Keep This Soap On Hand To Easily Clean Your Leather Furniture
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That leather sofa looked fabulous on the furniture store showroom floor. It looks even better in your living room, with the perfect throw blanket and a few pillows for a pop of color. After purchasing, you nestle in for movie night, and suddenly, with your hands deep into a popcorn bucket, you realize the beautiful leather is about to be covered in grease. Fortunately, if you have Castile soap on hand, it'll be straightforward to keep your sofa looking the best.
Using just any soap doesn't work. Most types contain animal fat and chemicals, both of which can damage the fine leather. Using the wrong cleaning agents can create discolorations and, in some cases, eat away at this natural material. Of course, you don't want to encourage munching on popcorn on your brand-new sofa, but if there happens to be muddy paw prints or sticky fingerprints, having Castile soap in your kitchen can be a saving grace.
Castile soap is rather versatile. You can use it as a way to remove the toughest of grease stains from surfaces and even tackle hard-to-clean stains on your home's walls. You don't need much for your leather sofa, but with a few drops, you'll be able to maintain the beautiful, luxurious material with ease, protecting it along the way.
What makes castile soap a safe bet for your leather couch
Castile soap has gained popularity for its overall effectiveness at cleaning surfaces gently. What makes it so potent is that it's a fully natural product lacking any synthetic ingredients. It's an environmentally friendly choice for your home because it's nontoxic and fully biodegradable. If that sounds like it's not going to have the power to clean well, you may be surprised by the results.
Unlike other soaps, Castile soap is made with vegetable oil instead of animal fat and chemicals. Many traditional soaps, including those for your skin, utilize lye and animal fat to work as a cleaning agent and also include fragrances and synthetic cleaning agents to help scrub away dirt. While that's acceptable on surfaces like your floors, it's not a good idea for leather, which is susceptible to damage.
As one of the best natural ingredients to use to clean your leather sofa, Castile soap also works to preserve the leather longer, rather than strip away the natural oils that give it a beautiful, sleek look and soft feel. In situations where a damp cloth is not enough to remove the dirt and grime, it provides just the right level of cleaning to loosen the stuck-on particles, including grease, so you can wipe them away.
How to properly use castile soap to clean a leather sofa
Before you decide to use any agent to clean your leather sofa, start by dusting it off to remove particles that you don't want to rub into the leather. Then, make sure to use a clean, wet cloth to run over the surface. Without any type of cleaning agent, you'll be amazed at how well leather cleans up with minimal moisture. After all, it really is skin.
If it's been a while or there are greasy fingerprints present, turn to Castile soap as a second line of defense. Choose a liquid Castile soap purchased on Amazon. Before cleaning the entire surface, test the product on a hidden area of the couch, such as the back that's up against the wall. If your leather is very frail or dried out or perhaps has coloring added to it, even Castile soap can cause some damage.
Once you've spot-tested it, you just need to add Castile soap to water (about 1 part soap to 8 parts of water). If your couch also needs conditioning, you can add in olive oil and white vinegar to help restore the shine. Then, simply use a soft, clean towel wet with the mixture to gently rub the leather's surface. Do this across all areas to ensure an even level of cleaning and conditioning. You may have to buff the leather after it dries.
If you're shopping for new furniture, check out what you need to know before buying a leather couch.