Leather Cleaning Products

When it comes to leather goods, the rule of thumb is to make use of leather cleaning products in order to keep them in tip-top shape. This is because it really is true that these goods can be so delicate that the use of a cleaner that is not gentle can ruin them beyond repair - or, at the very least, leave a stain or mark that can be almost impossible to get rid of. However, in a pinch, other very gentle cleansers can be utilized.

You’ll have to take note that before you start to clean leather, you need to do three things. The first is to determine what type of leather the object is made of. There are two basic types and these are finished and unfinished. Finished leather has been treated to make it somewhat more durable, so that it can resist damage and staining by water, soap, or dry rubbing, for example. Examples of items made from this sort of material are some garments, furniture, and bags. Conversely, unfinished leather has not been treated in this manner. Some examples of items made of this material are gloves and saddles.

The next thing you would need to do before you use leather cleaning products is to find out what kind of stain needs to be removed. Now this is extremely important, as using the wrong sorts of cleaners for a particular stain might only serve to set the stain - to ‘lock’ it in and make it even harder or even impossible to remove. If you are unsure in any way, it may be best to bring the item to a specialist and allow them to take over, just to ensure that your item does not get damaged.

Lastly, it’s always save to do a spot test. Select an area that is not very visible or not visible at all, and perform the procedure there first to make sure that the item will not be damaged or discolored by your treatment.

For general cleaning, or cleaning of items that are not badly stained, you can try these steps.

For cleaning finished leather, you can do the following. Select a clean cloth and a very mild soap and moisturizer combination (such as Dove or Ivory for example). Moisten the cloth and squirt a little of the cleaner on it. Work up a light lather by rubbing the cloth together. After you have done that, you can rub the cloth on the stained area until the stain is removed. Remove the lather with another cloth, or another part of the cloth that isn’t saturated with it. Don’t rinse with water.

To clean unfinished leather, you can use a specialty cleaning soap such as saddle soap. Follow the same procedure as for finished leather, although you can elect to use a sponge as it is gentler. Afterwards, hang the item up somewhere where it can air dry. Lastly, you may want to use a leather preservative to give your item more stain and damage resistance.