Practical Guide for Leather Upholstery

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READ
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ASIDE
Practical Guide for
Leather Upholstery
With Customer Service Postcard
Dear Customer,
Congratulations on your purchase of new furniture.
Leather as a covering material for your upholstered furniture is always a good
choice. Leather is a natural and wonderful material, plus it is – almost always
– easy to care for and durable.
Both because of the quality of the materials used as well as the care we take
in the manufacturing process, we are sure that you will be satisfied with your
choice for a long time.
Should you, however, still find fault with our products, this practical guide is
meant to help you deal with the source of your complaint quickly and without too
much trouble on your part to your complete satisfaction.
In addition, in this guide you will find descriptions of specific features of upholstered furniture, which may at first seem to be a reason to find fault with the
product, but upon closer inspection may not be a fault in the product after all,
since it may simply have to do with the design or the type of materials used. This
is also referred to as product typical or model and application related features.
(See also pages 7 through 9).
Please do take a quiet moment to read our guide in order to get to know your
sofa suite a little better and to find tips on enjoying the use of your furniture for
many years to come.
If you have any questions or problems, feel free to call us or browse our website
online for some answers to your questions. In any event, we hope you will enjoy
your new upholstery.
2
PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR LEATHER UPHOLSTRY
In order for you to always be satisfied with your new upholstered furniture in your daily
use of it, we would like to take the opportunity to use the following pages to provide you
with information on the special characteristics of upholstered furniture.
In addition, we will provide you with some information on different leather types used for
upholstery and their characteristics as well as some tips on how to care for the specific
leather type you have chosen.
Please have your sales advisor mark the upholstery type you
selected.
You purchase:
■
1
Nappa leather, untreated
■
2
Nappa leather, untreated with additional waterproofing
protection
■
3
Nappa leather, slightly pigmented
■
4
Nappa leather, pigmented with stronger overlay
■
5
Suede or nubuck leather
What you should know in general about upholstered furniture:
When judging the quality of upholstered furniture, a differentiation is made – irrespective
of the materials that were used – between three different properties:
A) Properties dependent on the model type
Understood in this regard is the overall appearance of a sofa set. This may refer, for
example, to the casual design or the construction-based differences in the firmness of
the seats.
B) Merchandise typical properties
Merchandise typical properties describe the specific features of the individual materials used to produce a sofa set, for example the natural characteristics of a specific
leather skin or how colours might fade when exposed to direct sunlight.
C) Usage properties
This term describes the way an upholstered piece of furniture changes with use.
Usage properties do not allow any conclusion as to the selected quality or manufacturing of a piece of furniture.
3
UPHOLSTERY STRUCTURE
In modern, industrial upholstery furniture manufacturing, a difference is
made between two upholstery types: The loose upholstery cushioning
and the firm upholstery padding.
1. The loose upholstery
cushioning
This upholstery type can be
recognized by its soft and
cosy nature. With this type
of upholstery, the covering is
not connected tightly with the
padding throughout, which
gives it the appearance of a
wavy surface. The resulting
creases on the seat, the back
and the armrests are not a
quality defect. Among experts, reference is made to a deliberate crease development due to the model design. Generally speaking, a loose-fit design is at hand when the covers show crimps or waviness
either on the back, the seats or the front end of the seat cushion, on the armrests, at the skirt
or at the clamping section.
You should expect leather to expand with use and the cover will in this
way maintain its typical appearance. This change, however, in no way minimizes
the furniture‘s service life in the least. Evenly smoothing the creases out – from left / right
– on the seats prevents wrinkle creases from being formed if the seat is used on one side
only.
As a guideline value for how many additional creases are permissible, normally the following estimate can be used: On a normal seating width, when smoothing
out the cover towards the centre, the crease that is created should not be any higher than
2 cm. For larger sized furniture pieces (such as, for example, a two-seater of approx. 100
cm width), this crease may be somewhat higher accordingly, namely around 4 cm. Irrespective of these values, creases formed in the upholstery for design reasons may of course
exceed these dimensions. Principally, however, it can be said that as long as creases developed during normal use that can be smoothed out evenly, this can be considered normal.
