Caring for Your Leather Dining Chairs

Leather dining chairs are usually pretty easy to take care of. Unlike other types of upholstery materials, leather is like a fine wine--it gets better with age. However, leather is not maintenance free.

Basic Leather Care

To keep your leather dining chairs looking their best all you need to do is following these common sense rules:

1. Gently vacuum and dust frequently. Keeping dust off will help it from drying out.
2. Damp wipe as needed. Use a slight damp cloth, but do not use too much water. Over use of water may create stains.
3. Keep leather chairs away from heat sources (like radiators), which can cause it to dry out.
4. Place your chairs away from direct sunlight. Leather is a skin and reacts just like yours to UV light: it dries and can fade over time.
5. Blot spill immediately.
6. Use an aniline leather conditioner once or twice a year to keep shine and softness.

Leather Cleaning No-Nos

Saddle soap may be great for an old baseball glove, but can break down leather over time. Resist the urge to use soap (even a mild one) on your leather chairs. Soaps can cause rings. Avoid tap water on oil-based stains. These stains should be cleaned with distilled water.

These tips may make you believe that leather is delicate. It's actually quite resilient and a damp cloth can handle most spills as long as it is taken care of quickly.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Leather

What do you do if something bad happens to your leather chairs? It most cases it's not as bad as it looks. Minor scratches are usually not a disaster. If you notice a small scratch (not a tear), try to ignore it. Believe it or not, leather can heal over time. The scratch may become less noticeable or even disappear.

Of course there are the times when you just can't simply ignore it and hope it will go away. If you get a stubborn stain, you'll either need to purchase a leather cleaning kit specifically designed for aniline leather or hire a professional cleaner.

For deep scratches and cuts, you can choose from a leather repair kit (not the ones you see on late night TV) or hire someone experienced in leather repair. We suggest the latter, since a bad repair can be worse than the original problem.

Leather Dining Chairs That Last A Lifetime

If you follow the above rules your leather chairs can last a long time. Fabrics fade and discolor with time, but leather looks better with age. Don't sweat small stains or marks--they add character that you can't get from any other material.