PerLora Furniture and Product Care | Pittsburgh Luxury Furniture

Leather care

Fine Leather is soft and luxurious, making it an ideal choice for furniture. With the right care, leather improves with age, providing many years of enjoyable use. Even the best leather, however, is subject to damage. PerLora offers a Uniters leather care program, a total care and maintenance system for your leather.

Different types of leather require different care and maintenance product. If you are uncertain about the type of leather you have, check with your sales representative or contact one of the designers at our South Side or Strip District locations. As a general rule of thumb, pretest all of the care products in a hidden area to make sure they are compatible with leather.

General Leather Care Tips

Avoid using or placing sharp objects on leather goods. Leather is very durable but it is not accident or damage proof.
Place your furniture a minimum of two feet from radiators and other heat sources.
Protect your leather furniture from direct and even indirect sunlight. Some leathers, such as full and semi-aniline, will fade over time.
Avoid air pollution such as cigar or cigarette smoke and cooking fumes, which can cause leather to fade or change color.

Leather Cleaning Instructions

Pretest all of the care products in a hidden area to make sure that they are compatible with the leather.
Water-based spills and stains such as coffee, ketchup, milk, etc may require the Uniters Leather Cleaner.
For oil-based spills and stains such as popcorn grease, salad dressing, or other non-water soluble spills, wipe the leather clean with a clean, dry cloth. Allow for the remainder of the stain to dissipate into the leather over a hour period. Do not use Leather Cleaner, Leather Protectors/Conditioner, water or soaps on oil-based stains.
Never use saddle soaps, oils, and all purpose cleaners or solvents. Use of these products could damage the finish. Modern tanning techniques do not require such products. Most spills will blot up easily with a dry cloth or paper towel.

Wood care

Wood furniture represents a significant investment in many homes. To maintain its beauty and help it last, wood furniture needs regular and proper care. Most wood furniture is finished with a fine lacquer or varnish. It has a sheen – or gloss- ranging from high to low, depending on the finishing materials the manufacturer has selected. The finish adds to the beauty of the wood and protects it. No finish is totally indestructible, but with regular care it will last much longer, providing years of satisfaction and enjoyment.

General Wood Care Tips

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Dust frequently.
Use a quality furniture polish. It will lessen your chance of expensive refinishing jobs. Polish approximately once a month.
Clean up sills immediately. Use a blotting action rather than a wiping action.
Use a soft, lint-free absorbent cloth for cleaning and polishing.
Avoid placing furniture in direct sunlight, as sunlight causes fading.
Avoid extremes in room humidity. Too high or too low humidity can cause wood to warp or the glue lines to fail.
Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Arrange furniture away from radiators, registers, and air-conditioning units.
Rotate accessories on furniture so they do not sit in the same spot all of the time
Avoid placing plastic or rubber objects on a wood finish, as their ingredients react with those of the finish.
Use pads, cloth, or felt to protect the furniture surface from plastic, rubber, hot dishes, beverages, bookends, flowerpots, and vases.
Use a protective pad when writing with a ballpoint pen.
Lift and place objects, do not drag them across the furniture surface.
Make minor repairs while they are still small.
Use the proper materials or professional help to repair badly damaged surfaces.
Avoid wax polishes. Regular use of wax polishes may result in the build of wax film on the surface of the furniture. This build-up may then pick up dirt, smoke, and other pollutants in the air, which may result in smudges and streaks. Used long enough, this may cause the finish to soften, requiring expensive refinishing work. Wax build up over time hardens, making it difficult to remove from the furniture’s finish.
Avoid silicone polishes. Silicone oil is an ingredient used by many furniture polish makers to create a high degree of shines. Silicone seeps into even the most lacquered finishes, making it difficult to remove. Should it become necessary to refinish a piece of furniture, silicone makes it a very difficult process, even for a professional. Most furniture manufacturers recommend using a polish that does not contain silicone.

Wood Cleaning Instructions

Wood furniture should be dusted as often as needed. Dust cloths can be reused by hand washing up to five times. It is also more efficient and convenient that spray products. Feather dusters scatter the dust particles into the air, which then resettle back on your furniture.
Polishing is recommended about once a month. If your furniture is used often, you may want to increase the frequency. However, be aware that over-polishing is the main cause of damaged finishes. Use a soft, lint free absorbent cloth and work with the grain of the wood. Always follow the provided directions.
If you do not remove old wax and polish before reapplying furniture polish, you may leave a cloudy surface

Adjustable Bed offered at PerLora Furniture in Pittsburgh

Mattress care

Your new mattress will help create a restful sleep environment. Be sure to ask your designer for advice about properly moving your new mattress and foundation into your home. Improper installation can damage your new sleep set.

