Leather, faux leather and slipcovers: types, care and what peels

Identify aniline, semi-aniline and pigmented leather, tell full-grain from corrected and bonded, tell polyurethane from PVC, match care to the type, and wash slipcovers without shrinking them.

1. Leather finishes and grain Understand

Two different words describe a leather sofa, and sellers often blur them. The finish is what was done to the surface: dyed only, dyed with a thin coating, or covered with an opaque coating. The grain is the outer surface of the hide, and grain terms say which layer of the hide the leather comes from and whether its natural surface was kept. A piece can be full-grain and semi-aniline, or corrected-grain and pigmented. The finish decides most of how a piece shows marks and how it is cleaned; the grain says what the surface started as. Faux leather is neither: it is a plastic film on a fabric, and it has its own section.

This chapter does not say which type is right for a household. It says what each one shows and how each is cleaned, and leaves the choice to what your room asks (How to compare finishes).

Leather finishes

The clearest free definitions we found come from FIRA, a UK furniture industry research body (FIRA, Leather types, characteristics and maintenance). Carl Hansen & Son, a furniture maker, adds how it treats each type (Carl Hansen & Son, Leather maintenance and care).

FIRA notes that the European test standard for upholstery leather, BS EN 13336:2022, gives test methods and values but does not set end-use criteria. So no standard we found says a given leather suits a household with a dog or a toddler. Convention

Telling the finish at home

The maker's label, invoice or product page is the first place to look; it is the source that names the finish. Furniture makers also use their own cleaning codes for leather: Ashley lists E and N, both meaning use Ashley's leather care kit (Ashley, Cleaning Codes). If the label shows a code, look it up on that maker's page. Product-specific

When the label is gone, a water drop gives a hint. Put one small drop of plain water on a hidden spot, such as the back of the base or under a cushion, and watch it for a minute. If it darkens the leather and soaks in, the surface has little or no coating, which fits FIRA's description of aniline as absorbing liquid. If it sits on top, there is some coating, which fits semi-aniline or pigmented. Blot it and let the spot dry. This test is ours, not a maker's or a standards body's; no source we found describes it. Do it only where the maker's care sheet does not forbid water, and only out of sight, because a drop can mark an uncoated leather. It does not tell semi-aniline from pigmented, and it does not tell leather from faux leather. Test it

Grain, splits and bonded leather

Garrett Leather, a leather supplier, sets out the grain terms (Garrett Leather, Accurate Definitions of Leather Grain), and FIRA defines a split:

Garrett notes that some sellers use "top grain" to mean corrected grain. No US standard defines these grades for furniture. The nearest federal model is the FTC's Leather Guides, which name luggage, wallets, handbags, footwear, belts and similar articles, not furniture (16 CFR Part 24, FTC Leather Guides). They still show what honest terms look like. Under them, bonded or reconstituted leather should not be represented as leather, and if the term is used, the share of leather fiber should be disclosed. Leather embossed to look like another kind should say what it really is. We use the Guides as a model for questions to ask, not as a rule a furniture seller must follow. Ask the seller

Faux leather: polyurethane and PVC

"Faux leather" and "vegan leather" are selling names, not material names. The faux leather this chapter covers is a coated fabric: a textile backing with a plastic film on top. The film is usually one of two plastics. Polyurethane (PU) is the one ACT says is often sold as vegan or faux leather. PVC (polyvinyl chloride, usually called vinyl) is the other. The FTC's Leather Guides, as a model, suggest imitation leather be disclosed with words such as "Not leather", "Imitation leather", "Vinyl" or "Plastic" (FTC Leather Guides).