4
2. Firm upholstery padding
For this type of upholstery, the cover is pulled tightly over the padding and connected.
This prevents that while the furniture is used, not too many creases are created. In most
cases, the creases that were formed while seated become taut again.
However, even in this case it cannot be precluded that with a continued length of use
– even if only slightly – creases will not develop. This should not be attributed to loss of resiliency in the cushioning, but rather it has to do with the stretching of the cover material.
A typical identifying feature of this type of upholstered furniture is its
straight-lined appearance.
The seat‘s comfort
level differs from other
types upholstered
furniture pieces in the
fact that you do not
sink very deeply into
the cushion, but instead you have a firm
seating position on the
padded seat.
Attention! Even in
this case, nothing can
prevent the seat‘s firmness from softening
– depending on length
of use and body weight.
Upholstery Covering with Padding / Cushioning
In this regard we are referring to high-quality upholstery covering, which adjusts to the
body form at certain points. This is achieved with a mixture of loose foam
rods and feathers, which can shift as a whole based on the person and
can then adjust to the body weight. To prevent the fill from shifting, the pads /
cushions are stitched into individual cells. Depending on the cover type, the cells may become clearly visible on the surface.
Optically, slight cavity formations during use are in this case evidence of the personalised adjustment of the cushion to the body. Even in such cases, this is referred to as behaviour typical to the product. By slightly fluffing the cushions (as you would a pillow) the
original form can immediately be achieved.
5
Loose Back Cushions – Attached Back Cushions – Seat Cushion
Back Cushions:
For loose and
attached back cushions, which are
filled with feathers,
foam rods or cotton, it is inevitable
that these will need
to be fluffed up
after use to bring
them back to their
original form.
Seat Cushions: The word „loose“ means that the cushions can shift during use and
then need to again be placed back to their original position. The advantage of this type
of upholstery technology is that the cushions can in part be exchanged, which will in this
way allow them to be worn in equal measure.
Armrests, retractable or cushioned in firmly
The armrests of upholstered furniture serve two very important functions:
A) They serve to support a person‘s arms
B) They are important for the appearance / the design of the furniture
Depending on the design of the armrest, it is not suitable in its carrying capacity to hold
the weight of a grown person. This is why you should not sit on the armrest.
The carrying capacity of an armrest is typically designed to hold up to
40 kg. Beyond that, depending on its wear and on the model type, varying degrees of
damage can be caused with incorrect use.
6
THE CUSHIONING AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
A differentiation is made between two different types of seat firmness
in upholstered furniture:
1. Design related differences in seat firmness
2. Use related differences in seat firmness
1. Design related differences in seat firmness are the result of different construction types of the upholstered furniture. This means that the seating comfort of the individual elements of a sofa suite can vary depending on which construction design is chosen
for the spring base, for the padding and for the individual cushions.
A) Padding
B) Spring base
The cushion of the upper part of the seat‘s construction is, depending on the design, the
decisive factor for the firmness or the softness and cosiness of the seat.
The springs are the lowermost part of the seat‘s construction. Depending on the design
and how they are coordinated with the cushioning, the seat‘s firmness will result.
If an upholstered piece of furniture has various different geometric
forms, for design reasons, not every seat element will have the same
spring type built in.
Construction Related Seat Structure
(Differences in Seat Firmness)
Nosag
Rubber Belts
Spring Slats
7
The result of this could be that within the sofa suite there are differences in the seat firmness. This may apply especially to corner elements, interchangeable elements, ottomans
or attached elements. So, it is very possible that the elements listed above – despite equal
cushioning layers – are either softer or firmer than the other elements with a straight lined
build type. As springs, the following is used most frequently: Steel coil springs, elastic
belts, spring slats.
2. Use related differences in seat firmness
In this regard, upholstered furniture has undergone
a development throughout time, which is referred
to as spring deflection. In this case, the entire cushioning will change during its use depending on
your body weight and depending on the length of
use. This process can be most clearly observed if
you use the upholstered furniture during the first
few months only on one side. What is happening
fine padding
here is an entirely typical process, which takes
core padding
place for every cushion. Once the cushion has
spring base
gone through this process, it hardly goes through
any more changes. In order to achieve an equally
distributed firmness in the seating, it is important to change your seating position from
time to time. Such changes in the seat firmness are normal and do not warrant any type
of defect.