Mattress Care Tips

Turn and rotate a new mattress every few weeks to help smooth out contours. After a few months, turn and rotate your mattress twice a year to help equalize the wear and tear that normally occurs. Also remember to rotate your foundation as well.
Avoid using the handles to support the full weight of the mattress. Typically, handles are designed to help you position the mattress over the foundation. If used improperly, handles may pull out and damage the fabric.
Vacuum your mattress and foundation for general maintenance. Use a mattress pad to help keep the sleep set free from stains.

Fabric care

Upholstered furniture adds function and beauty to every room in your home. The choices are many with a wide variety of fibers, fabrics, colors, and styles readily available.

General Fabric Care Tips

Re-arrange the furniture occasionally to ensure even use of the cushions and wear areas. Reverse loose cushions weekly. Vacuum often to remove grit that can cause abrasion.
Caution those wearing clothing with transferable dyes, such as blue jeans, that the dye could transfer onto light-colored furniture.
Protect fabrics from the sun. Ultraviolet light will cause fiber degeneration and color fade. Fabrics should not be placed in direct sunlight, as this may cause fading.
Occasionally, dyes can fade from impurities within the air.
Keep pets off the furniture. Pet urine and pet body oil can be difficult to remove. Use proper care with structural weave fabrics to protect against snags.

Fabric Cleaning Codes

Before attempting to clean a spill or spot on your furniture you should identify the fabric and correct cleaning method recommended by the manufacturer.This information is represented by a cleaning code (W, S, WS, or X) often found under a cushion, on the bottom of the furniture or on the manufacturer’s tag. If you cannot find this information, contact your sales representative at the furniture store where the item was purchased. 

FABRIC CODES: 
“W” : Spot clean with water-based cleaner. 
“S” : Spot clean ONLY with mild water-free solvent cleaner.
“WS” : Spot clean with water based or solvent cleaner. 
“X” : Clean only by vacuuming or light brushing.

Fabric Cleaning Instructions

As a general rule, when a spill occurs, it is important to clean the fabric immediately. The long the spot remains, the harder it is to remove; it may even become permanent. If you have cleaning directions from the furniture manufacturer, follow those. If none are available, use the instructions provided here. 

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Gently scrape away any excess solid matter or liquid using a dull edge spoon.
Pretest the cleaner you intent to use in a hidden area for color loss and fabric compatibility. Look for faded colors, shrinkage or dark rings; these are signs of incompatibility.
If possible, place a clean white cloth under the area to be cleaned, such as the inside of a seat cushion. It will absorb the soil and produce better results.
Apply a small amount of cleaner to a soft, clean white cloth. Begin at the edge of the stain and work toward the center, turning the cloth often. Blot, don’t rub the stain as rubbing can roughen the delicate fibers and leave the fabric looking worn and faded.
After cleaning, “feather” the edges of the spot by brushing gently back and forth with a dry cloth. Quickly dry with a fan. This will help prevent ringing.
Keep a small stain small! A cotton swab, dipped into the proper cleaning solution and squeezed out, will wick up the dissolved it, stopping it from spreading (this is a good fix for small ballpoint ink marks).
If your first attempt does not remove the spot, you may want to repeat steps three through five a second time.

Rug care

All rugs are handmade by skilled artisans, or in a specialty manufacturing facility, and are checked to meet quality standards before shipment.

Rug Care And Cleaning Tips

All wool rugs will shed. Shedding will subside over time, depending on traffic and wear. It typically takes 20-25 vacuums, at a minimum, to curtail shedding. Some will shed for the lifetime for the rug.
Loose fibers or “sprouts,” are a normal part of the break-in process of handmade rugs. To remove sprouts, use a small pair of scissors to snip them off even with the pile. Do not pull the fiber out, as this can cause a deterioration of the backing.
If your rug has been rolled or folded for shipping, it may include creases. Creases should disappear within a week or two once the rug is laid out flat. Reverse rolling the rug overnight will help.
Odors are caused by dyes, yarns and shipping for long distances in a sealed wrap. Most odors dissipate within a week once the rug is removed from the shipping wrap.
If exposed to direct sunlight, rug colors typically fade over time, even if they are fade resistant.
As a general rule, rugs of all materials and constructions should be rotated every 3-6 months to balance color and evenly distribute wear.

Product Care