A leather sofa is a durable, elegant, and most liked piece of furniture in today’s world. Cleaning it with washing up liquids without damage is an art.
Can You Use Washing-Up Liquid to Clean Leather Sofa? You can use washing-up liquid to clean dust and dirt, ink spots, and grease/body oil on a leather sofa. You can also remove food stains and water-based stains using it. In addition, you mix it with warm water or homemade leather conditioners to remove any spots on your couch.
It can clean your couch if used carefully, and it is cost-effective and easily available in your house.
How can you use washing up liquids to clean a leather sofa?
People mix it with warm water to remove everyday stains from the leather sofa. This is an easy way to get any kind of light marks removed.
You can use one to two parts of washing up liquid and 2 to 5 parts of warm water. You can use a soft fabric such as a cotton ball or microfiber and pat it on the spot.
You can use it with citrus or lemon flavor for cleaning the furniture. Lemon is a good ingredient to remove stains with less effort. In addition, the citric acid present in lemon makes it a good bleaching agent to remove stains.
You can also make a homemade leather conditioner to maintain the shine of the leather. Take 30-70 ml of coconut oil or olive oil and mix it with 50-100 ml of vinegar.
You can add 1-2 spoons of washing-up liquid and 5-20 drops of essential oils such as clove, lemon, and orange in it.
The solution prepared is treated as a good leather conditioner to clean marks and stains on leather couches.
Why would you use washing-up liquids to clean a leather sofa?
Leather furniture needs special attention and maintenance to keep it clean and stains-free. A quick way to remove spots and stains from it is using washing up liquids.
Dust and dirt
Dust can affect the leather, which usually gathers at the folds and sides of your sofa. Dust can enter your rooms through windows, exhaust fans, or with your shoes.
You can grab a cotton or wool fabric, washing up liquid, and a bowl of warm water to clean dust from your sofa.
Mix it in warm water and stir it well to dissolve it properly. Then take a soft woolen fabric and dip it in the solution. Wring it properly and gently rub it on your sofa without pressing it so hard.
Try to focus on the folds where more dust particles can accumulate. Next, rinse the fabric with fresh water and repeat the procedure on the other sides.
You can close all windows in your room to avoid more dust while cleaning them with liquid and water.
Make sure to clean your couch with a wet cloth first and then with a dry cloth.
Ink spots
It helps remove ink spots on a leather sofa. You can face this problem while writing with ink pens while sitting on your it.
Also, when you have kids in your house, the risk of getting ink spots on your couch increases. You can remove these ink spots using these liquids. Take a bowl of water, a sponge, and washing-up liquid.
Pour some liquid into the sponge and wipe it on the ink spot. Rub it for a few minutes until the spot is removed. You can take a wet cloth, wipe the area with it, and then with a dry cloth.
It will clean this liquid wholly from your sofa. However, rubbing it hard while cleaning can cause the leather to rift.
Grease/body oils
Removing grease or oil stains from your leather sofa is a challenging process. However, you can take them out easily as soon as you encounter something like that.
Grease or oil stains are sticky and need instant action; otherwise, it will take a great effort to remove them. The kids in your house can spill lotion, oil, or any kind of greasy thing on your couch.
There are chances of spilling body oil, massage oil, or any makeup product on it. In that case, you don’t need to get panic. Instead, you can learn how to get these stains removed at the right time.
Take a spoonful of washing-up liquid and pour it into a cup of water. Dip the sponge in the solution and rub it gently on the stain. It is better to remember that don’t rub it too harshly, or else the shine of the leather will be affected.
Stop wiping the sponge on it as soon as the stain is gone. Try to rub only the area which is affected; otherwise, the stain can seep out to other areas.
Food stains
People love to eat while watching TV on their sofa. You can spill your coffee, tea, drinks, ketchup, or sauces while eating pizza or fast food on your couch. Kids can drop any eatable on it.
It is better to remove these stains as soon as possible; otherwise, they will get dry, and it becomes difficult to remove them. Also, food marks like coffee and tea marks can take more time to remove from it if they get dried.
Grab a cotton ball or a microfiber cloth and a bowl with water. Take two spoons of washing liquid in the water bowl and mix it well.
Dip the microfiber cloth in diluted solution and pat it gently on the stain spot. Dab it until you see the stain vanish completely. You can need to repeat the procedure if the stain remains.
Water-based stains
Watermarks on leather can make it look nasty and unpleasant. You need to take care of those watermarks as early as possible.
There can be watermarks when you put a glass of water on the sofa or any water-based stains like water paints.
Kids can spill water paints on the sofa while drawing on their books. So, these stains also need instant action to remove. Pour some liquid into the water spot and dub it with any cotton ball.
Dry this area with another cotton fabric and gently rub it. Water paints are easy to remove if cleaned immediately.
Can you use washing-up liquids for all kinds of leather sofas?
Leather sofas are of two types that are unprotected leather and protected leather.
The unprotected leather, also called aniline leather, has no external protecting layer and is usually very soft. Therefore, there are more chances of scratches and long-lasting stains on it.
More caution is needed to take care of them. You can use a soft microfiber and woolen cloth to clean them.
Protected leather, also called semi-aniline or pigmented leather, has a protected layer and is usually harder. However, oil stains are difficult to remove with these liquids and require treatment immediately.
How often can you use washing up liquids to clean a leather sofa?
Cleaning your sofa with washing-up liquids is effective as it will keep its color and shine of it.
You can clean it if it is of light color after five to six months or if dark color then after one or one and half years.
I do not use a strong detergent as it can cause cracking on leather. Also, if your sofa is outside, there are more chances of getting marks and stains on it.
Do not wash it with such liquids daily or after some days if it does not have stains on it.
This can make the leather look dull and rough quickly. Instead, wash up liquids only on the affected area and clean the remaining area with a soft cloth.
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