How can I clean nicotine and cigarette smoke off of a leather couch?

Question

My grandparents, who both smoke heavily,recently bought new living room furniture and they gave us their leather sectional couch to put in our den in the basement. The couch is a cream color but it is badly stained yellowish brown from all of the cigarette smoke and nicotine in their house. What could I use to get all of that off without ruining the leather?

Answer 1

i dont think you can =/

Answer 2

30 second cleaner or Murphys oil soap

Answer 3

You can go to an auto parts/supply store and buy Armorall (I think that's how you spell it) for leather.  It's a cleaner that's very easy to use.  I use it on my leather wing backed chair all the time and used to always use it on my leather car upholstery when I had it.  They also sell it in supermarkets or hardware stores too.

Answer 4

Those stains also could be from body oils. The car care section of any store should carry a good leather cleaner. As for the smell, leather has a tendency to hold on to odors. Good luck.

Answer 5

Some of that smoke is going to be on the surface, but some of it may have been absorbed into the leather. You may need to clean the leather a number of times, allowing a day or two between cleanings, to get as much out as you can (and you may never get it all out).

Use a good leather cleaner to remove what you can. I normally wouldn't recommend saddle soap since it can be harsh, but you might need it: if the leather isn't in great shape, though, you might want to try Lexol brand cleaner instead - it's a bit milder but still cuts dirt (but is more expensive than saddle soap). You can find it or a similar brand at most auto supply stores, especially the ones that sell a lot of detailing equipment.

If the soap or Lexol doesn't move it, you need to use a leather stain remover like Leather Magic. The most important thing to keep in mind with Leather Magic Stain Remover is that if you scrub with it the stain will become set in; you just brush it on and rinse it off.

Whatever you use, apply and remove it with a microfiber cloth, and when you do rub move the cloth from the outside of the stain inward. In this case I suspect the stain is darker at the top, so rub from the bottom up.