Solid Wood Frames / Visible Wood Frames
When solid wood is glued, optical variations in colour may result. For varnished woods
or wood left in its natural state, this may be noticeable by significant differences in the
colouring. Please keep in mind that wood is a naturally grown material and especially
for this reason it appears alive. Small knobs, which do not impact the life of the furniture,
may be processed into the frames.
8
FUNCTIONS OF UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE
Every piece of upholstered furniture, which serves a function (for example sleeper sofas
or bed sofas, recliners or TV sofas, couches with retractable arm rests and the like, have,
depending on their value, different types of hardware fittings that generally have complex adjusting mechanisms.
In order for each kind of mechanism, depending on the intensity of use and length of use,
to remain functional, it is very important that they are well cared for. What is particularly
important is the correct use of the individual fittings.
For example, for an interchangeable sleeper sofa with a pullout bed or for a recliner sofa
with a tilting function, the part in question should not be grasped, for example, only from
the right side or only from the left side and pulled out or tilted from that side.
By only handling the furniture from the one side, the hardware may be damaged or it
can be ripped out of its base – typically the border of the frame. In order to prevent this,
the extractable or tilting parts are best grasped from the centre or from the right and the
left side at the same time and handled in this way. At the same time, when it comes to a
recliner – no matter whether it has an electric or a manual function – the footrest or the
adjustable backrest should not be used as a seat.
This also applies to armrests of any kind – most particularly if they are adjustable or retractable (see also the section „Armrests“).
Should this not be observed when using the furniture pieces, damage is inevitable, which
is not the result of its quality or workmanship, but instead is, without exception, the result
of improper use or handling. This can usually be recognised by the furniture‘s twisted,
broken or ripped out hardware. Because a piece of functional furniture is regularly subject to a flow of movement,
the hardware joints should
be checked for dirt from time
to time, they should be cleaned and at the same time the
screws, with which the hardware is attached, should be
checked to see if they are still
affixed tightly and if necessary they should be tightened.
If you observe these simple rules, you will own a functional piece of furniture, which will
continue to fulfil its purpose for a long time. For furniture with a sleeping function – just
as with real beds – it is important to air out the mattress well to prevent any mildew from
developing. Mildew development is never a result of the material used or the furniture‘s
workmanship. It only develops if the furniture is not cared for properly, if it is improperly
used or if there is too much humidity in the room.
9
INFORMATION ON LEATHER
In the following section, we would like to give you some explanations on the structure
and the care of the leather type you have chosen.
A few notes on the leather production process
For manufacturing leather furniture, hides of cattle are used almost exclusively. In part,
these hides come from European breeding, in part they also come from overseas. As a
matter of course, the European merchandise shows less natural characteristics as the
merchandise from overseas, because the animals there grow in freer and wilder environments.
The raw hide directly from the slaughterhouses cannot be treated in their original thickness, but instead is split in a tannery after its first washing process. When this is done, the
result is the grain split (the upper side) and the flesh split (the inner side). For leather furniture, for the most part, only the grain split is processed.
After splitting and additional cleaning, the leather hides are coloured in a barrel and
subsequently dried. Not until after this, a definition is made on how to further process
the individual leather types. Only hides with few natural characteristics and scars from
the slaughterhouses (on average only approx. 12 to 15%) can be used for the types
1 *+ 2 *.
Hides with a few more natural characteristics are used for the leather type
level the hide, now a minimal colour coat is additionally applied to it.
3 *.
To slightly
For leather type 4 * this coating is a bit thicker so as to cover the larger quantity of natural blemishes that this leather has. That is why in this case the term „coated leather“ is
also used.
Leather type 5 * is grouped into suede and nubuck leather. For suede, also sometimes
called buckskin, usually the inner side of the grain split is processed, but sometimes the
flesh split is also processed. For nubuck leather, the outer side of the grain split is buffed,
also having the effect that more severe natural blemishes disappear. This leather‘s surface feels almost like velvet after the buffering process. The result is inevitably that the
individual leather types are considered and evaluated differently.
