A Few Things to Remember When Storing Leather Furniture
Different types of upholstered furniture require different types of care and cleaning. It's the same when your furniture needs to spend some time inside a self-storage unit. It's not a massive feat to prepare leather furniture for storage, but it's slightly different from storing other forms of upholstery. And given the amount you probably paid for your lovely leather items, it's worth doing it properly! So how exactly do you store leather furniture properly?
Some Basic Cleaning
Make sure your leather furniture is clean before it goes into storage. All this involves is wiping its surface and vacuuming inside all its nooks and crannies to make sure there is no debris inside. Dust won't exactly be a problem, but any leftover crumbs might attract vermin. If you used a damp cloth to wipe the leather, make sure it's entirely dry before you transport it to the storage unit.
A Slight Elevation
Any type of furniture should avoid prolonged contact with the ground inside the storage unit. It's incredibly unlikely that any type of moisture will accumulate on the unit's floor, but you can avoid the potential for damage by slightly elevating the items. Place a few wooden pallets inside the unit, and place the item on top of the pallets.
A Bit of Protection
You need to protect the furniture without damaging the surface of the leather, but your measures should not promote the growth of mildew. Place a clean, dry blanket over the leather furniture as the first protective barrier. This will protect the leather from dirt and dust. Next, you can drape plastic sheeting over the blanket to prevent any moisture from coming into direct contact with the furniture. This should be loosely draped, and not wrapped around the items. If it's wrapped, then moisture can easily become trapped, leading to the leather to become mildewed and even eventually rotten.
An Occasional Check
If it's at all possible, you should regularly inspect the contents of your storage unit, and you can use this opportunity to remove the plastic sheeting and blankets to allow the leather to breathe. This might not be necessary when the items will only be stored for a short amount of time.
With leather furniture, just remember that the materials don't take too kindly to being tightly sealed off from the outside air and they still need to breathe from time to time. Reach out to self-storage companies to learn more.