Cleaning of leather products at home: giving shine and removing stains

Leather products never go out of fashion, so every home has something from the list: gloves, jacket, bag, shoes. .. Periodically, leather products require cleaning at home, it will support them in an almost perfect state for several seasons. Especially this applies to products made of genuine leather, since they require much more attention: many external factors negatively affect the material and lead things into a terrible condition, while artificial leather products in most cases are sufficiently cleaned with a special cream or spray.

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Approximately once a year, products of light natural leather must be submitted to dry cleaning. Cleaning at home is an express method that will only quickly get rid of immediate problems( therefore it is recommended to remove stains as soon as possible).With the old spots can only cope professionals.

How to get rid of stains?

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

1. Grease / Paint / Mold .With this kind of work, any solvent can do fine. It is better to give preference to pure gasoline, but if it is not at hand, then turpentine will do. However, they should be used only on dense skin, which can withstand the impact without external changes. You can check this on the inside of the product. Spot should be wiped with cotton wool soaked in turpentine or gasoline. Sometimes to a gasoline in the same proportion potato flour is added. After the procedure, wipe the product with a dry rag. Thin skin can be cleaned with chalk or starch, these products excellently remove greasy stains. With stains from oil paint, conventional vegetable oil also fights, which will easily remove the paint from the product.

advice You can get rid of the smell of gasoline by hanging a jacket or other leather thing on the balcony( any well-ventilated place is suitable) or using freshly squeezed lemon juice. By the way, leave the product in a ventilated place - the only way to dry after any cleaning procedure.

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

Inks .Such traces at home are removed with the help of alcohol, table vinegar or a slurry of fine salt, mixed with water. Kashitsu put directly on the stain, the rest of the means impregnate a cloth or cotton wool and wipe the spoiled space.

Blood .Most often, the blood can be cleaned with a simple soap solution, gently removing the stain, starting from the edges. Old or stained spots on light skin can be treated with water with a dissolved tablet of aspirin or hydrogen peroxide. If this does not help, contact a dry cleaner.

How to give the skin shine?

In order for the leather product to retain its "commodity" appearance for as long as possible ", it is periodically necessary to clean it, giving it a shine. For example, a jacket needs to be polished no more often than once a week, paying attention to particularly complex places: a collar, cuffs, pockets. These places are very quickly greased, and the skin grows dull.

The following tools will help restore the skin:

• glycerol;
• liquid ammonia;
• lemon juice;
• cut bulb( perfect for leather bags);
• mixture based on wax( 100 g of wax used 30 g of castor oil, 50 g of turpentine and 10 g of melted rosin);
• coffee grounds( it is used only on dark skin, it also perfectly removes the unpleasant smell of new natural leather);
• mixture based on turpentine, butter and yolk( in a ratio of 6: 1: 1, used for cleaning lacquer products);
• egg white( a mixture of protein and milk is suitable for light or white skin);
• orange peel.

But with most of the above, 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 "medicines for shine" remove greasiness, but at the same time very dry the skin, and if not wipe the humidifier, then it will quickly begin to crack and wrinkle.

What to do with scuffs?

Often, especially in jackets, there are scrapes on the elbows or shoulders. The skin in these places begins to whiten and crack, after which it slowly falls off. There are several stages in the fight against this process, which will help to slow it down and externally return the jacket to a normal appearance.

• Clean the area with a regular shoe cream( colorless or skin color).This method is good in the first stage, when the cracks are small. After you polish the damaged area with cream, grind the surface thoroughly with a flannel cloth. So you will smoothen and absorb the cream as much as possible.
• Use nitro paint in the form of an aerosol. This method can be taken as a note when the skin begins to crumble. The 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, until the restoration and bonding 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's not enough just to remove stains and periodically give to dry cleaners. Care must be taken to things. For example, jackets or other leather clothes should not be stored in plastic bags, for this purpose fabric covers on the lock that will protect from dust and will not create a greenhouse effect are more suitable.

The main enemy of all products made from natural and artificial leather is water. They can not be washed if the manufacturer's tag does not specify the other;most often this tag is on gloves, which are washed only by hand in soapy water, and when rinsing a drop of glycerin is added. If you are exposed to rain, at home you should wipe the product with a dry flannel cloth. Dry near heating devices is prohibited!

There are many sprays, creams and other products for the care of leather products, which are usually advised by sellers. For products made from artificial leather, this will be quite enough, but the natural skin reacts better to folk methods of cleaning, although periodic use of various, for example, water-repellent aerosols will not be superfluous.

Tip

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

Also be careful when wearing socks. Products made of genuine leather are expensive, so do not wear a leather jacket, if you are going to do, for example, active sports. Also, avoid unnecessary contact with objects that can damage( leave scratches, rubs or even tear) leather products.