Why polyurethane peels

The Association for Contract Textiles (ACT), a trade group for commercial fabric suppliers, explains the failure most PU owners meet (ACT, Hydrolysis: What You Need to Know). Hydrolysis is the breakdown of the polyurethane from long exposure to humidity and heat, including the body heat of someone sitting on it. It shows as the film cracking, flaking off or separating from its backing (delamination), and ACT says it tends to be widespread rather than in one spot. ACT also says hydrolysis does not affect PVC-based fabrics. Physical principle

The test ACT uses is ISO 1419 Method C, often called the jungle test: samples sit at 70 °C (158 °F) and at least 95 percent relative humidity, and the result is the number of weeks the coating lasts. ACT's minimum is 5 weeks. ACT reports weeks, not years, and says the weeks do not correspond directly to years in service, so a seller who turns weeks into years is going past the test. If you are choosing a PU piece, ask for its jungle-test result in weeks and write it on the comparison sheet. Convention

Not every crack is hydrolysis. ACT says harsh cleaners, sanitizers and disinfectants can cause failures that look like it. That is one reason to clean coated fabric only as its maker says.

When PU is already peeling

Care does not reverse hydrolysis. ACT describes it as the polymer itself breaking down, so a cleaner, conditioner or cream does not put the film back. What remains is a repair or a new cover, and both are upholsterer's work. A repair means replacing the failed panels, or new covers on the cushions if those are what peeled. A new cover means an upholsterer takes off the old cover and makes and fits a new one from a material you choose. Because ACT says hydrolysis tends to be widespread, ask whether the parts that have not peeled yet are likely to follow, and whether the quote covers them. Go deeper lists the questions for an upholsterer. No source we found tests the peel-repair kits and touch-up paints sold for faux leather. Ask an upholsterer

Care by type: sun, heat, dust and cleaners

Your maker's care sheet comes first. Where it is missing, the sources below give a default for each type, and the hidden-spot test, this manual's rule for every surface, comes before any cleaner. This manual's convention Cleaning by surface keeps the routine with every other surface, and Stains, damage and older homes covers the first minutes after a spill.

Sun and heat

Carl Hansen says to keep leather away from heat sources and direct sunlight. FIRA says aniline is more susceptible to light. For polyurethane, ACT names heat and humidity as what drives hydrolysis. So for leather and faux leather alike, the default is a spot out of direct sun and away from radiators, heating vents, fireplaces and space heaters. If moving the piece is not possible, a blind or curtain at the hours the sun reaches it does part of the job. Physical principle

Cleaning by type

Sources: FIRA; Carl Hansen & Son; ACT.

Carl Hansen's soap mix is 1/4 deciliter (about 1/10 cup) of colorless soap flakes in 1 liter of warm water, with only the foam used. That is one maker's method for its own leathers. Product-specific

Leather creams and conditioners are where makers part ways. Use one only if your maker's care sheet calls for it, and test it on a hidden spot first; Carl Hansen notes that creams can stain very worn or dirty surfaces. Who says what is under Go deeper.

Darkened arms and headrests

The places people touch most, arms and headrests, are where open leathers change first. FIRA says semi-aniline is still easily damaged by soiling, and that aniline absorbs liquid. A darkened arm on an aniline or semi-aniline piece may be soiling that the maker's routine addresses, so read the maker's sheet before doing anything. Do not strip the finish or use a solvent on it unless the maker's sheet says to; that is a leather restorer's work. The worked example below follows one case. Product-specific

Slipcovers and cushion covers

A slipcover is a fitted fabric cover made to come off the furniture, as opposed to upholstery fixed to the frame. The federal care label rule covers textile clothing and fabric sold by the piece for sewing clothing at home, so a slipcover's care instructions are the maker's own, not a federal care label (16 CFR Part 423). Read them before the first wash. Convention

Craftmaster, a furniture maker, gives one complete routine for its washable slipcovers (Craftmaster, Washable Slipcovers care sheet, March 2025):

That is one maker's routine for one collection. A "pre-shrunk" claim covers the fabric it was made for; another maker's slipcover may say dry clean only. Product-specific NMSU's extension guide adds that a slipcover can be cleaned in place or removed and laundered whole, and that direct sunlight fades and damages fabric (NMSU Guide G-402, Care for Fabric Home Furnishings).

