We Tried It: How to Clean Leather Furniture

Leather furniture is timeless, elegant, refined — and super durable. Much like a favorite pair of jeans, the more you use your leather couch or chairs, the more comfortable they get, and the normal wear-and-tear of daily use gives them character and charm.

Also like your favorite pair of jeans, you don’t need to clean your leather very often — but when you do, you want to do it right, especially if your leather furniture is very high-end or super new.

Cleaning leather is a gentle art that requires the right products. You can seriously damage your leather furniture by using the wrong stuff to clean it. It’s widely agreed that plain old dish soap and water are the best cleaners for all types of leather.

First things first — as always, check the manufacturer’s instructions to find out what type of leather you have. These instructions tell you everything you need to know, including the products you should and shouldn’t use to clean and condition the leather.

Clean with care

Any cleaning product with a high pH, like vinegar or lemon juice, damages leather fibers and results in excessive drying that creates unsightly cracks. Also avoid products like olive or coconut oil and furniture polishes.

Sop up spills ASAP

Leather is lovely, but it’s also susceptible to stains. Clean up spills as soon as they happen to prevent the liquid from sinking into the leather and causing a hard-to-remove spot.

Lived-on doesn’t mean dirty

If your leather looks darker than when you bought it, don’t worry — like fine wine, some leather is meant to get better with age. This is especially true for naturally dyed leather that develops a patina over time. Just because your leather is getting darker doesn’t mean it’s dirty — you can’t (and really, why would you want to?) scrub away its world-worn character.

Know when to call the professionals

If your leather furniture is very expensive, and you don’t want to risk damage, have a professional come in once a year to clean it. Between pro cleanings, wipe down your leather furniture periodically with a barely-damp microfiber cloth to remove dust and dirt. Find out from the manufacturer what type of leather conditioner you should use — and how often you should use it.

In the 15 years we’ve had our leather sectional, it’s been a hang-out spot for four dogs, five cats, and three grubby, snack-eating and drink-spilling kids (and their grubby friends.) It’s been drooled on, puked on, jumped on, and slept on. And it’s still in pretty great shape, considering.

We’ve toyed with the idea of upgrading to a newer, more fashionable model, but this couch is just too comfortable to part with. It’s part of the family, and today, for the first time ever, I’m going to clean it.

That all depends on the stain.

Wipe down your leather furniture with a damp microfiber whenever you feel like it needs cleaning.

Does leather need to be conditioned?

If your leather furniture starts looking dry, condition it with a high quality leather conditioner. Leather creams moisturize and soften leather furniture to protect it and keep it supple. Apply the conditioner to a clean cloth, gently rub it into the leather in circular motions, then let it dry.

Looking for more cleaning how-tos and other sustainable swaps you can make at home? Grove has you covered. From timely topics such as our handwashing and hand sanitizer breakdown to evergreen primers like our simple ways to reduce your plastic use at home, our handy guides are here to answer your most pressing questions. And let us know how if you have any cleaning questions (or share your own tips using #grovehome) by following Grove Collaborative on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

If you're ready to take on germs, shop Grove Collaborative's cleaning essentials for the cleaning tools to tackle the job.