*see page 3
10
Recognising and Evaluating Natural Characteristics
As already discussed several times, a leather hide almost always shows a number of natural blemishes. During the short or long lifespan of an animal, it is often confronted with
situations, which lead to injuries to the skin. Such could be the insects on the pasture, the
barbed wire fence or any thorns. They may also be injuries from tussling during play with
each others; or they may be caused by the farmer‘s grooming tool or even by the cattle
drover on the way to the slaughterhouse. Also, illnesses, operations or simple normal
consequences of the animal‘s life can leave remaining marks on the animal‘s hide. Using
the following photos, we would like to present and explain the most frequent natural characteristics.
At the same time we would like to define at this point, which of the typical natural blemishes may be processed into the end product and also show, which of those are blemishes
that may be recognized as a defect if, for some reason, it was cut into the end product
through an oversight.
What is also important when evaluating the leather is exactly where the natural blemish
is located. The professionals differentiate between the seat, the back, the armrest and
the body of the piece of furniture. If in the following examples the word „conditional“ is
used, it means that depending on the size and the placement of the natural characteristic in the individual case, only a professional will be able to decide whether or not the
blemish is recognised as a defect. In especially difficult cases, only an authorised expert
appointed by a chamber of industry and commerce will be able to make the decision.
Leather 1 *+ 2 *: Since in this case, only a simple barrel tanning process took place
and the hide was not coated with any additional finish, any possible natural blemishes
that may be on the hide are clearly evident. The hide is fantastically soft and smooth,
natural variations in colouring and texture remain visible. The pores are still open, which
allows the hide to continue to breath. A difference in temperature when sitting on the leather or touching it can be felt almost immediately.
However, with Leather 1 *, even everyday traces of use can be seen easily, since this
leather is in no way protected.
Leather 2 *, on the other hand, after being dyed, was coated with an additional layer
of protection against dirt and liquids. Especially when it comes to black leather, during
the initial period of use the colour may rub off slightly.
*see page 3
11
Leather 3 *: Natural blemishes are also in part still visible, but as said before, are in
part also covered with a light layer of dye. The leather is also still very smooth and soft.
The pores for the most part are still open, thus temperature variations can still be felt.
Leather 4 *: Natural blemishes are no longer visible. The pores are almost completely
or are entirely closed with the dye that was applied. A temperature difference can therefore hardly be felt at all. Liquids hardly penetrate the surface in the least and remain on
the surface.
Leather 5 *: This leather type is very soft and feels comfortable to the touch. Because
of suede‘s fibrousnesses or the results of the buffed nubuck leather, this type of leather is
quickly impacted by everyday use, meaning that dirt is very easily visible on it – if it is not
maintained and brushed regularly. Especially when it comes to black leather, during the
initial period of use, the colour may rub off slightly.
Generally speaking, leather does stretch with time.
This may lead to the development of creases to a
certain extent. What is also important is that you
protect your leather furniture from direct sunlight,
since many leather types – especially untreated leather – can fade if exposed to strong sunrays.
*see page 3
Normal extent of wrinkles
developed during use
12
Splitting in the surface of
covered leather because
of insufficient care
Rubbed off colour from
head grease
Defects in the pigments may be
processed into the surface
Tick bites may be processed
into the surface
Rubbed off colour through use
Fat creases may be processed
into the surface
A bit too much difference in colour
Scars from operations may
conditionally be processed
into the surface
13
CARE
In principle, what can be said is that all leather types must be cared for and cleaned regularly. This is to say that all leather types should be brushed from time to time or carefully vacuumed. Every leather type should definitely be protected from direct sunlight, since
exposure to the sun will inevitably lead to a loss of colour and dry it out.
Leather 1 *+ 2 *+ 3 *: Should dirt or grime be absorbed in these leather types, they
can be cleaned with an alkali-free soap and water that has been boiled. Always clean
the surface from seam to seam (and not simply around the stain) and rinse the leather
off with plenty of water after the cleaning process, so that no soap residue is left in the
leather. Other than that, the surface should be cleaned regularly with leather cleaner and
a leather cream. In the case of open-pored, smooth leather, make sure that the leather
cream is applied very sparingly.
