Recipe 47 of 100 · The Country Cleans Mix Book
DIY Leather Couch Cleaner and Conditioner
No Vinegar, No Oil
Leather couch looking dry and grubby? Clean it with 1 cup distilled water and 3 drops dish soap on a barely damp cloth, drying each panel right away. Then condition with 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin stirred into 2 cups distilled water, wiped on and buffed dry after 5 minutes. Skip vinegar and oil, both ruin modern leather. Not for suede or nubuck.
What it fixesDull, dirty, drying-out leather couches with cracked-looking armrests and grubby seat panels.
You need
- 1 cup distilled water (240 ml), for the cleaner
- 3 drops clear dish soap
- 2 cups distilled water (475 ml), for the conditioner
- 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin, drugstore first aid aisle
- 2 small bowls
- 3 soft cotton cloths
Mix it
- Cleaner: combine the distilled water and the three drops of dish soap in bowl one. Stir gently. Three drops, not a squirt, more soap means residue.
- Conditioner: stir the teaspoon of glycerin into the 2 cups of distilled water in bowl two until it disappears. It should look like plain water and feel barely slick between two fingers. That is correct. Do not add more, since glycerin left heavy on the surface stays sticky.
- Keep the two mixtures separate. They are two different steps.
Use it
- Test both mixes on the back of the couch near the floor. Wait an hour and check for darkening.
- Dampen a cloth in the cleaner, wring it until it is barely wet, and wipe one panel of the couch at a time.
- Dry that panel immediately with a second cloth. Do not let water sit on leather.
- Once the whole couch is clean and dry, dampen a third cloth in the glycerin water, wring it out until it is barely wet, and wipe it over the leather in even strokes, one panel at a time. Put it on the cloth, never pour it on the couch.
- Give it five minutes, then buff the panel dry with a clean cloth. Nothing should be left sitting on the surface when you walk away.
Dale's noteDistilled water matters here. Tap water minerals leave a chalky film on dark leather that shows up worse than the dirt you removed. Glycerin is a humectant, so it holds a little moisture in the finish and takes the dry squeaky look off without leaving anything greasy behind. Condition every three months, more if the couch sits in direct sun.
Don'tDo not add vinegar to any leather recipe, no matter what you have read online. Acid eats the urethane topcoat on modern furniture leather and rots the stitching thread over time. Do not use oil either, since leather made after the mid nineties is coated and the oil just sits on top, stays tacky, collects dust and transfers onto the back of light colored shirts. Do not use this on suede, nubuck, or any leather with a raw fuzzy surface.
This is 1 of 100 mixes in the Mix Book
Glass, wood, bathrooms, mold, kitchens, carpet, couches, laundry, floors, metal, odors and more. Every one with the same exact amounts, steps and warnings. A PDF in your email within a minute.
GET THE MIX BOOK · $12.99
Free: Dale's Fall Deep-Clean Checklist
19 jobs to do before the house closes up for winter, room by room, plus 3 recipes printed in full. Print it and stick it on the fridge.
SEND ME THE FREE CHECKLIST
