Now that summer is just about upon us, it’s time to really think about protecting the inside of your house. As the sun gets higher and hotter, it’s going to take a more serious toll on various items throughout your house.
One of those items, or many of them, in fact, is your furniture. You may have a leather couch, a leather loveseat or recliner, but it also applies to natural wood finished furniture and much more. The sun’s ultraviolet radiation has the power to heat up, dry out, and cause cracking, deterioration of the color, and degradation of the wood for various surfaces.
There are steps you can take to protect your leather furniture this summer.
First, keep it moist.
One of the most important things to do is keep your furniture moist. If you have leather, that is rawhide. As a former living creature, it needs moisture to keep it from cracking and degrading.
You can use a basic moisturizer, such as water in a mist or saddle soap. If your leather furniture is exposed to direct sunlight for numerous hours in the day, try to keep it as protected as possible, either by using curtains, blinds, shutters, or other drapery. If you have the opportunity to move things around, do so.
Keep it clean.
Any dust or other particulates that accumulate on leather and other surfaces can cause degradation of the quality of the material. Clean it regularly and, at least once a year, have a professional carpet cleaning service come into your home to not just clean your carpets, but also the leather furniture and other items that need protection on a regular basis.
Finally, consider a film coating on your windows.
You can buy aftermarket film coatings that can reduce the amount of the sun’s ultraviolet rays that penetrate into your house or, if you are considering new replacement windows, you can also have that applied during manufacture. This is just one more way to help protect your leather and other furniture items inside your home.
