How to clean leather items?

A stain on leather clothing, shoes or furniture is not a reason to dry-clean the product. Sometimes you can cope with folk remedies, which are sure to be found at home.

The leather product can be washed both in the washing machine and by hand:

• About hand wash. Before washing your favorite leather clothes with your hands, you should soak the item in a basin of warm water for about fifteen minutes (do not add powder). After that, the places of dirt on the product are removed with a soft brush and soap. When the cleaning procedure is over, it is necessary to rinse the clothes, shake them (in no case wring out, otherwise the thing will deteriorate), and then turn out to the wrong side.

• About machine wash. It is better to wash natural or artificial leather by hand, but you can do it in a typewriter, if only manufacturers do not exclude this method. In this case, it is worth insuring as much as possible, observing the basic rules. The temperature must be set to 30-40 degrees, the spin and drying function must be disabled beforehand. You cannot load a leather item with the rest of your clothes into the machine, even if they have the same shades, it is better to wash it separately.

It is important to wash light and colored leather clothing separately, both by hand and by machine. For washing white products, it is better to give preference to the manual mode, while it is not even necessary to use a powder, you can (and even need to) limit yourself to baby soap or shampoo.

To do this, warm water is poured into the basin, a little soap or shampoo is added, as well as ammonia (a couple of drops). After that, a sponge or a piece of cloth is moistened in this solution and the contaminated areas are gently wiped.

After the product has been washed, it must be dried. This also applies to the case when washing was not required to eliminate the stain, but it was enough just to wipe the problem area with lemon juice or ammonia. To dry leather goods, you need to hang them on hangers or put them on a horizontal surface. In this case, the room should be well ventilated.

There may be completely different types of stains on a leather product - from iodine or potassium permanganate to a marker or gouache. And for each of them there are means by which you can cope with the problem:

• Gasoline or turpentine will help remove a greasy oil stain, as well as remove paint. But these substances should be used only when the material is dense. If the skin is thin, then you can remove traces of oil with chalk or starch, sprinkling them on the greasy spot.
• You can wash the felt-tip pen or paste from the pen with alcohol, vinegar or salt. It is necessary to apply the product to the contaminated areas, rub gently, then remove the remnants with a damp cloth.

• If a bloody stain flaunts on a leather product, then you can remove it with soap and water. The same method will help to get rid of stains from gum and other contaminants. If blood has dripped onto a light-colored product, then an aspirin tablet diluted in water will come to the rescue.

You may find the following recipes useful:

• Lemon juice well cleans dirt from natural leather. It is necessary to moisten a cotton pad with it and wipe the stain. With the help of lemon juice, the leather product will become not only clean, but also shiny.
• Sometimes a simple soapy solution with ammonia can cope. It is necessary to add one tablespoon of ammonia to water and soap, wet a sponge or cloth with this solution and wipe the contaminated area, after the product should dry. To add shine, you can apply a small amount of petroleum jelly to the skin.
• If the contamination is large and deep, then it will not be possible to remove it with soap. A good way is alcohol or gasoline (refined). You need to moisten a cotton pad in one or another means and wipe the stain with it.

• In addition to lemon, an orange, or rather, its peel, can also come to the rescue. She simply rubbed the contaminated area until the spot disappears completely. This method is also good in that orange peel removes unpleasant odors from leather fabric. This will be useful if cleaning was carried out with gasoline before. The crusting method is not suitable for white products.
• For light shades, cleansing with milk will be relevant. You need to moisten a sponge in it and wipe the thing, then let it dry.
• You can also get rid of dirt on the skin with the help of chicken protein. It is whipped until foamy, then applied to the contaminated area, and then washed. When the thing is dry, there will be no trace of the stain.
• To wipe off dirt and dust from a leather thing that has not been worn for a long time and has become dry, you need to lubricate it with glycerin. After processing, it will become soft, shiny and clean.

Leatherette care has its own nuances. But you can still clean stains from leather pants, casing or raincoat at home without resorting to dry cleaning.

If it is undesirable to wash a natural leather thing in a machine, then leatherette can. But before sending the dress to the washing machine, just in case, you need to look at the label, which contains information about whether the item can be washed. If not, you need to find another way to remove the stain. If washing is possible, the main thing is to remember that the washed product must never be wrung out, otherwise there is a risk of ruining the thing irrevocably.

• A small stain can be removed, as is the case with natural leather, with soapy water. You just have to wash your trousers or skirt with it, outside and inside. Aggressive substances are excluded, therefore, turpentine or gasoline cannot be used.
• The next way will appeal to coffee lovers. Apply coffee grounds to the dirt. To do this, freshly ground coffee is diluted in water, mixed until a homogeneous mass is formed, then this gruel is applied to the stain, using a sponge, the product is gently wiped inside or outside (depending on how deep the stain is). After the procedure, the rest of the grounds are removed with a dry cloth (preferably flannel).
• To cleanse clothes from dirt, you can purchase a special powder or spray, which is sold in stores, which can also be used to clean eco-leather.

