15 ways to clean white eco-leather
Eco-leather is used for car covers, furniture coverings, jackets, skirts, pants. Products made of artificial fabric look elegant, sofas and armchairs made of exclusive material that resembles natural leather, decorate the interior of apartments and offices, add sophistication and comfort to the room. In order for the upholstery made of synthetic fabric to please with a luxurious appearance, to be able to serve for a long time, you need to know how to care for it, than to clean white eco-leather if stains and stains appear on the coating.
The main pollutions and their causes
When buying a light skirt or dress, buying a sofa or an armchair made of artificial material covered with a polyurethane layer, it should be remembered that white goods will have to be cleaned often.Leatherette allows air to pass through well, but gets dirty quickly, a plaque forms on it or yellowing appears, stains remain:
- from watercolors and oil paint;
- gouache and felt;
- modeling clay and pens;
- food and gum.
Dust accumulates on the surface of eco-leather, leaving traces of pets' paws. The fabric can be cleaned normally, but you must choose the right product.
What harms artificial skin
The natural material from which shoes, clothing and furniture upholstery are made is durable, elastic, but expensive, and animals are exterminated for production. The basis of eco-leather is a cotton fabric, on which polyurethane is applied.
Artificial material does not cause allergies, is not afraid of ultraviolet rays, is durable and wear-resistant, does not harden in cold weather.
high humidity
Eco-leather does not let water inside. The machine is not suitable for washing products made of two-layer material, dirt on them is not washed off with water. High humidity will negatively affect the fabric.
Heat
Eco-leather transmits heat well, products made from it do not fade in the sun, but they overheat a lot, it is not recommended to wash them in hot soapy water.
Steam generator cleaning
Synthetic fabric with a PVC coating does not have inferior technical characteristics to leather, looks like a natural material, but with improper care it loses its appeal. Do not clean the products with a steam generator.
abrasives
If you wipe the eco-leather with a hard brush or pumice stone, scratches, microcracks, small cuts appear on the surface.The fabric is damaged when cleaning with abrasive materials, does not tolerate chlorine.
Rules of daily care
Upholstery, light eco-leather clothing retains its attractiveness, does not wear out for a long time, if the products are regularly and properly maintained:
- Remove dust with a damp cloth.
- Wipe away dirt with coarse calico, microfiber, and flannel towels.
- Apply a waterproof product every 6 months.
- Polish to restore shine to creams intended for natural leathers.
When spot cleaning, do not apply pressure to the surface of the car cover or upholstery. A sofa or chair made of two-layer material should be installed away from batteries, make sure that direct sunlight does not fall on objects.
How to wash properly
White eco-leather gets dirty quickly, products made from it can be washed, but at the same time you can not make sudden movements, rub, apply force. It is necessary to remove stains from objects made of artificial material immediately after they appear, using a soft sponge or foam rubber.
Soap solution
Eco-leather is cleaned in different ways, household products are removed, but formulations containing chemicals in the base are not used, as they can react and damage the material. To wash white artificial leather, you need to soak a sponge in a liquid and then apply the product.
To remove grease stains from upholstered furniture, strollers or skirts:
- The bucket is filled with water.
- Add chopped laundry soap, beat it into a foam.
- In the prepared composition, foam rubber is moistened, applied to the contaminated area.
The eco-leather is wiped with the soft side of the sponge.After removing traces of grease, the material is dried with a cloth cloth.
Ammonia and dishwashing detergent
It is not always possible to remove old stains from the white upholstery of furniture, light-colored clothes with the help of liquid soap and detergent. The contaminated surface is moistened with a solution of a glass of water and a spoonful of ammonia, rinsed and washed with Fairy dish gel, smeared with glycerin.
shaving cream
Artificial leather does not tolerate moisture well. To clean a sofa, armchair or car seat with this material:
- The product is carefully sucked up.
- Shake the can of shaving foam and spray on the surface.
- The composition is rubbed with a sponge into the soiled rag.
- After a quarter of an hour, the remains of the product are removed with a brush.
Light furniture after such cleaning gets less dirty, looks well-groomed and refreshed. It is better to wipe eco-leather not with expensive foam, but with cheap foam.
Wet wipes
A sofa covered with a two-layer material should try to get less wet, because it absorbs moisture and streaks form on the surface of the upholstery.
When dirt appears, it is advisable to wipe eco-leather products with a damp cloth moistened with a special moisture-resistant composition.
Cleaning tips for special occasions
You can accidentally spill coffee or tea on clothes or upholstery, stain artificial leather with berries, paint, blood. Various methods are used to remove fruit stains, remove food residue and peel gum.
