Leather furniture care on Vancouver Island: woodstove heat, summer sun, spills, and what each maker allows

What is the best way to care for leather furniture?

The best way to care for leather furniture is the routine its maker prints. La-Z-Boy, Ashley, Decor-Rest and Island Living, four of the makers whose leather Merit lists, publish care notes that agree on most of it. They part ways on soap and conditioner, and those lines matter most, because a cleaning mistake can void a leather warranty. The table credits each instruction to its maker, with Scandi added where it differs.

How often to clean depends on how hard the piece works. Decor-Rest's reason for a routine damp wipe is oils, which build up, discolour leather and break down its protective coating. Scandi adds a caution for owners on certain medications, such as chemotherapy, blood pressure or heart drugs, which can pass through sweat onto the cover. It asks them to clean and protect the leather more often, with particular attention to arms and head rests.

Why leather cracks near a woodstove, and how often to condition it

Leather near a woodstove can crack because hot, dry air draws moisture out of the hide until the surface stiffens. The Canadian Conservation Institute, which advises Canada's museums on their collections, says air under 30 percent humidity makes leather lose moisture and turn brittle. It recommends a steady 45 to 55 percent at 18 to 20°C for leather in museum collections. A heated Island house in January can sit well under 45 percent, as the winter humidity numbers for a stove room show.

That dryness is what our woodstove rule is for. The rule doesn't set a distance, and none of the makers' heat distances in the table names a woodstove. My own test is simple: if you can feel the stove's heat from the seat, the leather is near enough to count. Stove clearances are in the woodstove section of that guide.

Several makers count cracking as a leather defect: Ashley covers it for one year and Scandi for two, and Decor-Rest's leather warranty lists it too. Decor-Rest, though, excludes leather exposed to a dry environment, and it asks for a humidified house in the cold months. Caring for a mattress follows each maker's rules too, humidity included.

Does Island Living leather need conditioner?

Island Living leather gets no conditioner, by Island Living's own FAQ. Its warranty for the in-stock collection, which includes the leather sofas Merit lists, doesn't apply to leathers treated with aftermarket leather treatments. So for a Island Living leather sofa near a stove, distance is the tool, and the maker's rule beats ours. The difference between Island Living's in-stock and made-to-order lines has its own guide.

Conditioner, cream, balm and serum are names on a bottle. The Conservation Institute describes leather dressings generally as oils, waxes or oil emulsions. For museum leather it no longer recommends them as a routine treatment, since many oils oxidise over time and stiffen the leather further.

Sun through the window: fading and heat on leather in an Island summer

Sun fades leather and heats it, and on the Island the sunny months are the summer ones. Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals give Nanaimo Airport 289 hours of bright sunshine in July and 51 in December. The Conservation Institute says organic materials in sunlight can reach 40°C, and more on a dark surface or behind glass. It also calls light damage cumulative and irreversible. A dark leather recliner in a west window takes both, all summer.

La-Z-Boy's care page says leather resists fading, but prolonged direct sun will fade any material. The warranty terms further down that mention fading all exclude it. The fixes cost little. A blind or curtain drawn through the afternoon is the Conservation Institute's own advice for windows. Decor-Rest suggests rearranging now and then, so one arm doesn't take all the light. A move like that is a good time to rethink the paint, lamps and pillows around it, with a few living room ideas for a leather sofa in mind.

How to clean a leather sofa without voiding the warranty

Cleaning a leather sofa safely means using the maker's method, on a small patch first, since the wrong method can cost the warranty. Each maker's terms are in the warranty table further down. These steps follow La-Z-Boy's and Island Living's instructions, with Ashley's patch test added.

