How do you care for a modern leather, fabric, or textile living room set?

Sometimes it's hard to know how to care for a leather, fabric or modern textile living room. Don't worry, Mobilier de France has all the advice you need to care for your furniture in the best possible conditions. Regular cleaning will preserve the shine and suppleness of this natural material.

Leather living rooms are all the rage, because leather is a star material in the world of interior design. A leather lounge is highly resistant, develops a patina over time and adds character to the room. But even if a leather sofa or other seating of this type offers resistance to time, wear and aggression, to preserve its qualities for a long time, here are the right reflexes to adopt:

- To restore a leather living room to its former glory, you first need to dust it with a cloth or the soft brush of your vacuum cleaner to prevent dust from settling on its surface. Then clean your leather seats and sofa with a sponge slightly dampened with soapy water, using circular movements. Glycerine soap and Marseille soap are recommended. Do not rinse, but pat dry with a cloth.
- If you've stained the sofa in your leather living room, you can still repair the damage. Before doing so, it's best to ask your Mobilier de France store for advice on a non-aggressive cleaning lotion. Always test the lotion on an inconspicuous area before applying it.
- Leather needs to be moisturized to maintain its shine and suppleness. Use a special leather moisturizer applied with a soft cloth. After a scratch, it is possible to recover a color and fix it durably on the surface: your store will recommend a specialist to carry out this type of intervention.

As you can see, just because leather is a tough, hard-wearing material doesn't mean it doesn't need regular care and cleaning. For sofas and armchairs of this type, cleaning and care should be carried out once a month for lighter shades, and once every two months for darker leathers. This is more than enough to guarantee the suppleness and beauty of the material for years to come.

A living room with fabric furniture is more fragile than a leather one. As a result, sofas, seats and armchairs are at greater risk of wear and tear. Fabric sofas and armchairs should be dusted twice a month, and thoroughly cleaned once or twice a year.

To remove dust that has accumulated on the seats, avoid using a cloth, so as not to leave dirty streaks behind. Instead, use a vacuum cleaner, which is sure to get rid of the dust that has built up on your furniture over time.

Before you start cleaning, be sure to properly protect your decorative items. Some fabrics and prints may bleed color. To prevent this, start by cleaning with a well-wrung-out sponge, and always begin in an inconspicuous area. The same applies if you’re using stain-removing cleaning products—test them on the back of a cushion or the seat first. And if you have a sectional sofa, make sure you have plenty of cloths and patience! 

However, stop immediately if you notice the colors bleeding, the fabric shrinking, or pilling! Switch to dry cleaning if your sofa has removable covers, or entrust the task to someone with more experience—such as a professional cleaner.

The final risk to consider when cleaning a fabric sofa is the risk of ring marks. To prevent them from appearing, there’s really only one solution: you must first clean the stain, then move on to the entire seat. And you should do this even if your furniture has only one stain, since this is the only way to ensure an even result.

Widely used in the furniture industry, microfibers are characterized by their resistance and wide variety. Depending on their composition and thickness, some are as soft to the touch as velvet, while others have a nubuck or vintage look:

- To care for a microfiber sofa or armchair, it should be vacuumed to avoid streaks and stains. Then protect living-room decorations, upholstery and furniture legs before using a sponge soaked in cleaner. Remember, of course, to check that the sofa upholstery is able to withstand the action of stain removers.
- On a microfiber surface, acting immediately after staining the fabric is ideal for limiting damage. In this case, a damp cloth may be all that's needed to remove the stain, especially if the seat has been treated against stains. Avoid rubbing a liquid stain directly, preferring to absorb it with a paper towel or soft cloth. Prefer cold or lukewarm water, as hot water tends to bind stains to the fabric.

Several products such as ammonia, soda crystals or white vinegar can be used to clean modern textiles. But it's important to choose the right dosage to avoid damaging the fabric. It's best to buy a suitable cleaning product from your Mobilier de France store.