Leather
4
*: Only clean regularly with leather cleaner and a leather cream.
Leather 5 *: Along with brushing and vacuuming, for this type of leather, a suede
cleaning cloth should be used regularly to care for and clean the surface. This leather
type is definitely not to be cleaned with leather cleaners or leather creams that can be
purchased in stores. Only use leather sprays on this type of surface.
Generally, what also matters in this case:
The sooner damage is treated, the better the chance of eliminating it completely.
*see page 3
14
CLEANING
Stain
Leather
1
–
4
Suede
Beer
R1
R1
Blood
R4
R4
Butter
R2
R3
5
Cola
R1
R1
Vomit
R 1/R 4
R 1/ R 4
Colour Loss
R4
R4
Grease
R2
R3
Felt Marker
R4
R4
Head Grease
R4
R4
Scratches
R4
R4
Ballpoint Pen
R4
R4
Medicine
R4
R4
Nail Polish
R4
R4
Juice
R1
R1
Ointment
R2
R3
Liquor (white)
R1
R1
Liquor (brown)
R1
R1
Chocolate
R2
R3
Sweat
R4
R4
Ink
R4
R4
Urine
R1
R1
Wine
R1
R1
15
CLEANING SUGGESTIONS
R 1 Dab, do not rub, immediately with paper towels or a kitchen rag, then clean with
distilled water and let it dry. If necessary, repeat the process and possibly use
alkali-free soap. When cleaning, always wipe from seam to seam and not simply on
the soiled spot.
R 2 Remove any residue from the leather‘s surface with the blunt side of a knife carefully.
Then clean with a paper towel or a kitchen rag and use distilled water to wash
off any remaining residue. Any grease absorbed into the leather will not be able to
be removed entirely. However, the grease stain will work itself out throughout the following weeks by the leather‘s own breathing activity.
R 3 Remove any residue from the leather‘s surface with the blunt side of a knife carefully.
Then clean with a paper towel or a kitchen rag and use distilled water to wash
off any remaining residue. Once the leather is dry, re-work the surface with a suede
cleaning cloth. Any remaining grease stain will under the best circumstances work
itself out with time.
R 4 Any of this kind of damage or change can only be removed reasonably well by an
expert. To reduce visible damage somewhat, however, you can follow the instructions under R 1.
16
IMPORTANT!
Removing difficult stains (such as blood, ball point pen, etc.), or touching up faded covers with colour, should, when possible, be done by an expert. In this case, we suggest
you ask your furniture store, your catalogue company or consult a specialist:
POS
POS POLSTERSERVICE GmbH
[The
Value
Keepers]
Mühlenpfad 2 · 53547 Hausen – Germany
Telephone 0049 (0) 26 38-921 700
Telefax
0049 (0) 26 38-921 600
www.polsterservice.de
info @ polsterservice.de
Leather is one of the most beautiful products nature has to offer. If cared for and treated correctly, good leather quality will last for long years of use and to your highest
satisfaction.
All leather products manufactured in the European market are subject to
strict regulations with regard to harmful substances (PCP and the like).
With regular inspections during processing and tests performed by independent institutes, it is assured that these regulations are adhered to.
17
COMPLAINTS
Should you, despite everything else, still have any complaints – which we would very
much regret – we ask you to make note of the following:
Please fill out the customer service postcard attached completely and send it to us. Please
do your best to describe the damage as precisely as possible.
A customer service employee will contact you as soon as possible and, if necessary, will
coordinate an appointment to visit you.
Should you loose the post card, please contact your furniture store or:
POS POLSTERSERVICE GmbH
[ T h e Va l u e K e e p e r s ]
Mühlenpfad 2 · 53547 Hausen – Germany
Telephone 0049 (0) 26 38-921 700
Telefax
0049 (0) 26 38-921 600
www.polsterservice.de
info @ polsterservice.de
All rights reserved. Any duplication or the reproduction of the text at hand, even only in
excerpts, and their circulation are subject to the express approval of POS POLSTERSERVICE GmbH located in 53547 Hausen-Solscheid, Germany.