Pen and felt-tip marks
When a family has young children, paste drawings and markers appear on the white upholstery of the couch or couch. To eliminate these "pictures", fine salt is added to the soapy solution, the composition is applied for several hours and rinsed with clean water.
Remover
If in this way it is not possible to remove the traces of the pen, it is necessary to use alcohol, clean the felt with turpentine. Acetone-free nail polish remover helps deal with paste. The solvent has a negative effect on the structure of eco-leather, it is used when other means have not given a positive result.
hair polish
It is necessary to clean products from ink and paste using gentle methods, but if they turn out to be ineffective, aggressive liquids are used. To remove fresh marks, lacquer is sprayed on the surface of artificial leather. After a few minutes, it is removed with a towel with a felt pad and gel.
Leather polish and solvent for polyurethane glue
Soda, ethyl alcohol, citric acid wash away ink stains and traces of markers; ballpoint pen paste contains wax that cannot be cleaned off with such means.
A leather conditioner or polish is applied to the surface of the sofa upholstery, after 5 or 10 minutes the contaminated area is wiped with a solvent for polyurethane glue.
drink stains
Tea or coffee spilled on eco-leather should be immediately wiped off with a dry cloth, paper towel or sprinkled with salt, which is collected as it absorbs the liquid. Traces of compote or soda are rubbed:
- citric acid;
- hydrogen peroxide;
- diluted vinegar.
After cleaning stains from tea, beer or lemonade, the artificial leather is treated with a soapy solution.Dry the surface of the material with a cloth or towel.
Food contamination
Food residues, greasy deposits, traces of chocolate, honey on products and eco-leather coverings are removed with laundry soap, dishwashing liquid.
Berry stains, herbs
Light-colored clothes made of artificial material can be easily covered with strawberries or currants, green plants. You can also get rid of these contaminants. Berry traces are washed off with citric acid or citrus juice and bleached with hydrogen peroxide.
Blood
Upholstery of eco-leather furniture, skirts and dresses, car covers should not be soaked, stains are washed off with laundry soap, but old traces of blood are cleaned with a cotton swab soaked in ammonia. Fresh dirt is washed off with cold water.
Nail polish or paint
Eco-leather clothes, smeared with bright green, should not be thrown away. You can get rid of these stains, return the product to its original appearance. Wipe off the antiseptic and acrylic paint with a liquid that closes the nail polish. The work must be done carefully so as not to damage the structure of the material.
chewing gum and modeling clay
They hide dirt on light eco-leather furniture by wiping it with milk mixed with raw protein. Toothpaste is applied to the stained area, kept for a quarter of an hour and removed with a napkin. To remove adherent gum, clean the surface of the plasticine, wipe the material with a cotton swab, dipping it in alcohol.
Gouache and watercolor
Children paint the upholstery of an eco-leather sofa not only with markers and a ballpoint pen, but also with water-soluble paints.To remove a drawing of watercolors, traces of gouache, a melamine sponge is dipped in liquid soap and problem areas are wiped.
Oil painting
Fresh stains on light-colored artificial leather can be wiped off with a paper towel, then, by combining a liter of water with 30 ml of dishwashing gel, remove the remaining dirt. Dried oil paint is wiped off with a sponge soaked in turpentine.
Stain removal rules
Any product that will be used to clean covers, upholstery, eco-leather clothing should first be tested on a less visible area. To make the products of the material look neat, maintain an attractive appearance:
- Do not clean old stains with abrasives.
- Wipe off traces of paint, paste, marker, starting from the end and ending in the center.
- Cotton pads and sticks should be constantly replaced so as not to stain the surface.
White artificial leather is treated with a conditioner, which creates a film that protects the product from sedimentation of dust, prevents the absorption of fats and pigments.
How to take care
Caring for a synthetic material with a polyurethane coating has its own characteristics. Eco-leather garments do not get stiff, crack, padding retains its shape if you wash things by hand and not in the machine.
Products cannot be cleaned with compounds containing aggressive acids, sodium chloride.
Dust deposited on the surface of artificial leather should be cleaned regularly with a damp cloth, do not soak the two-layer material in water.Rub stains not with a brush, but with a foam or melamine sponge. It is not recommended to dry synthetic leather clothes in the sun, with hot air from a hair dryer, place sofas near them batteries, electrical appliances.
Light-colored material turns yellow over time, restores the tint of citric acid, a mixture of milk with egg white, hydrogen peroxide. To avoid pollution, the deposit of dust, soften the eco-leather, after each cleaning, the surface is treated with a silicone-based conditioner, which forms a protective film.