Before you start cleaning your shoes, you need to take into account the material itself:

• Patent leather boots will clean differently than untreated leather sneakers.
• A method with active washing out of stains is not suitable for patent shoes. It will be enough to moisten a cotton pad in water, wipe it, for example, boots, and then remove the remaining moisture with a dry cloth. You need to rub carefully so that the lacquer material is not damaged. In order for the shoes to shine, as before, you need to use a special spray that is sold in the store.
• If the purchased leather shoes have not been pretreated, then you can get rid of dirt on them with the help of a soap solution. It is important to dry your shoes after rinsing off the soap residue. If there are stains on it, then you can remove them with the help of vinegar mixed with water in a 1: 1 ratio.

• If you get a greasy stain on your favorite leather shoes, then ordinary soda in the amount of one spoon will help get rid of it. It is diluted in water and applied to the stain. With gentle movements, the dirt is wiped off until foam appears, which is then removed with a dry cloth.
• Another popular recipe for removing stains from the skin is a cut onion, part of which the product is rubbed until the pollution disappears. This method, however, will only be relevant in the case of colored shoes.

Sometimes the stain has to be scrubbed off the leather bag and other accessories. Then The following methods are used:

• You can use dishwashing detergent. With its help, it is easy to wipe off a backpack, a cap, a lace and other products, but only those that have a dark shade.
• You can get rid of tea or wine stains with laundry soap. But first you need to blot the dirt with a cloth so that the remnants of this or that drink are absorbed there.
• If there are traces from the handle on the bag, then they will wipe them off with an alcohol solution, which is applied to a cotton pad. After completing the procedure, a greasy cream should be applied to the leather product.

• But for light bags, alcohol is not suitable, but milk for removing makeup or a soap solution will do. It is also possible to remove dirt from a light-colored leather product with an eraser.
• To keep bags, belts and other accessories shiny after cleaning, you can apply petroleum jelly or regular sunflower oil to them.
• Good whitening toothpaste removes stains. The area of ​​contamination is rubbed with it, then after a while the residues of the paste are removed with a damp cloth.
• If a scratch or crack has formed on your favorite bag or backpack, you should purchase a special cream in the store that matches the color and cover up the defects with it. Such dyes are also sold in the form of a spray, which is evenly distributed over the product, after which it must dry.

If this or that stain turned out to be on an expensive leather sofa or chairs, this does not mean that you need to pack all interior items in special covers to keep them intact. You can get rid of dirt on furniture. For this, there are both special tools bought in the store and home methods:

• You can remove stains using special wet wipes, which are impregnated with a special solution that allows you to wipe off dirt without harming the furniture itself. There are also products with air conditioning functions, which not only remove stains, but also give furniture a well-groomed appearance.
• You can do with what will be at hand. For example, an alcohol solution. The stains themselves are wiped off with it, and after they disappear, these places are treated with glycerin so that the leather product does not dry out after using alcohol (it is known to have drying properties).
• Particular care should be taken when cleaning light-colored leather furniture. It requires delicate handling. Milk combined with chicken protein works best with cleaning stains in this case. The ingredients are mixed until foam is formed, then the mixture is applied to a cloth and the dirty surface is wiped with it.

• Another way to remove stains from light-colored furniture is to use soap in combination with fabric softener. The resulting solution lubricates areas of contamination until they are completely eliminated. Then the surface is wiped with a damp cloth.
• Do not use aggressive substances (turpentine, bleach and other solvents) when cleaning stains from furniture. It is advisable not to wet the sponges and fabrics with tap water.

To prevent the appearance of stains on leather furniture, you should be careful and periodically take care of the products, wiping them from dust.

So that your favorite leather products do not lose their original appearance, you must observe recommendations for their storage and cleaning:

• Any leather product must be properly stored. For this, there are special covers for clothes.
• It is advisable to start cleaning things as soon as the stain appears.
• When cleaning (both natural and artificial leather), you should be careful, strong friction is excluded, otherwise there is a high risk of scratches and other damage on your favorite clothes or accessory.

• The agent used for cleaning must be reliable and proven; too caustic and aggressive solvents should be avoided.
• As soon as the product is cleaned, you cannot immediately put it into the closet, first it must dry out.
• When cleaning, do not wet the leather item too much, as moisture will stretch it and deteriorate.
• If the outerwear made of leather gets wet outside in the rain or snow, then at home it must be wiped with a dry cloth and wait until the product is dry.

• Before putting this or that leather product into the closet for the purpose of long-term storage, you need to clean all the dirt from it, if any.
• It is important to constantly monitor things made of leather, wipe the dust off with a foam sponge or a damp cloth.
• You need to iron a leather product carefully, turning it to the wrong side. The temperature on the iron should not be high.

By following these simple recommendations, you can extend the life of your leather product for a long time.

For information on how to clean leather items, see the next video.