All about cleaning products from genuine and artificial leather at home

Leather products never go out of fashion, so every home has something from the list: gloves, jacket, bag, boots ... Periodically, leather products require cleaning at home, this will keep them in almost perfect condition for several seasons. This is especially true of genuine leather products, since they require much more attention: many external factors negatively affect the material and lead to terrible things, while artificial leather products in most cases are enough to clean with a special cream or spray.

Tip

About 1 time per year, products made of light genuine leather must be dry cleaned. Cleaning at home is an express method that will only allow you to quickly get rid of momentary problems (therefore, it is recommended to remove stains as quickly as possible). Only professionals can cope with old spots.

How to get rid of stains?

There are a lot of folk remedies against spots, in most cases it is enough to use turpentine or gasoline for cleaning. However, they are not always a panacea, so depending on what the stain is, there are other cleaning methods.

1. Grease / paint / mold. Any solvent will do such a job perfectly. It is better to give preference to pure gasoline, but if it is not at hand, turpentine is also suitable. However, they should be used only on dense skin, which can withstand exposure without external changes. You can check this on the inside of the product. The stain should be wiped with a cotton swab dipped in turpentine or gasoline. Sometimes potato flour is added to gasoline in the same proportion. After the procedure, wipe the product with a dry cloth. Thin skin can be cleaned with chalk or starch, these products perfectly remove greasy stains. Conventional vegetable oil also fights stains from oil paint, which easily removes paint from the product.

Tip

You can get rid of the smell of gasoline by hanging a jacket or other leather item on the balcony (any well-ventilated place will do) or using freshly squeezed lemon juice. By the way, leaving the product in a ventilated place is the only drying method after any cleaning procedure.

Some try to remove greasy stains with a tissue that absorbs grease. A napkin is at the same time dried with a hairdryer in a gentle mode. This method of cleaning is not recommended, since it is forbidden to dry any leather product near heat sources or in the sun, this deforms both natural and artificial skin.

How to make skin shine?

In order for a leather product to maintain its “marketable” appearance for as long as possible, it is periodically required to clean it, giving shine.For example, a jacket needs to be cleaned no more than 1 time per week, paying attention to especially difficult places: collar, cuffs, pockets. These places get greasy very quickly and the skin fades.

The following remedies will help restore the skin to its original appearance:

• glycerol;
• ammonia;
• lemon juice;
• cut onion (perfect for leather bags);
• wax-based mixture (per 100 g of wax 30 g of castor oil, 50 g of turpentine and 10 g of melted rosin are used);
• coffee grounds (used only on dark skin, also perfectly removes the unpleasant smell of new genuine leather);
• a mixture based on turpentine, oil and yolk (in a ratio of 6: 1: 1, used to clean varnished products);
• egg white (a mixture of protein with milk is suitable for light or white skin);
• Orange peel.

But when using most of the above funds after the procedure, the product still needs to be treated with glycerin, petroleum jelly or castor oil. The fact is that alcohol, lemon juice and other “shine medications” remove grease, but at the same time they dry the skin very much and if you don’t wipe it with a moisturizer, it will quickly begin to crack and wrinkle.

What to do with scuffs?

Often, especially in jackets, scuffs appear on the elbows or shoulders. The skin in these places begins to whiten and crack, and then slowly crumbles. There are several stages of the struggle with this process, which will help to slow it down and externally return the jacket to its normal appearance.

• Clean the area with regular shoe polish (colorless or skin-friendly). This method is good at the first stage, when the cracks are small. After scrubbing the damaged area with cream, carefully sand the surface with a flannel rag. So you smooth and absorb the cream as much as possible.
• Use nitro paints in the form of an aerosol. This method can be noted when the skin begins to crumble. Paint should be applied in a thin layer, otherwise it will only speed up the process.
• Liquid skin. This tool will help in especially serious cases, up to the restoration and fastening of torn and cut areas.

How to keep a leather product in good condition?

In order for your jacket or handbag to please you for a long time, it is not enough just to remove the stains and periodically give it to dry cleaning. You should be careful about things. For example, jackets or other leather clothes should not be stored in plastic bags, for this, fabric covers on the lock are more suitable, which will also protect from dust and will not create a greenhouse effect.

The main enemy of all products made of genuine and artificial leather is water. They must not be washed unless otherwise indicated on the manufacturer's tag; most often, such a tag is on gloves that are washed only by hand in soapy water, and a drop of glycerin is added when rinsing. If you are exposed to rain, wipe the product at home with a dry flannel cloth. Drying near heating appliances is prohibited!

There are many sprays, creams, and other leather care products that sellers usually advise. For artificial leather products, this will be quite enough, but genuine leather responds better to traditional cleaning methods, although periodic use of various, for example, water-repellent aerosols will not be superfluous.

Tip

Before cleaning a leather product in any way, wipe it with a damp cloth to remove dust and dirt.

You should also be careful while wearing. Genuine leather products are not cheap, so you should not wear a leather jacket if you are going to do, for example, active sports. Unnecessary contact with objects that could damage (leave scratches, scuffs or even tear) leather products should also be avoided.