Use a Hair Dryer to Smooth Out Wrinkled Leather Furniture
In addition to visible signs of wear and tear, frequently used pieces of leather furniture, such as your living room sofa or office chair, can begin to wrinkle over time. Known as “comfort wrinkles,” they can range from slight ripples to larger creases and are probably not the look you were going for when you decided to buy leather furniture.
Luckily, you can restore your pillows’ smooth appearance with the help of a hair dryer. Here’s what you need to know.
Why does leather furniture wrinkle?
When shopping for a leather chair or sofa, you may notice that some are firmer and have smooth, tight-looking leather, while others are softer and have looser leather that is not as tight. Furniture made from more forgiving leather with little give tends to be much more comfortable to sit on and is prone to wrinkles . Also, like human skin, leather naturally wrinkles over time.
How to remove wrinkles and folds from leather furniture
While skin wrinkles are completely normal (and there’s nothing wrong with leaving them alone), if you’d prefer a smoother seat, here’s what to do :
- Dampen a clean rag with a mixture of mild dish soap and warm water (or a special leather cleaner) and wipe the wrinkled parts of the sofa or chair.
- Dampen a second clean cloth with clean, warm water and thoroughly rinse the cleaned areas, then dry with a clean cloth or towel.
- Turn on the hair dryer and set it to maximum power.
- Point the hairdryer at one of the wrinkled areas about eight to ten inches away from the skin, constantly moving it over the area so that it never blows directly on one spot for more than a few seconds.
- Continue blow-drying the area until the heat begins to smooth out the wrinkles. This may take a few minutes per section.
When you are happy with the smoothness, turn off the hair dryer. And as long as the furniture is clean and well-sealed, you can complete its transformation by conditioning the leather .