Aniline is a natural and soft leather that is dyed through but does not contain any protective pigmented surface. Since there is no protective surface on aniline leather, it becomes easily stained and dirty, the leather absorbs all types of liquid and grease which creates unsightly stains afterwards. If these stains have penetrated deep into the leather, they can be very difficult to remove, as you cannot reach them when cleaning the surface of the leather.
It is therefore a good idea to apply a layer of protective cream as a preventive measure as soon as you have purchased something in aniline or other untreated leather, for example Furniture Clinic Protection Cream , which makes it more difficult for dirt and staining liquids to penetrate the leather and makes it much easier to keep clean.
To test if your leather is aniline, or does not have a protective finish, you can take a drop of water and place it on the leather. If it is absorbed, follow the guide below when cleaning the leather.
When you have aniline leather or similar, you should not spray Ultra Clean or other cleaning agents directly onto the surface. It will simply be absorbed by the leather before it has time to do anything. To prevent this, we use leather cleaner in foam form . A foam is not absorbed as easily into the leather and you have more time to clean the surface. To get a foam, pour Ultra Clean leather cleaner into a sponge. Squeeze the sponge quickly a few times, and a foam will form. Use the foamy sponge to clean the aniline. In addition to giving you time to clean the surface of the leather, the dirt will be absorbed by the foam. Wipe off as much as possible before it is absorbed into the leather.
Since aniline is absorbent, dirt and other things also penetrate the leather. It is not always enough to clean the surface. To penetrate deeper when cleaning, you can use a cleaning brush . A sponge or cloth cannot penetrate the leather fibers and the cleaning will not be as effective. With the brush, you can also reach dirt that is a little deeper in the pores of the leather. Please note that stains that have penetrated deep into the leather cannot be reached.
When cleaning with foam, it takes longer for the aniline to absorb the cleaning agent, which gives you time to clean the surface properly. If you use a brush, you also get to the fibers directly underneath. However, the leather still absorbs the agent, which makes it more difficult to see the effect of the cleaning before the leather has dried.
Therefore, clean small areas at a time, a couple of square decimeters. When the foam starts to absorb the dirt (you can see it when it gets dirty), quickly wipe off the foam/liquid with a cloth before it has time to penetrate deeper into the leather. Repeat until the entire surface is clean. Let air dry.
You will probably need to repeat the above a couple of times to get the proper effect.
When cleaning the aniline leather is complete, don't forget to apply Leather Protection Cream to moisturize and protect the soft aniline against future soiling.
