can my couch be saved with Vinegaroon?

[teaners]

A friend of mine threw up on my brown leather couch and it seems permanently stained. I used baking soda to get the smell out and tried the normal leather cleaning products to no avail. I was thinking of vinegaroon'ing the whole couch to see if I could just make it black. What are your thoughts? I saw on here that I should try to avoid adding oxygen to the vinegaroon so perhaps I should brush it on vs using a spray bottle? Does the neutralizing with baking soda eliminate the vinegar smell? Should I add the baking soda it to the vinegaroon solution it's self or make a rinse afterwards? 

 

Thanks for your time. I know I have a lot of questions,

Kristina

[Northmount]

On 7/18/2025 at 11:53 AM, teaners said:

A friend of mine threw up on my brown leather couch and it seems permanently stained. I used baking soda to get the smell out and tried the normal leather cleaning products to no avail. I was thinking of vinegaroon'ing the whole couch to see if I could just make it black. What are your thoughts? I saw on here that I should try to avoid adding oxygen to the vinegaroon so perhaps I should brush it on vs using a spray bottle? Does the neutralizing with baking soda eliminate the vinegar smell? Should I add the baking soda it to the vinegaroon solution it's self or make a rinse afterwards? 

 

Thanks for your time. I know I have a lot of questions,

Kristina

Moved your post to Dyes, Antiques, Stains, Glues, Waxes, Finishes and Conditioners.

Check out vinegaroon in this forum, lots of posts and info.  Note it is not a dye.  It is a reaction between iron and tannins in the leather.  So the leather needs to be vegetable tanned, and, any finish removed so the veinegaroon can soak in and do its chemical reaction.

[Leather Repair Center]

On 7/18/2025 at 10:53 AM, teaners said:

A friend of mine threw up on my brown leather couch and it seems permanently stained. I used baking soda to get the smell out and tried the normal leather cleaning products to no avail. I was thinking of vinegaroon'ing the whole couch to see if I could just make it black. What are your thoughts? I saw on here that I should try to avoid adding oxygen to the vinegaroon so perhaps I should brush it on vs using a spray bottle? Does the neutralizing with baking soda eliminate the vinegar smell? Should I add the baking soda it to the vinegaroon solution it's self or make a rinse afterwards? 

 

Thanks for your time. I know I have a lot of questions,

Kristina

Hi Kristina, would you mind sharing a picture of the couch and stain?

[Constabulary]

If it was me I´d check with a professional leather cleaning / restoration service. DIY like "vinegaroon'ing" may work but it could get worse also. Again, I´d check with a Co. who is restoring / reconditioning leather. If you have one locally they may come to your house and check the damage. May cost some $ but a new leather couch most likely is more expensive.

Not on my end of the world but these folks f.i. offer telephone support:

https://clydesleathercompany.com/pages/about-us

[SUP]

7 hours ago, Constabulary said:

If it was me I´d check with a professional leather cleaning / restoration service.

That would be the thing to do. You have not mentioned the type of leather on your couch.  Vinegaroon only works on unfinished veg tanned leather. Baking soda damages leather more than vinegar, so be careful. 

You could try those enzymatic cleaners that are available for pet messes to get the stain really clean but spot test first.. After that, there are many leather dye creams available online, on Amazon. They are usually advertised for shoes or bags but work well on anything. I tried them some years ago and the shoes I restored then are still going strong. 

[Johanna]

A picture would really help. Some folks think they have leather when they really have fancy vinyl. Vinegar will often take an odor out of leather but I've never used it for stains. Upholstery leather is usually pretty resistant to staining unless it's ink. I wouldn't do anything to the stain without seeing how the chemical reacts on an inconspicuous piece of the leather, like underneath the couch. I'm pretty sure no matter what's going on, vinegaroon isn't the answer.

~J