Hi there any ideas on best products to 'clean and feed' cream leather suite.Its in a room where the dogs do not have access but still seems to get dirty every so often.Thanks.

Simple & cheap answer - baby wipes. You may need to use quite a few (depending how dirty your sofa is) but they work a treat. They dont dry the fabric out as most baby wipes have a hint of moisturiser in nowadays but once the sofa is clean you can buy a wax (in a tin like shoe polish) at the supermarket that feeds the leather and gives it back its softness and shine. My partner had a cream leather suite that had been abused for years - kids pen marks on it, never wiped clean, very dry etc and i did the baby wipes and leather wax treatment and it came up a treat!!! HTH.

I use "Lord Sheraton" wipes and spray to keep mine in tip top condition. Wipes dirt of easily and feeds the leather too. Mine is dark brown but you can easily see the dirt it removes as the wipes are white to start and grubby mud colour to finish!!
Aileen

I am with Freds mum, although one of the people I spoke to who repair leather siad that just a damp cloth with water is all you need and no point feeding it as it makes no difference

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">no point feeding it as it makes no difference

hmm, thats intersting to know as I thought that over time the leather eventually dries out which makes some sofa's look duller and not in tip top condition.
Doesn't matter to us anymore though, we ditched the leather and went back to a fabric sofa - much warmer on your bits :-)

I thought that too but they said unless u were dealing with the old type chesterfield really thick leathers it was so thin it wasn't really possible to make any difference. I must say I am not sure if I would have leather again I don't find it has worn that well and the dogs arnt allowed on the sofa either.

The thin leather that most of the cheaper (and no i know they are NOT cheap, but their price doesn't actually reflect the materials they are made from) sofas are made from, the colour is sprayed onto the leather and sits on top of it.

Therefore, putting stuff on it that won't penetrate the finish will do nothing to keep it soft and supple - keeping your house sufficiently humid will do that, too hot and dry and it will dry out and crack up.

If you did put things that penetrated the finish you would find the finish would eventually start to flake off and lift.

The old style chesterfield sofas were stained/dyed rather than painted on, which is why with age they just darkened and you could keep the leather soft and supple with various products.

my cream leather suit has a finish that does not absorb anything, tried feeding it once and the wax just sat on the top and formed a sticky layer. the good side of this is cleaning is very easy. I get a bucket of water and some bio washing liquid and wipe ir down being careful not to get it too wet.then wipe it again with clean water and dry with a towel. All the mud etc comes off and it comes up like new. It was bought in a sale for £499 and is now 8 years old and still looks good even with the dogs climbing all over it daily.

You could check if the finish on your sofa is absorbent and if not try washing it.

Thank you theemix that's basically what he said I just couldn't remember the details.

I use baby wipes too! Brilliant.  I find it's the stain off of denim jeans that make the most staining on cream leather, not so much the dogs.  Drove me crazy so I switched to brown leather last time and I love it.  Not so messy looking all the time.

Yes, the majority of the staining on the cream sofa my partner had was through wearing jeans on it. also, the studs from jeans had made some marks.

> the majority of the staining on the cream sofa my partner had was through wearing jeans on it. also, the studs from jeans had made some marks

OH and I always sit on a throw as we both wear jeans - protects the sofa/armchair from wear and dirt - and easily removed when visitors come (the throw, that is - not the jeans) :)

My Aunty (Think Hyachinth Bouquet and you are n the right lines) makes her husband take off his jeans if he wants to sit on the sofa - otherwise he has to lay on the floor :-)

> makes her husband take off his jeans if he wants to sit on the sofa - otherwise he has to lay on the floor 

LOL :) If you saw the state of my OH's jeans some days, sitting on the floor would be a good idea :) :) I couldn't face seeing his knobbly knees tho' :) :)