# How do I stop a leather chair from cracking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380 "2019-06-11T15:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/1 "2019-06-11T15:59:48Z")
It is a Sealy chair less than one year old. My room is sometimes 95 degrees. The cracks are on the arm rests. Maybe it is the salt from sweating? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/2 "2019-06-11T16:18:54Z")
I’m gonna guess moisturize: [https://www.amazon.com/Lexol-E300858100-Leather-Conditioner-Liter/dp/B0002F9YHS/ref=sr\_1\_11?gclid=Cj0KCQjwov3nBRDFARIsANgsdoGfKRAF2gI3Hxn1XZUjfI6Go6vweal5PyqwhdcurU1DTWRl4Bio42UaAhcmEALw\_wcB&hvadid=177586392434&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001992&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13738456789805653338&hvtargid=kwd-46435133863&hydadcr=7306\_9586106&keywords=leather+conditioner+for+couches&qid=1560269804&s=gateway&sr=8-11](https://www.amazon.com/Lexol-E300858100-Leather-Conditioner-Liter/dp/B0002F9YHS/ref=sr_1_11?gclid=Cj0KCQjwov3nBRDFARIsANgsdoGfKRAF2gI3Hxn1XZUjfI6Go6vweal5PyqwhdcurU1DTWRl4Bio42UaAhcmEALw_wcB&hvadid=177586392434&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001992&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13738456789805653338&hvtargid=kwd-46435133863&hydadcr=7306_9586106&keywords=leather+conditioner+for+couches&qid=1560269804&s=gateway&sr=8-11) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/3 "2019-06-11T17:28:17Z")
Keep it out of the sun and use a leather conditioner once a month or so. If you think it’s from sweating, I’d suggest you keep a towel nearby and wipe any sweat off of it when you stand up. Also, if it really is from sweat, I’d think the back of your neck sweats more than your forearms and you’d probably see it happening up there as well. My guess would be that it’s not from sweat, or even having in the sun or a warm room, but that it’s poor quality leather and/or upholstered incorrectly in those spots. Is it still under warranty? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/4 "2019-06-11T19:05:45Z")
Clean it regularly with saddle soap and use a leather conditioner. Those tacky, old-fashioned towel thingies (that’s a technical term) for the armrests and headrest will keep your sweat and filth (another technical term) from crudding up the chair. Sorry for using so much technical terminology, but sometimes ordinary words just don’t work. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/5 "2019-06-12T13:11:21Z")
\*\*How do I stop a leather chair from cracking? \*\* Tell it a lawyer is on his way with a writ of _habeus corpus_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/6 "2019-06-12T13:45:45Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Clean it regularly with saddle soap and use a leather conditioner. > > Those tacky, **old-fashioned towel thingies** (that’s a technical term) for the armrests and headrest will keep your sweat and filth (another technical term) from crudding up the chair. > > Sorry for using so much technical terminology, but sometimes ordinary words just don’t work. > ~VOW _Anti-macassars_ (that’s a technical term) Named after a long-out-of-fashion hair oil > **[Antimacassar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimacassar)** > > An antimacassar /ˌæntɪməˈkæsər/ is a small cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs, or the head or cushions of a sofa, to prevent soiling of the permanent fabric underneath. The name also refers to the cloth flap 'collar' on a sailor's shirt or top, used to keep macassar oil off the uniform. > Macassar oil was an unguent for the hair commonly used by men in the early 19th century, and reputed to have been manufactured from ingredients purchased in the port of Makassar in the Dutch East Ind... ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/7 "2019-06-12T18:53:08Z")
Cracking in less than a year? Is it real leather? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-a-leather-chair-from-cracking/835380/8 "2019-06-12T19:16:42Z")
Most homes have forced air heating, which is extremely dry. Getting a humidifier and moistening the air would definitely help the leather from drying out so quickly.