Basic rules
A pencil mark in the leather, or a stain from chocolate milk or soup? Do not panic! A lot of stains can be cleaned with the right maintenance product and just a little bit of patience off again. On this page you can read exactly what you can do!
Basic rules
There are many types of stains, and they all differ from each other. There are large stains, small stains, grease stains, stains with color, stains from medication use, lime edges, small scratches and bald spots. Each stain has a different cause and must be treated in a separate way. That sounds tricky, but fortunately there are a few basic rules that apply to all stains:
Dusting
Almost any stain becomes 10 times harder to remove when the surface is dusty. Therefore, regularly dust your furniture and make sure the surface is dust-free before cleaning!
Nutrition
Try to nourish the leather every six months with the recommended maintenance lotion. When you keep a tidy record of this, you ensure that the moisture and fat percentages of the leather are maintained. New stains will be much easier to clean.
More so, this prevents liquids from being sucked directly into the leather.
Liquids
Wipe off any liquid as soon as possible, trying to dab on the stain as little as possible. Take for example (uncolored)
paper towels and use this to soak up the liquid. Did you spill a lot? Then set the entire kitchen roll straight up in the liquid.
Solids (such as mustard, potato purée, etc.)
Remove stains with solids as much as possible with a (clean) spoon. Make sure to scoop up all at once. Spilled allot?
Then clean the spoon again with a piece of dry kitchen paper before removing the rest of the solid contamination.
General tips
- Try to resist the temptation to scrub, rub, or put pressure on the leather in any way. You have the chance that you will continue to see this permanently. You can't be too careful!
- Do not use home, garden and kitchen remedies. This often contains solvents.
- Always clean a complete section (such as a whole seat / back surface) and not just the stain. Cleaning 'locally' may make this stain stand out.
- Always work a stain from the outside in and use as little pressure as possible.
- Let the cleanser's foam do the job. Apply the foam to the stain in circular motions and let it soak in
briefly (do not let it dry completely). Then wipe the foam with a slightly damp cloth.
Distilled water
After you have cleaned a stain, we recommend that you clean the entire section with a slightly damp cloth. Use
(preferably) no tap water. Not all tap water (in the Netherlands) has the same water hardness. By cleaning with tap water
annoying lime edges can remain. These stains are very stubborn and sometimes cannot be removed.
Therefore, get 1-2 liters of distilled water at home, this will prevent the formation of lime edges. It is available in almost every
supermarket, or at the drugstore: also known as demineralised water.
Example: "A nice toast with tapenade spilled on a leather couch"
You know, on the couch on a Friday afternoon. A drink and of course a delicious toast with a tasty topping. And then..
Okay, what are you gonna do? Wipe away with the napkin, right? No! Follow these steps:
- Remove any solids with a clean spoon. So the leftovers with toast and the fixed / coarse tapenade pieces.
- Walk to the kitchen and get the paper towel. Tear off a sheet and keep the tip of the sheet in the liquid. Let the paper soak up and throw it away. Repeat until almost all liquids have disappeared.
- Take the cleaner from your care kit. Do you not have these, or do you not have enough? Order it quickly. Ordered on working days before 14:00 will be shipped the same day!
- Prepare two cleaning tubs / containers (a pan if necessary). Shake the cleaner well before use and pour about 1/4 in the first bowl. Take the distilled water and pour about 1/4 part into the second bowl.
- Use the sponge to squeeze a lot of foam into the bowl of cleaner. Then apply the foam to the leather. Use circular motions to distribute the foam evenly. Apply little to no pressure and let the foam do the work. Always work from the outside in and never just treat the stain, but always clean an entire section.
- Let the foam soak in briefly, but do not dry completely. Take a clean cloth and soak it in the distilled water. Squeeze the cloth and wipe the entire piece from seam to seam. Rinse the cloth and repeat until all the foam is gone.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 if necessary and then let it dry well.
Is the stain completely gone? Nice! But you will probably still see a dark spot. How come? Most tapenade also contains a bit of fat.
Unfortunately, we cannot clean fat with water. Fortunately, there are two solutions for this:
Be patient! Open leathers (aniline, saddle, vintage, nubuck, etc.) have the property of absorbing small grease stains. This sometimes takes a few weeks.
Therefore, take a picture of the grease stain. Put a timer in your diary and take another photo of exactly the same place in a week. Try to take the photo at the same time and with the same light.
Repeat this every week for about 3-4 weeks and compare the photos. Does the stain become visibly less? Then don't do anything about it! The stain will disappear on its own. If not, check below.
- Clean with a degreaser. For this we would like to receive a photo of the grease stain first. We can tell you exactly whether it is useful and feasible to get started. You can then order the degreaser in the web shop.
* Please note that the above example is and will remain an example. Every situation is different and that is why we are happy to take a look with you.
Send a few photos to: info@lcknederland.nl and see what we can do for you.
Questions?
Would you rather contact one of our employees? No problem! Our experts are at your service every working day.
Take a look at the contact page for our e-mail address, telephone number and our current opening hours.