Leather and suede sofas are priced on a call, once we know which type you have: aniline, semi-aniline, pigmented, suede or nubuck. The sofa is cleaned in your home, and you know the price before you book.
A product that suits a sealed, pigmented sofa can darken an aniline one for good, which is why leather has no fixed list price. Ring 020 8077 9696 between 8am and 7pm, or use the form on the contact page, and tell us the number of seats, how the leather feels and what is wrong with it. The cleaner confirms the type on arrival before starting.
Working out which leather you have
On smooth leather, put one drop of water somewhere out of sight, such as beneath a seat cushion, watch it for a few seconds and then blot it off with a dry cloth. Suede and nubuck need no water test, since touch tells them apart.
- Pigmented: an even colour with a slight shine, cool and smooth to the touch. The drop sits on top as a bead. Most high-street leather sofas are this type.
- Semi-aniline: you can see some natural grain and colour variation under a thin protective coat. Water darkens it slowly, or only a little.
- Aniline: soft, warm and very natural looking, with visible pores. The drop soaks in and darkens the spot within seconds. It scratches and marks easily.
- Suede: a soft nap with no shine that changes shade when you brush your hand across it.
- Nubuck: a much finer, velvety nap that marks with a fingertip. It can look like suede until you touch the two side by side.
Sofas that mix leather with fabric cushions or panels, and anything sold as faux or reconstituted leather, should be mentioned on the call too.
Cleaning smooth leather, suede and nubuck
The cleaner starts with a soft brush in the seams and folds, because grit trapped there scratches the surface every time someone sits down. On smooth leathers, a cleaning product matched to the type is worked in on a small area at a time and wiped off before it can soak in. Arms, headrests and the front of the seat cushions get the most time, since body oils and hair products build up there and darken the leather.
The cleaner tells you whether a conditioner suits your leather before using one, and aniline gets very little liquid of any kind. Suede and nubuck are treated differently again: no conditioner, a dry brush to lift the nap, products made for napped leather used sparingly and a final brush as the nap dries so it stands up evenly.
Allow a few hours before anyone sits on the sofa.
What cleaning cannot fix
Cleaning takes away dirt sitting on the leather. It does not put back anything that has gone. Cracks across the seats, patches faded by sun from a window, colour worn off the front edge of the arms, peeling on reconstituted leather, claw scratches and tears are all still there after cleaning.
We do not offer repair, recolouring or restoration of any kind. If your sofa needs one of those, a leather repairer is the person to ask, and a clean sofa makes it easier for them to judge its real condition.
Some marks sit in between. Ink, dye from jeans and old grease on aniline leather may lighten without disappearing, and the cleaner will tell you on the day which marks look likely to stay.
Questions about leather and suede sofas
Why is there no fixed price for leather sofa cleaning?
Leather sofa cleaning depends on the type of leather, the size of the sofa and its condition, and an aniline sofa takes far longer than a pigmented one of the same size. Once you have described it on the call, you get a price for that sofa.
Do you clean leather armchairs and footstools?
Yes, priced on the same call as the sofa. Fabric pieces in the same room, such as a cloth armchair or a rug, are priced from the list; the upholstery cleaning page covers those.
Will cleaning remove ink from a leather sofa?
Sometimes, partly. Fresh biro on pigmented leather often lightens a lot, while ink that has soaked into aniline or suede usually stays. Nobody can promise an ink mark will come out.
Can my fabric sofa be done on the same visit?
Yes. A fabric sofa is priced by its seats, and the sofa cleaning page has the per-seat prices.