What to do about potential fading/drying

Have a 9 year old HM city sofa set. bought it over 2 years ago and though we didn't buy a cleaning/conditioning kit, i have wiped it down with mild bar soap and water every 6-8 months since. just now i noticed one section of one cushion seems "dry" and has a sort of rough texture to it just in one area. looking closer, it looks dry and has a lot of small cracks. is there something I did or didn't do to cause this and is there any way to prevent or slow this problem? I don't mind buying a conditioning kit from the now approved leather solutions but want to be sure that is the answer before buying. The couch does have a fair amount of fade, mostly from the PO's. Any advice? I assumed i was taking care of these pieces correctly at minimum with the soap/water regimen...

Just to clarify, I think "rough" texture may be a misnomer. "Slightly *****ly" might be a better description. Point is, it isn't smooth like the rest of the surfaces. the "drying" if that is what it is, is pretty subtle as well. It was only noticed after noticing the texture then looking closer

P r I c k ly

Sound to me that the hide is drying out and likely that cannot be corrected by application of cleaning/conditioning product. What I would suggest you do is contact Leather Solutions in North Carolina and arrange to send the casings to them for restoration. This requires a pro to repair. Box them up and ship UPS insured for $ 250 a casing. Send all three (or six) so they will color tone match as they will have to be refinished. Best to do it when you go on summer vacation, etc. as it will probably take about 2 weeks to turn them around. Good luck

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Sound to me that the hide is drying out and likely that cannot be corrected by application of cleaning/conditioning product. What I would suggest you do is contact Leather Solutions in North Carolina and arrange to send the casings to them for restoration. This requires a pro to repair. Box them up and ship UPS insured for $ 250 a casing. Send all three (or six) so they will color tone match as they will have to be refinished. Best to do it when you go on summer vacation, etc. as it will probably take about 2 weeks to turn them around. Good luck

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What would have caused this? I thought if I cleaned it twice a year this wouldn't happen. once they are color toned matched it won't match the rest of the furniture correct?

Soap and water is not enough. You need the softener and protectant. Please read though this thread.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...oning-Protocol

Correct. The only way to match colors is do the entire piece, but that's a lot more involved than just mailing in casings. If you want to have the entire piece restored then contact a leather restoration person local to your area.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Soap and water is not enough. You need the softener and protectant. Please read though this thread.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...oning-Protocol

Correct. The only way to match colors is do the entire piece, but that's a lot more involved than just mailing in casings. If you want to have the entire piece restored then contact a leather restoration person local to your area.

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I thought soap and water was "enough" according to posts from you a few years ago
http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions...uestion-please
http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions...n-that-leather

i understand that technology of the contruction might have improved in a few years, but how can leather care recommendations change so drastically? If you have a reliner from the 1980's that is still in good shape, how has that been maintained with just soap and water?

sorry if this post seems hostile, but i bought this sofa on your recommendation and from what you have said until recently, soap and water will work fine and the other products just maintain "luster." sort of confused by your contradictory posts.

are you saying it dried out becuase i didn't use a softener conditioning kit? why aren't these sold with the peices if they are so crucial?

Garden Web posts were over 7 years ago - I'm smarter now and have gone deeper into the subject matter. One of the things I do is to try to constantly learn more and as I do a I post it here. As you will read in the maintenance thread, manufacturers stay with soap/water due to warranty concerns. People who specialize on leather care will tell you that not only is cleaning important, but softening and the protectant. That is the evolution of care, and this comes from the source that H&M recommended I contact and carry their products.

I am making my best guess provided on the information provided but it requires a visual, hands-on inspection to determine exactly what is going on with it. It may not be cleaning/conditioning issue at all, it could be normal friction wear as well.

I recommend to every one of my customers to purchase a care kit at time of sale. Additionally you will read about that all over the forum here as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Garden Web posts were over 7 years ago - I'm smarter now and have gone deeper into the subject matter. One of the things I do is to try to constantly learn more and as I do a I post it here. As you will read in the maintenance thread, manufacturers stay with soap/water due to warranty concerns. People who specialize on leather care will tell you that not only is cleaning important, but softening and the protectant. That is the evolution of care, and this comes from the source that H&M recommended I contact and carry their products.

I am making my best guess provided on the information provided but it requires a visual, hands-on inspection to determine exactly what is going on with it. It may not be cleaning/conditioning issue at all, it could be normal friction wear as well.

I recommend to every one of my customers to purchase a care kit at time of sale. Additionally you will read about that all over the forum here as well.

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My apologies for losing my temper a bit, I am just feeling frustrated by this as I thought these higher end forms of leather would last much much longer than fabric or bicast based furniture but feels as though I was duped into beleiving that. I understand you are improving your knowledge as time goes on and that is great, I just figured that things have not changed that much over the years. If it is a friction problem, can that be countered by anything? I do not feel as though I am being rough on it.

is this the company that makes the conditioning/cleaning producsts recommended by HM?
http://leathersi.3dcartstores.com/

If so, I will just buy a kit direct from them and try it to see if it helps at all. Like I said this "drying" is not extreme it is fairly subtle but I want to be proactive to make sure I am taking care of it.

Yes, that is the correct company. Really you should at the very least get some high quality photos of the area in good sunlight and send them to Leather Solutions once you speak with them on the phone. Good luck