2: Reapply colour to bleached or discoloured leather

There are several ways of reapplying colour to your leather sofa – most people go for professional help when they encounter this problem, but there are some at-home methods to do this. This needs to be done carefully – remember that bleach takes the colour out of leather forever. This is why you should never use ammonia-based cleaners.

Purchase an at-home leather dye kit and follow directions. Unfortunately, although you might get rid of a glaring white stain, it’s virtually impossible to get the colours to align exactly. It’s much easier to learn how to avoid stains and how to clean a leather sofa from gunk than to make it come back from permanent damage like grease stains, bleach stains, or tears.

If you simply want your leather sofa or other leather furniture to regain its former shine and the deep colour it had when it was brand new, simply condition it with a leather conditioner or gentle oils. Remember – leather is skin. A lot of moisturising tricks do work on leather sofas. Read on about moisturising leather care:

Step 3: Freshen up your sofa with conditioning oils

Small oils in brown bottles

There are a number of oils that work very well with leather. This is more of a conditioning task, and something to get done on a bi-monthly basis.

Oils that work especially well on leather are:

You can also add a few drops of essential oils to your regular conditioning oil mix. Essential oils like orange, lemon, or clove not only condition leather but also leave a fresh scent that lingers for days.

You can make your own leather cleaning solution and put it into a spray bottle. Use this home-made conditioning solution recipe, and apply it with a microfiber cloth or any type of soft cloth that you have at home.

Home-made leather conditioner

50 ml olive oil or coconut oil

100 ml vinegar

1 spoon dish soap

5-15 drops of essential oils (lemon, tangerine, orange, clove)

Step 4: Go extra deep with protein powder and water

This is our number one go-to solution for getting rid of those stubborn spots that just won’t lift off with a regular vacuum or surface cleaner. You can grab it from most supermarkets (in the baking aisle), or opt for an all-natural whey protein powder like this one, which we love! It really brings out the best of our leather couches and sofas – and even our kids’ car seats! All you need to do is make a paste of 1/2 cup of powder with 3/4 cup of hot water. Apply this to the affected spot and leave for about 15 minutes before cleaning off. It is such an effective cleaner that we’ve used less than 1/2 a tub since we’ve started sitting on our leather couches again! Here’s how we tackled a nasty spot on our cream leather sofa.

Tip: Before using, test on a hidden spot first to ensure there will be no discolouration upon removal. If there’s any discolouration, apply more water and plenty of elbow grease until you’ve removed it all! We think this is best used as a twice-a-year deep clean.