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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Leather sofa owners - come and give advice and reassurance to a new owner!

31 replies

MummyPenguin · 02/05/2007 14:23

Right, took delivery of a new leather suite on Monday. (Dark brown colour.) Very nice it is too. Paranoia has set in though. Last night, DH caught DS1 eating a plate of chicken that had been left over from a KFC, and caught him wiping his hands on the sofa Luckily, DH was walking into the room just as DS did this, so was able to wipe it straight away and it's fine. Today I sat down, got up and realised there was a greasy looking mark where my arm had been. Then I remembered putting some baby oil gel on my skin after my shower at the gym! Luckily, again, dealt with it straight away, and it's fine. We are drumming into the kids about no eating on the new furniture etc. and I've now realised that I should be careful with creams/oils on my skin if I'm wearing a t-shirt or vest or shorts etc.

I suppose what I want to ask is how worried do I need to be about spills, marks etc? We have the leather cleaning kit that the store gave us, and DH is going to do the condition/protecting treatment tonight. What is likely to mark it? What do I need to/not need to worry about?

Will be grateful for tips from other leather suite owners!

OP posts:
geekgrrl · 02/05/2007 14:25

TBH, I don't think you need to worry about it at all. Our leather sofa gets covered in all manners of food regularly and I don't instantly leap up to clean it.
when I do clean it with a leather shampoo type cleaner it comes up like new.
(apart from biro - left v. faint marks)

brimfull · 02/05/2007 14:25

you will feel precios about it for a few weeks then you'll be serving dinner straight (KFC perhaps) stright onto cushion.

It'll look great.

geekgrrl · 02/05/2007 14:26

and I never condition ours. It's 6 years old and the leather still looks like it always has.

sandyballs · 02/05/2007 14:26

Is it shiny leather or that hide kind of leather?

cardy · 02/05/2007 14:27

We've had our leather sofas three years and they still look as good as new. It's dark brown too. I guess it depends whether it's hard or soft leather, our is hard. It does get a lot of marks on (with two young dds) usually food and drink but they have all wiped off with a sponge and soapy water, in fact I quite often use baby wipes!

I love the sofas but I don't like sitting on them in shorts!

princesscc · 02/05/2007 14:28

I bought the Mr Sheen leather wipes. Quick wipe if I spot anything greasy and when I do my housework, wipe over the whole lot. I panicked when I saw marks the first time, but they're pretty good these days, it shouldn;t be a problem.

mamatres · 02/05/2007 14:29

i've never done nything to ours and we have had it about 5 yrs and it still looks likee when we first got it.
however, a friend of mine bought a leather sofa bout 2 yrs ago and its gone dreadful! horrible marks on the back and the arms. but then hers was quite cheap and i think you get what you pay for....
i reckon if its decent quality leather (and no idea how you test this) it will stand up to anything and look better with age and wear.

MellowMa · 02/05/2007 14:31

Message withdrawn

JonesTheSteam · 02/05/2007 14:32

It'll be fine - like most of the other posters I don't leap up to wipe our leather sofa the minute something is on it.

Just don't let your children near it with a bread knife! DS left a 10 inch long cut on one of ours. (Don't ask!!!!)

cardy · 02/05/2007 14:55

why no baby wipes?

mamatres · 02/05/2007 16:48

was it perhaps the baby wipes that turned the sofa orange???

nogoes · 02/05/2007 16:51

We have had ours a few years now and I don't even worry about marks you hardly notice any at all. Definitely the best choice if you have kids.

MellowMa · 02/05/2007 16:59

Message withdrawn

Original poster
MummyPenguin · 02/05/2007 17:14

Hi all. Thanks for your replies. It's in between hard and soft leather really. Not too hard and not too soft iyswim. We got it from Land of Leather in the Easter sale. We paid nearly £800 for it, 3 seater, 2 seater and an armchair thrown in free. Pre sale it was twice the price.

OP posts:
Ripeberry · 02/05/2007 17:32

I've got a dark brown sofa and chair in soft leather and at first i was paranoid of the cat scratching it.
But he has totally ignored it as a few weeks before it arrived i placed a scratching post in the same room with a sleeping basket.
The one thing i do is cover the bottom cushions with a dark throw, just to stop the kids shoes from scratching it.
Our previous sofa was over 20yrs old and made of fabric and a couple of years before it stank to high heaven due to spilt milk.
Yuck!
AB

Oblomov · 02/05/2007 17:37

Our black leather is yonks old and still looks good. An occassional wipe eith a leather disposable wipe - avail from all supermarkets, work wonders.
Oh the joy of something new. Laugh at ggirls, eating KFC off it !

mamatres · 02/05/2007 18:16

well thats something i've not been clled before Mellowma! unless your taking the p**s

themildmanneredjanitor · 02/05/2007 18:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pixiefish · 02/05/2007 18:27

If I spilll anything on mine I just wipe it with baby wipes. Have had it for 7 years and it's fine. t's had all sorts spilt on it- tbh it still looks new and still has that new leather smell

MellowMa · 03/05/2007 08:04

Message withdrawn

J20BABY · 03/05/2007 08:12

mummmypenguin, i've just ordered one from land of leather, did your delivery take 4 months too?!

not getting it till august

J20BABY · 03/05/2007 08:13

this one

can't wait!

J20BABY · 03/05/2007 08:14

oh no, it isn't is it mellowma?

mamatres · 03/05/2007 08:33

right never done a link before- bet it wont work!- i have this one as a sofa in dark brown:

days forum

did it work?

mamatres · 03/05/2007 08:47

oh damn it, nearly but not quite...