A zipper does not mean washable

Zippers on the cushions of an upholstered sofa are not a sign the covers come off for washing. Floyd, a furniture maker, says its cushion covers should not be removed; the zippers are there because the covers are made separately and fitted after production, and washing damages the fabric's stain resistance (Floyd, Can I remove the covers and machine wash them?). NMSU says the same in general terms: do not remove zippered cushion covers from upholstered furniture, because washing them apart can shrink them, damage the backing or change the color. With two sources agreeing, that is the default unless your maker's sheet says the covers are washable. The upholstery itself follows its cleaning code (Upholstery fabric).

2. See it: Harold's recliner See it

• FIRA, Leather types, characteristics and maintenance: definitions of each leather type and a basic care routine.
• ACT, Hydrolysis: What You Need to Know: why polyurethane cracks and peels, and the jungle test.
• Garrett Leather, Accurate Definitions of Leather Grain: full grain, top grain and corrected grain.
• Craftmaster, Washable Slipcovers care sheet: one maker's full washing and drying routine.

3. Practice: name the cover and its cleaner Practice

Minimum: one piece: its cover written on the installed register with the cleaner its maker allows, and the piece checked for sun and heat. Time: about 30 minutes. Materials: the piece's paperwork or label, a flashlight, your phone's camera, a little plain water if the maker allows a water drop, and the installed register (or paper).

1. Find the label or paperwork. Look under the cushions, on the deck and under the frame, and search the maker's page by model name. Photograph what you find.
2. Name the cover. Write the leather finish and grain if given, or PU or PVC. If nothing names it, and the maker's sheet does not forbid water, try the water drop on a hidden spot and write the result as a hint, not an answer.
3. Write the maker's cleaner. Copy the cleaning line from the care sheet or the maker's code. If there is none, write "maker unknown; gentle default" and point it to Cleaning by surface.
4. Check the light and the heat. Look at the piece at the sunniest time of day and note any vent, radiator or heater near it.
5. For a slipcover, read the care sheet. Write wash or dry clean, the water temperature and the drying method before the first wash.

4. Your home Your home

5. Check your work Check your work

Criteria

• Does the installed register name the cover: leather with its finish (and grain if known), PU, PVC, or a slipcover fabric?
• Does it say where that name came from: the label, the maker, or a water drop as a hint?
• Does it give the maker's cleaner, or "maker unknown; gentle default"?
• Is the piece out of direct sun and away from heat, or is the reason it is not noted?
• For a slipcover, is the washing method written before the first wash?

Worked example

Harold's row names semi-aniline leather from the maker's paperwork, gives the maker's cleaning method as the cleaner, and notes where the care sheet is. It passes. It does not say the darkening is gone, because that is open until after the first cleaning, and it does not say semi-aniline was the right choice for him, which this manual does not judge.

Common mistakes

• Reading "top grain" as the best grade. It names the layer; it can be corrected and printed with a grain.
• Calling bonded leather leather. Under the FTC model it should not be represented as leather, and its fiber content should be stated.
• Conditioning peeling PU. Hydrolysis is the film breaking down; care does not reverse it.
• Spot-cleaning aniline or semi-aniline. Carl Hansen says it leaves blotches; clean the whole panel as the maker says.
• Disinfecting faux leather with a harsh product. ACT says it can cause failures that look like hydrolysis.
• Washing zippered cushion covers. Floyd and NMSU both say not to remove them.
• Line drying a slipcover. Craftmaster says it shrinks or stretches its covers.

What is still unresolved

Whether a leather type suits your household is your call, made against what the room asks in How to compare finishes. What to do in the first minutes after a spill is in Stains, damage and older homes, which also covers judging damage and who repairs it. Whether a peeling piece is worth recovering is settled by an upholsterer's quote. Fabric upholstery, its cleaning codes and its labels are in Upholstery fabric.

6. Knowledge check and scenario

Checklist

• The installed register names the material and its cleaner.
• The piece is out of direct sun and away from heat, or I noted why it is not.
• I tested any cleaner on a hidden spot before using it.
• For a slipcover, I read the care sheet before the first wash.
• I added the maker's dusting and wiping to the care schedule, and asked for a jungle-test result for any PU piece I am choosing. (Go deeper; optional)