General Furniture & Upholstery Care Tips

Lift and place items instead of sliding across furniture surfaces.

Rotate accessories on your furniture periodically.

Avoid prolonged use of plastic and rubber items on your furniture.

Dust your furniture regularly and polish every 4-6 months.

Keep furniture out of direct sunlight.

Tablecloths, runners and table mats provide the most protection during regular and heavy use of a dining table.

Placemats will help to protect the finish from dishes and cutlery.

Coasters help to protect your furniture from moisture.

Always use a protective pad when writing with a ballpoint pen on the furniture surface.

Placing your furniture away from windows or blocking direct sunlight will help to protect your furniture from the damaging UV rays. Tinting your windows is another option and is sometimes even recommended to help protect quality furniture pieces from UV damage.

If placing lit candles on your quality furniture piece, always ensure that a candle stand or tray is placed underneath the candle to collect any melted wax that may drip or run down the candle. Never place burning candles on a finished wood surface. As the candle burns down and the wax melts, it can generate and transfer enough heat to damage the finish and wooden surface.

Hot pads should always be used when placing warm serving dishes on a tabletop. Very hot items such as a sauce pan or baking dish should never be placed on a tabletop, even with a hot pad.

Felt protects your tabletops from scratches when used on the bottom of lamps, vases and other accessories. Always lift items from a tabletop, avoid sliding items across a table top as this can scratch the finish and in extreme cases, the wood surface beneath it.

Sharp objects such as cutlery or pens can score the surface of your furniture, as well as tableware items being dragged across it.

Tablecloths and table pads provide the most protection from UV (ultra-violet) light, which causes the finish to fade and deteriorate and may even bleach the wood.

Avoid using household solvent-based products on an unprotected finished surface. In case of spills, blot the spill immediately, do not wipe as this will spread the spill and may cause further damage. If the surface has not been damaged, clean and polish the tabletop. If the finish has been damaged, call a professional for an evaluation. You’ll find them listed in the Yellow pages and they will usually give free estimates.

Avoid placing furniture in front of or under windows

Place furniture away from heating and air conditioning vents.

Blot up spills immediately.

Use tablecloths, coasters and placemats to protect furniture during use.

To maintain the look and feel of your sofas and armchairs treat your upholstery like clothes and clean them regularly; even if you can't see the dirt, they get as dusty as your non textile furniture pieces.

Brush gently or use upholstery vacuum attachments to remove dust, looking out for delicate fringes or braids

Always cut off any snags, tucking them back in, don’t pull them

Arm covers can help to reduce wear in this delicate area. Swap cushions around and plump them up regularly

Avoid sitting on the edge of seat cushions, as they can get distorted or damaged

Wipe wood or decorative facings with a damp cloth to remove dust.

Remove stains carefully with a suitable upholstery cleaning solution.

Always follow the manufacturer’s cleaning and care instructions

Thoroughly clean all upholstery at least once a year to prevent ingrained dirt, or get it cleaned professionally

Clean all upholstery at the same time to prevent irregular fading

Avoid stretching zips when removing and replacing covers

Get the best fit; put the covers back on when they're just slightly damp and never when wet

Put the covers back on in the right order: arms, seat area, back and valance

Allow the covers to settle on the furniture for 1 to 2 days. If they need ironing, do this once they've been fitted and use a damp cloth

Never use wet wipes, use special leather wipes or a damp cloth to clean leather furniture every other week

Clean at least three times a year using special leather cleaning products

Each type of leather reacts differently to cleaning, so be sure to test your cleaning product on a small ‘hidden’ area prior to use. Keep a careful eye on colour appearing on the sponge and the leather underneath it, whilst cleaning. Always follow the cleaning product manufacturer’s guidelines. Remember that a few gentle cleans will give better results than a heavy spot clean.

Do not take cleaning shortcuts. Never use kitchen or workshop products as these can cause severe damage to your leather furniture that may be impossible to repair. If a stain is serious, contact leather care professionals who can do it for you.