How to Clean Leather

Leather is tough, but cleaning it the wrong way can damage it and make it appear much older than it is.

One basic thing to remember when cleaning leather is to avoid drying it out or doing anything that alters its appearance.

It's not necessary to spend a great deal of money on products for cleaning leather, especially the finished type of leather commonly used to make coats, furniture, and boots.

Primarily, you only need inexpensive products you probably already have in your home and that contain less harmful chemicals than the manufactured leather cleaning products.

Homemade Leather Cleaner:

• 1/3 cup liquid hand soap
• 2/3 cup water

Homemade Leather Conditioner:

• Vegetable oil

Leather Cleaning Tips:

Use Gentle Cleaners:

Start with a gentle hand soap product.

Vegetable oil, some tap water, and clean rags are the only other ingredients you should need, but each piece of leather is a little different from another, and something that works great on one project might not be the best plan for another.

Test The Leather First:

Before you get heavily into cleaning any visible part of the leather, test an area of the leather no one sees.

Some leathers might lighten or dry out from the soap that you use. It is not likely that there will be a problem, but do the test and wait twenty-four hours before you decide to clean the rest of the material.

Remember that leather is not water-proof. It is water resistant. The idea is to use as little soap and water as possible- Just enough needed to clean it, and no more than that.

Use As Littler Cleaner As Possible:

Start with a damp cloth and just a small amount of the soap; using a smaller portion of soap will leave fewer residues behind that will have to be removed when the process is finished.

Base the amount of soap you use on how much stain you are trying to remove and how well the soap cleans in a weak state.

Cleaning Steps:

Wipe It On:

With a minor amount of soap on the damp rag, rub the rag onto the soap lathering it and thinning it as much as possible. Never apply the soap directly to the leather, always lather it up first.

Wipe It Off:

Use another rag to wipe the soap residue from the leather when the cleaning is finished. Dampen it the same as you did the cleaning rag. The idea is to keep most of the water off the leather so it doesn't absorb it and result in damage to the leather. Do not go under the misguided assumption that leather is waterproof; leather only repels water.

Dry It:

Use a soft dry cloth to remove as much of the excess film of soap residue and water from the leather as possible. After the item is as clean and dry as you can get it, let it air dry for some time to be sure that any water that might have penetrated the outer skin has an opportunity to dry out.

Condition It:

Leather contains natural oils, and the washing process will remove some of these.

It is very important to put some of that oil back into the leather. Take a clean dry cloth and put a small amount of oil on it and work this into the leather using circular strokes.

Do not use so much oil that the surface looks more shiny that normal because that means oil is standing on the surface and attracting dirt and grime. An indication of excess oil application is when the leather is darker than it was originally.

If you have applied too much, simply wipe off the excess with a clean cloth.