Good value leather cleaner

DavidMc

DavidMc

Hey guys,

I've just splashed out on a nice leather couch.

What are good value leather cleaners? I've seen kits from $60-80, but how can 500ml of solution be worth that? Surely it's a rip, just like overpriced HDMI cables.

People on the net rave about this one from England (LLT), but surely something good is available here?

Also - couldn't I just use $10 bottle of ArmorAll? (may be a silly blokes question).


Cheers,

David.
 
You can get car seat leather cleaner for about $20 (auto aisle of supermarket or any auto shop), can't see why it won't work on leather furniture.

Oh and if you have kiddies - alcohol gets pen off leather :)
 
Ouch:eek: Cleaning leather with Armor-All is akin to buying beautiful Riedel wine glasses and then using a steel scratchy to clean them.

We've had cream leather sofas for years, and mainly just use water, or a weak ordinary soap solution and water. If you really have a clean up to do check out Shannon Lush' tips.
http://www.lifestylechannel.com.au/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1055

You will get ripped off if you spend a lot on leather care kits, and it will probably ruin the sofa in the process. If a container of leather care stuff doesn't list all the ingredients, don't buy it. It may be full of silicone and other nasties.
 
Go get yourself a bar of velvet soap and a soft cloth rub the cloth firmly on the bar of soap and then rub over the leather couch. Its cheap it smells good and with the oil in the soap it moisturises the leather.
 
my fil swears by dubbin - however just having bought a white leather lounge i'm not sure if i'm game to try it as don't want to discolour it.

the lounge comes with a full care kit, so will see what it contains.
 
I used to use Dubbin on my Army boots, which is pretty cheap compared to these $60 leather cleaning solutions.

No idea what it would be like on a couch.
 
I just use a damp cloth with water on to soften my leather lounge, still looks as good as the day I got it. Only thing wrong with my lounge is the cat claw marks in it, grhhhhhhhh. Other friends do the same. I once bought a supposed good leather conditioner for my lounge, only used it on a small area out of sight, and thought it was no better then the H2O, so wasted my money there.
 
Our couch gets an enormous amount of food stuck to it coutesty of a wandering snacker and you don't want to know what's between the cushions - which I'm sure is why they invented crevice tools for vaccuum cleaners. Warm soapy water gets the gunk off.

Metho gets pen off but gently gently - our couch is the cheaper new leather (the bulk of modern commodity leather furniture is this kind) that has the outer layer stripped off and is stamped PVC or something on top but is sold as leather. You need some kind of leather conditioner on that stuff after using metho as it dulls the shine. Otherwise the couch itself is quite a good quality one as far as padding and framing goes, the removalist commented how much heavier and more solid it is than a lot of couches he's moved, and just as well considering the little ones use the day bed as a slippery dip and bounce on the couch whenever my back is turned. And one of the 'little' ones is 30kg now.

Either way, this 'leather' is a vast improvement on any fabric or fake suede with kids around. Goop just doesn't soak into leather or vinyl. I can see this couch being beaten to within an inch of its life by the time the kiddies are grown up. Fantastically comfortable and looks great but I seriously underestimated its appeal as both a climbing frame and a canvas :mad:
 
Great advice, this is something I've had sitting in my 'too hard basket' because I didn't know what to use. I have a white leather couch, and I'm incredibly fussy and careful, hardly anyone sits on it except me. However I'm starting to notice a slight coloring (I won't even wear dark jeans on it!) so want to clean it. I've read so many things about what you should/shouldn't use and it all gets so confusing i.e. some things can damage the leather, affect the color, dry it out etc. etc. I like the idea of a bit of warm soapy water (someone mentioned Velvet soap is good) - sounds simple. But will soap dry it out? Do you need to put some conditioning thing on it also? If so, are there any safe cheap recommendations? Mine is about 18 months old and I've done nothing to it yet, which considering the price of it, I'd like to take care of it.
 
I know it might be a little different to leather trim in cars but after doing alot of research I found a product that most detailers swore by...unfortunately I can't remember the name of it!! It was $80 for a shampoo and conditioner, when I used it the leather felt alot nicer for alot longer and protected it well!

I just think, if you spend a few grand or more on a leather lounge - then spend another $80 to further protect it.
 
yadreamin said:
Go get yourself a bar of velvet soap and a soft cloth rub the cloth firmly on the bar of soap and then rub over the leather couch. Its cheap it smells good and with the oil in the soap it moisturises the leather.
Click to expand...

I'm am also in the need of some kind of conditioner for me chocolate looking leather lounge... Can you let me know what sort of places would sell velvet soap? I might give it a go since my lounge is dark in color. :)
 
The lounge salesman has sold me on the idea that the expensive stuff is best for the longevity of the leather, and apparently most of us use far too much of it. He says armorall looks nice but hardens the leather rather than protect it, and that soap is even worse. Am I being gullible :confused: ?
 
On my last leather suite which had the cheap leather and was pale grey I used Joseph Lyddy Saddle Soap, available from Horseland Shops. It is a very old product in a yellow tin, on the front it says for cleaning and renovating saddles, also for car, upholstery and leather coats.

It was $7.60 for the last tin and lasts forever!!!

I have a new Kings black leather suite, which cost an arm and a leg, which I will continue to take care of with saddle soap. This one is good leather, well at the price Kings charge, one would hope so!!!!

Chris
 
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