Distinctive Chesterfields’ Spring Cleaning Life Hacks

As part of ‘Spring Cleaning Month’ here on the Distinctive Chesterfields site, we’ve had a good look at which rooms of the house we prefer to put our time and effort into cleaning. And because we thought you’d be interested in hearing more, we compiled a survey.

The results? We found that the living room is the place we’d prefer to spend time and to help you on your way to a sparkly clean space, we’ve shared a few hacks to keep your leather sofa clean and in good condition.

Every home needs a big clean at least once a year and, historically, spring was the time for this as days get longer and warmer.

This was a chance to clear out all the dust and dirt accumulated over the dark and dingy winter months. March and April are renowned as being spring cleaning months, even though it’s not quite as necessary to confine your yearly ‘sort out’ to those months.

A survey of 1002 people, carried out by the team here at Distinctive Chesterfields, looks into the cleaning habits in the UK, asking people: “Which room of the house do you hate to clean the most?”

Our survey revealed that most people prefer to spend time and effort cleaning the living room, as this is the room in the house that guests and visitors will see the most. Despite the bathroom being the second most visited room, the survey showed this was the most hated to clean. The full results were as follows:

Bathroom: 41%
Kitchen: 24%
Garage: 16%
Bedroom: 11%
Living Room: 6%

Cleaning Hacks

Leather sofas are a popular item in living rooms across the UK, as they both look stylish, and are comfortable and practical for busy family homes. As a handmade furniture manufacturer specialising in high quality leather furniture, Distinctive Chesterfields have pulled together a few specialised tips on how to keep a leather sofa clean and stain-free.

You can of course use a proper leather cleaner, but as these can be expensive, there are other options using items you’ll probably already have around the house.

• Always start by vacuuming the sofa down using the soft brush attachment – dust particles are abrasive so can damage the leather.
• Use a mixture of white vinegar and warm water with a soft (preferably microfibre) cloth.
• Dry afterwards with a clean towel

You can keep some leathers in tip top condition to prevent cracking using:

• A mixture of 1 part white vinegar with 2 parts linseed or flax seed oil – apply this with broad circular motions and leave overnight
• Buff the leather with a clean rag the next day to restore shine

Please note: only try this on some leathers and do check with the team here before going ahead, just in case.

But what if you’ve already got the dreaded stains on your expensive leather? Here are a few hacks to sort any stain out:

• To remove dark coloured stains on light leather, mix lemon juice and cream of tartar – leave it on for 10 minutes before wiping off
• For grease stains, sprinkle on baking soda then dust off a couple of hours later.
• Use baby soap and warm water for other stains, but blot these – don’t wipe

Again, always be cautious about which kind of leather you use this on; check with our team here first if you’re not too sure.

We also invited bloggers to share their top spring cleaning tips and hacks on Twitter to make life easier for those of us who dislike cleaning:

Maria at Suburban Mum:

“I try and wipe surfaces down as I go about my daily business so when it comes to actual cleaning day there’s not loads to do!”

V at Dancing In My Wellies:

“Bicarb is my answer for lots of things where cleaning is concerned!”

Cat at Rock and Roll Pussycat:

“Baby wipes have become my cleaning essential.”

Lucy from The Parent Game:

“My best tip is WD40 for carpet stains!”

Caroline from No More Frizzy Hair Days:

“Hot water and lemon juice, or just neat lemon juice to remove coffee stained mugs. If all fails bleach and hot water.”

Do you have any top tips for cleaning? Maybe you’ve tried something on your leather sofa that works? If so, get in touch with us and let us know, or simply comment on this blog below to let others know.