1. Find the tag. Ashley puts a tag with a cleaning code under a seat cushion or beneath the piece, and La-Z-Boy's product ID tag names the cover. Keep it, since it's the maker's word on how that cover is cleaned.
2. Vacuum the seams. A soft brush or crevice tool gets crumbs and grit out before any water goes on.
3. Test a hidden spot. Ashley asks for a test in an out-of-sight area before any cleaning or conditioning product.
4. Wash gently. La-Z-Boy's mix is half mild soap, such as Neutrogena or Ivory, and half distilled water, worked to a foam on a slightly damp cloth. Island Living says a neutral soap diluted with water, with a dry, soft white cloth. Not on Ashley leather. Avoid heavy rubbing.
5. Take the soap off. Blot any residue with a clean cloth dampened only with distilled water, and keep blotting until it's dry (La-Z-Boy).
6. Condition, or stop. Conditioner goes on only if the maker allows it.

Can I use Murphy's Oil Soap or Dawn dish soap on a leather couch?

Murphy's Oil Soap and Dawn dish detergent aren't on any leather care list from the makers we checked. Ashley's ban on cleaners with oils, soaps or detergents covers both. An article on Murphy's site suggests using the oil soap at full strength as a conditioner on leather furniture. The furniture makers disagree, and Decor-Rest says to avoid household cleaners altogether.

La-Z-Boy and Island Living do allow soap, but a mild one, diluted, as in the steps above. The Conservation Institute warns about saddle soap, once sold as a cleaner and conditioner. It's very alkaline, which degrades leather, and it can leave a white, scummy deposit. When the soap's maker and the sofa's maker disagree, I go with the sofa's maker, since its warranty is the one at stake.

The best product for leather furniture is the one its maker names or approves. One of Ashley's cleaning codes simply says to use the Millennium leather care kit. Scandi's warranty points owners to their retailer for its list of approved leather care products. Decor-Rest notes that when a retailer sells an extra leather care kit, the warranty is taken on by the company behind the kit. If a product isn't named on your tag or care sheet, ask us at Merit before it goes on.

Leather stains, scratches and a tired couch: what comes out and what doesn't

Leather stains come out best when they're fresh, and most spills blot up without a trace, by Decor-Rest's account. Some don't. For gum, grease or red wine, Decor-Rest's advice is to leave it alone and call a professional leather cleaner. La-Z-Boy says the same for difficult stains. Scratches are harder to predict, and daily wear is nobody's warranty claim.

How do you remove dark stains from leather?

Dark stains on leather are handled by type, and Ashley's care page gives the most detail of the makers we checked:

• Ink: an ink remover stick removes or reduces it on most leathers.
• Small, fresh oil or food grease stains: rub cornstarch in briskly with your fingers until the friction warms it. Vacuum or brush it off, and repeat.
• Pet urine: Nature's Miracle from a pet store, cleaning the whole cushion edge to edge so no line forms.

Those are Ashley's methods for Ashley leather. Decor-Rest wants grease left to a professional, so on a Decor-Rest piece I'd call before reaching for the cornstarch. Ashley also warns against leaving newspapers or magazines on leather, since the ink can transfer.

Can scratches on leather be fixed?

Some light scratches rub out and some don't. Decor-Rest's test is to scratch a full-grain swatch with a fingernail. The oils and patina of the hide may rub the mark out, it says, or may not. Ashley counts nicks, scratches and wrinkles in the hide as natural markings, and calls leather durable but not accident or damage proof.

Making a leather couch look new again only works partway once it has dulled. A careful clean, done the maker's way, deals with the build-up sitting on the surface. On aniline and full-grain leather, some of the change is patina, which Decor-Rest defines as a lustre that develops over time. Keeping a couch looking new is easier than making it new again, and no warranty pays for build-up.

What SmartOne from Zucora covers on leather furniture

SmartOne, from the Canadian company Zucora, is the extended plan Merit offers for the accidents a maker's warranty leaves out. Our warranty and repairs page has the short version. Its dates, claim rules and technician mileage charge beyond 100 km of a retailer are covered in how furniture warranties work on the Island. On leather, Zucora's current plan agreement comes down to three rows.

For leather beside a stove, the cracking line matters most: a hide dried out by the heat is the owner's to prevent. The plan also requires the piece to be kept the way its maker recommends, which brings everything back to the care tag. Zucora writes a SmartOne Furniture plan and a Furniture Plus plan, so it's worth asking which one comes with your piece.