What is Bonded Leather and How to Keep it Clean?

If you have experience shopping for leather furniture, you certainly have heard or seen the word bonded leather somewhere. Have you ever wondered what is bounded leather and if it is the same as genuine leather or Faux leather? Although it is not completely genuine leather, you can’t either say it is entirely fake leather. Bounded leather lies somewhere between both genuine and faux leather.

This blog will clear the fog around bounded leather, its manufacturing ingredients, its features, and tips and tricks to keep bounded leather clean and protected. Let’s understand it by defining its manufacturing comprehensively.

What is Bonded Leather and How to Keep it Clean?

What is Bounded Leather?

Other than bounded leather, this type of leather is also referred to as blended or reconstituted leather owing to the blended ingredients used in its manufacturing. As bounded leather is made of both genuine leather and faux leather, scrapes or waste of real leather combined with plastic material same as the one that is used in the making of fake leather, are utilized to manufacture bounded leather.

Usually, leftover shredded pieces of leather and synthetic leather(polyurethane or vinyl) are mixed and the kind of leather that comes into existence with this blended mixture is bonded leather. Given that it neither can be categorized as synthetic leather nor real leather. However, it is more closely treated as the real one due to a portion of real leather in it.

Features of Bounded Leather

Composite Material

Bounded leather is a composite material. Composite material is the kind of material that is composed of two different constituents partly. As the two constituents both real leather and plastic are used in the making of bounded leather it is known as a composite material that possesses the properties of both of its constituents proportionately.

Affordable

Compared to genuine leather, bonded leather is a cost-effective material. Although a considerable quantity of grounded or shredded pieces of real leather are used in bounded leather, it still costs a lot low than the genuine one. You must be wondering, why bounded leather still costs less than real leather. It is because of the low thickness of the leather made of two constituents.

Less Durable

Bounded leather, as compared to genuine leather is a little less durable. Real leather owing to its strength and flexibility and being natural is far more durable than this blended leather. Especially, with regular care, maintenance, and preservation, one can improve the condition of real leather, revive or restore it as well, and preserve it for a considerable amount of time. Whereas, bounded leather can easily fall prey to wear and tear by cracking and peeling in no time.

Uniformed Texture

In respect of appearance, bounded leather looks completely opposite to real leather. The genuine leather surface is attributed to its imperfections such as wrinkles, pores, and blemishes that are pretty justifiable for a material made of animal hide. In comparison, bounded leather, despite having some proportion of real leather looks uneven, regular, and tight which makes it look pretty similar to faux leather.

Tips and Tricks to Keep Bounded Leather Clean

Similar to real leather, bounded leather also needs regular, cleaning, conditioning, and protection against spots, dirt, and other harmful elements. Follow the below-mentioned instructions to retain the original form of your leather and achieve longevity.

Avoid Sunlight Exposure

Excessive exposure to sunlight is one of the major causes of earlier wear and tear by cracking and peeling of bounded leather. This is the common mistake of most of the leather products’ owners that costs quite heavily on their pockets. UV lights and heat increase the chances of consuming and drying up the oils naturally retained in the leather surface. As the natural oils get dried, the leather surface starts cracking due to the lack of the essential quantity of moisture needed for leather to survive and live longer. Therefore, limit the sun and heat exposure of your favorite leather items.

Wipe Down on a Weekly Basis

In order to keep the cervices of bonded leather clean, you need to wipe down the furniture of bounded leather using any soft and clean microfiber cloth on a weekly basis. The accumulation of dust in the pores of leather surfaces is another major reason for letting the essential natural oils of bonded leather go and wrecking up the basic structure of the leather surface. Therefore, sticking to the routine of dusting your bonded leather items can save you from a chaotic situation.

Regular Cleaning

Any leather item whether it is genuine or blended leather needs regular care to survive through harsh weather conditions and day-to-day exposure to stains and blemishes. In order to keep the leather surface dirt-free, clean the bounded leather regularly by using Whites Pearl leather cleaner. Moreover, build a habit of instant cleaning whenever your leather item gets stained. In case of accidental spilling, wipe off the fluid instantly with the help of a using a cleaning solution-damped cloth gently on the spotted area. Some of the stains stuck to the surface if ignored and stayed for a long time.

Condition the Bounded Leather

Besides cleansing the porous surface of bonded leather, sometimes, it requires restoration as well: lack of moisture deteriorates the structure that needs to be revived. Here is when Whites Pearl Leather Conditioner comes into play. A very small amount of conditioner of Whites Pearl mink oil is adequate to blow life into a ruptured leather surface. It restores leather by repairing the cracks and making the texture supple and smooth once again. Similarly to cleaning, conditioning is also not a one-time thing: although you must condition your leather products depending on the needs of a particular type of leather and your leather items’ condition, a standard gap can be 3 to 4 months by the leather experts.

Preserve the Bounded Leather

Once you have cleaned and conditioned your leather items properly, now it needs preserving or protection to stay as it is for a long time without falling prey to unexpected conditions. For this purpose, use Whites Pearl’s leather protector: this all-organic and non-synthetic protector safeguards the leather surface from unwanted spots. Moreover, it also works as a water repellent and creates resistance against other fluids as well. It repels fluids without giving them a chance to settle in and absorb in the leather surface.

Avoid Rubbing

Keeping the fact that bonded leather is not very durable and can get damaged quickly even by the use of little force. Therefore in order to keep bonded leather intact, try to avoid rubbing and scratching harshly and use a gentle fabric of microfiber for a careful cleaning process.

Keep Bounded Leather Away from Heat

Try to keep the items made of bonded leather at some distance from the heat sources such as heat vents etc. Heat can damage the color and texture of bonded leather to a considerable extent that’s why keeping distance from heat-prone devices and other sources is essential to keep your leather items safe.