Common products that damage leather

There are many common household products that you would be surprised to find will damage leather furniture.  While most leather does have a protective color and clear coat, it is still possible for common household chemicals to damage most leather finishes.

Here are the 10 most common ones.

1. Hand sanitizer–  Most waterless sanitizers contain alcohol.  Alcohol will eat through color and topcoat on many leathers leaving a discolored area.  So make sure the alcohol has dried before pressing your hands against your leather furniture.
2. Pet ointments- The risk is when you put a skin ointment like flea and tick lotion on a pet or dog.  Later the dog rubs up next to the leather or lays on the leather and the ointment takes the color right off the leather.  Until the pet ointment has dried fully, its best to keep your pet away from leather.
3. Dish soap–  Mixed in a mild solution of soap and water, dish soap on leather would not normally affect it.  On the other hand, even drips from a concentrate bottle of dish soap across the leather will cause spots in the finish.
4. Skin cremes-  Many leathers will stain or discolor due to the oil based chemicals and solvents in skin cremes.  Its common for hand prints to occur on leather that require LeatherPro professional treatment to remove.
5. Hair gels and chemicals–  Sometimes hair chemicals will affect color on the headrest area of a leather lounge.  More often it happens over time.  The leather is fine for 1 or 2 years and eventually a darkened or discolored area appears that is very difficult to clean or remove.
6. Nail polish remover– Nail polish remover should be an obvious one since it contains acetone which is a very agressive solvent type cleaner. If it removes nail polish, imagine the effect on leather. Keep this chemical away from leather at all times.
7. Windex-  Try to remove a stubborn stain or just clean dirty leather with Windex will only remove the color over time. Use only products deemed safe for leather and always read the directions.
8. Handy Andy-  Most people don’t just grab the Handy Andy, they become frustrated because other milder cleaners just won’t take out the stains.  Problem is it will wear out the finish on your leather. It is best to contact a professional for taking out stubborn stains.
9. Candle Waxes – Not all waxes are the same. Sometimes candle wax will drip off a candle, dry on leather and you can just scrape it off with no residue. Other wax candles have oils and dyes in them that will leave an oily stain or dye transfer. (see photo)
10. Hot Tea or Hot Cup-  Perfect circles of discoloration are formed on leather upholstery when hot cups are placed on the leather.  Best to avoid anything hot on your leather.

To keep your leather luxurious and looking its best, call LeatherPro today for cleaning, conditioning and protection of your favourite leather pieces. Click Here