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These days, people are becoming more aware about taking care of the environment, and the effects that human products have on it. Because of this, many people are becoming more careful about the things they do, how much the consume, and the products they use. In many households, green cleaning products are becoming the standard.
The same thing can be seen when it comes to cleaning leather furniture. So many people are beginning to look for products that are eco-friendly and won't harm the earth. Little do most know that many of these products can be found right in their own kitchen. Several examples are listed below:
- Lemon Juice
Apart from being tasty, fresh lemon juice is a natural cleanser because of its acidity. Mix in an equal amount of cream of tartar to make a paste, which you can use to rub into the leather one section at a time. Though this is an effective cleaner, it is actually quite expensive. If you have to clean an entire couch, you're going to need a lot of lemons!
- Vinegar and Oil
There are many different kinds of vinegar and oil solutions that are good for cleaning leather. Mixing 1 cup of neatsfoot oil and ½ cup of white vinegar makes a good leather cleaner. So does distilled malt vinegar and olive oil, which can be made by filling a small bottle 1/3 of the way with the vinegar and topping it off with olive oil.
Both mixtures should be applied with a soft cloth, and should be applied onto the cloth first, never the leather first. Unless of course you are dealing with a very difficult stain.
- Alcohol
Using alcohol on stains, particularly ink stains will also work well. It should be applied with a cotton ball and very carefully. Just make sure that a conditioner or oil is used soon after so that the leather doesn't dry out and become prone to cracking.
Just as you would with a commercial cleaner, make sure you test these cleaners on a small inconspicuous area of the piece before rubbing the mixtures on the entire area.
Those who are serious about keeping their leather clean often dry clean the pieces every couple of years, and some dry cleaning products (not all) can be pollutants. So before sending in your furniture for dry cleaning, it's a good idea to ask the cleaners what they use to clean the materials and if these products are eco-friendly.
Apart from the homemade cleaning remedies mentioned, there are also some green cleaning products for leather available on the market, which means they are free from chemicals or were not made using chemical processes that pollute the environment. Many of these products clean leather quite well. Just expect them to be slightly more expensive than other typical leather cleaners.
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