Taking care of your recliner chair

Here are some quick tips on how to take care of your recliner, whether it be a leather recliner of a fabric upholstered  one. 

How to maintain recliners with soft covers

Vacuuming

To vacuum your recliner use a soft brush end of your vacuum cleaner. 

Cleaning

Before trying to remove stains, read the manufacturer’s care instructions to see if you can use a damp cloth or detergent. You can use water with soap and a damp (but not soaking-wet) cloth to clean stains. Or if you don’t want to do it yourself or you want to make sure you won’t cause damage to your recliner, 

you can find a good local cleaning company. 

Wooden areas care

For wooden parts of your recliner it’s better not to use spray polish as you can damage the upholstered parts which are near. To do it safely, spray the furniture polish first on a cloth holding it in your hand far from the recliner fabric and then apply to the wood by cloth. If you need to remove grease stains from the wood, you can use water with soap and a cloth.

Smoothing out upholstery

In a recliner the upholstery is attached slightly looser than in other types of furniture, to add more softness to the sitting area. Because of this, upholstery may look baggy or wrinkled and horizontal seams get misaligned. Looking after your recliner, smooth out the baggy parts  and re-align the seams by hand after use. 

How to avoiding pile crushing

A loss of fabric thickness (called pile crushing) is a normal sign of usage when it’s put under pressure. To minimise the pile crushing, brush and steam the fabric in places showing signs of wear.

Armrest covers

You can protect the areas which get worn out quickly with special cups and covers. You can also use armrest covers and protect other areas if you have pets which may damage the upholstery with claws.

How do you maintain a leather recliner?

Looking after a leather upholster recliner

Vacuuming

Use a soft brush end for vacuuming not to leave scratches on the surface. 

Cleaning

To clean your leather upholstery use a slightly damp cloth (but never too wet) and dry it with a soft dry cloth immediately after to avoid the leather absorbing the moisture. You can use water with soap for it or special leather cleaning products. 

Protect from moisture

Avoid spillage or moisture from your body or personal care products (deodorant, hair products etc) on your recliner’s leather. If it happens, wipe the substance off before it settles into the leather. 

Using a leather cream

To maintain the leather elasticity and natural sheen, you can use a leather cream after cleaning. Apply only a very thin layer of the cream and don’t use too much pressure doing it. Note, that applying a leather cream may change the original colour of the leather. 

Sunlight and heat

It’s better not to place your leather recliner in direct sunlight or next to a radiator, as it will dry out the leather and change the colour more quickly. 

Sharp objects on leather

Similarly to the above mentioned upholstered care tips, keep an eye on what damage your pets may cause to your leather recliner and protect the areas which they may scratch. Apart from that, any metal parts of your clothing such as buckles, zips and buttons or other hard objects such as belts may leave scratches on the leather, so take it into consideration if you want your recliner to look great for a long time.

These are the basics of looking after your upholstered and leather recliner chairs.