What Happens if My Leather Couch Gets Rained on While Moving?

If you move your couch in the rain, always cover it up to prevent it from getting watermarks on it. If you’ve already got watermarks, use several cleaning solutions and methods to remove those marks.

Watermarks

When water drops on a leather fabric, it pulls out some of the fabric’s natural oils, which help keep it supple and flexible. If you don’t work to remove the watermarks quickly, they might eventually dry out the leather and cause it to crack or rip. A few raindrops are unlikely to crack the leather, but they will make it look dirty and ruin its pristine appearance.

Preventing Permanent Marks

If you carried the sofa only a few feet, and it did not get very wet, the watermarks unlikely will be even semi-permanent. If the couch is very wet, however, you can work to dry it quickly to help ensure it doesn’t get visibly damaged. To do this, turn your hairdryer on high with a low heat setting. Dry out all of the areas that are wet. Use a towel to soak up any excess water while you are doing this. Work until the couch is completely dry.

Cleaning With Mayonnaise

Restore the condition to your leather couch by rubbing the watermarks with mayonnaise. The fat in the mayonnaise will help condition the watermarks so that they become invisible. To do this, dab the mayonnaise over the watermark, and rub it for a few minutes. Let it sit for several hours before wiping it up. Only use this process to remove watermarks from finished leather that is smooth. Mayonnaise will ruin unfinished leather such as suede.

Cleaning With an Eraser

Erasers will help to work away light watermarks on unfinished leather furniture such as suede. Rub an eraser over the watermarks until they disappear. The eraser is erasing the marks and is actually grinding away some of the suede’s nap. Take care not to rub too vigorously as this will damage the leather or make the areas that you erased more noticeable.