Quality assured furniture
POS Polsterservice GmbH as a service company of the furniture branch
and a supporting member of the community of value „Deutsche Möbel“ is
geared in its work on reclamations
and the used materials to the quality
and testing assessments RAL-GZ 430.
18
Date of purchase:
Purchase price approx.:
Delivery date:
City/Date:
Signature:
■ photos
■ included with the postcard
or ■ I sent these by email as JPEG files to
info@polsterservice.de
Euros
Manufacturer:
■ Leather
Model:
■ Fabric
Furniture store:
Cover type:
■ Ottoman
■ Chaise
■ Round corner section
■ Sleeper sofa
■ Armchair
■ Sectional
■ Two-seated sofa
■ Other
Important information on your complaint
■ Other
■ Chair
■ Loveseat
■ Massage chair
■ Cushioned bed
Description of the damage / notes:
■ Three-seated sofa
■ Single-seat element
■ Recliner
■ Motorised recliner
The damage is located on:
Customer Service Card:
✁
Sender
First Name/Last Name:
Street:
POSTAL CODE/City:
Telephone (personal):
Telephone (workplace):
Optional Mobile Phone:
Email address:
GLEATHER
REPLY
POS POLSTERSERVICE GmbH
[ T h e Va l u e K e e p e r s ]
– Department Private Customers –
Mühlenpfad 2
53547 Hausen, Germany
postage,
Please add
if available
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Order form for care and cleaning products
Please use this postcard to place your order or go to www.polsterservice.de
and click “Shop” to order your goods on-line. All the listed articles are subject to
additional charges for packing, carriage and COD.
Date: June 2007 – We reserve the right to make changes.
POS Care Set for nappa leather (slightly and heavily pigmented)
For new or little-used leather
pcs.
Softclean cleaner in foam-dispenser bottle (125 ml)
Leather Sealer
(150 ml)
Cleaning Cloth & Cleaning Sponge
for 24,90 €
POS Care Set for nappa leather (slightly and heavily pigmented)
For older or used leather
pcs.
Softclean cleaner in foam-dispenser bottle (125 ml)
Leather Protector
(150 ml)
Cleaning Cloth & Cleaning Sponge
for 24,90 €
POS Soft-Clean for nappa leather (slightly and heavily pigmented)
pcs.
Cleaner in foam-dispenser bottle for
(200 ml) for 17,50 €
stubborn dirt
POS Care Set for nappa leather (natural leather)
pcs.
Aniline Cleaner
Aniline Cream (for everyday protection)
Cleaning Cloth
(50 ml)
(250 ml)
for 24,90 €
POS Care Set for rough, velour and nubuck leather
pcs.
Rough Leather Care Aerosol
(400 ml)
Impregnation Agent Aerosol
(200 ml)
Nubuck Eraser & Sanding Pad
for 27,90 €
POS Care Set for artificial leather
pcs.
Artificial Leather Cleaner
Artificial Leather Care Milk
Cleaning Cloth & Cleaning Sponge
(150 ml)
(150 ml)
for 18,50 €
POS Bleach Pen for nappa leather (coated and heavily pigmented)
pcs.
Bleach Pen for removal
(40 ml) for 15,00 €
of textile soiling and ball-point pen marks
Not to be used with natural leather and nubuck leather
In the unlikely circumstances that you are unable to solve a problem using our highquality specialist products, please contact us on our Hotline Tel. +49 (0) 26 38
921-700 where we will gladly provide you with practical advice and support.
✁
free
Sender:
First Name/Last Name:
Street:
POSTALE CODE/City:
Telephone:
POS
®
POS POLSTERSERVICE GmbH
[ T h e Va l u e K e e p e r s ]
POS on the internet: www.polsterservice.de
GLEATHER
REPLY
POS POLSTERSERVICE GmbH
[ T h e Va l u e K e e p e r s ]
Mühlenpfad 2
53547 Hausen
Germany
by POS
Postage paid
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