Did you know that leather was used as one of the first articles of clothing that was used by man? It has been used throughout history for various items due to its durability and versatility. Another one of the qualities that leather beholds is that it is beautiful, classic and long lasting. When you spend your well earned money on a product or article that consists of leather such as; shoes, handbags, clothing, luggage, furniture or car upholstery, wouldn’t you want to know how to clean leather and protect it so that it will last for years to come?
Leather comes in two different types and both require a certain product to clean and maintain them. Smooth leather has a hard and shiny appearance that is found in such items as car upholstery or handbags. The other type of leather is suede which is soft, grainy or furry in its description and can be found in products such as boots, shoes, handbags, coats and chairs for example. Both of these types of leather can be dyed in a vast array of colors and the type of dye that is used determines what type of cleaner that should be used to maintain them. Make sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions on how to clean leather or you can end up permanently staining or damaging it beyond compare. It is true that when you don’t know how to clean and maintain your precious leather, chances are your leather will either be consumed totally by mold or worse ruin it in the process. Cleaning leather garments is relatively simple in most cases. So, how do you do it?
First of all it is best to treat your coat with a protective treatment such as a suede or leather guard. The treatment will protect your leather garment and help prevent the ingress of water, dirt and grime.It is best to treat your coat with leather groom a couple of times a year or as required. On other occasions a slightly damp cloth will remove most marks or stains.
For scuffs or color loss there are a couple of options:
•If because of its age the garment is losing its color, then spending some time conditioning it will help a lot. Heat exposure such as central heating will make Leather become dry due and can make it artificially dull. A little conditioner may be all that is needed to rejuvenate it.
•If damage is minor, use a leather polish in renovating its shine to cover the scuffs. However, this kind of operation is dependent on the type of materials used.
The lining on the other part of your leather garment that you may want to clean however won’t require it, provided your garment is left to air dry on a regular basis and kept hanging for the majority of the time.
If you do want to clean it, you can clean it by hand with a sponge and a small amount of water and washing powder. Be extra careful as not to saturate your garment. Another trick for getting rid of unwanted smells like smoke etc from the lining of a garment is to lightly run a vacuum cleaner over it.
These are just simple to do steps to make your leather looking amazingly new and smelling great. By maintaining your leather, mold and mildew won’t even think of inhabiting on your leather, plus, it will surely last for many years.
Over time your leather items can dry out and become damaged. Keep the leather out of extreme heat and sun. You can condition your leather with products to keep it from drying out. It can also help to protect the leather when you use these products.
Getting stains out of a leather item can be difficult. You should only use products that are specifically designed for use on leather. You can test the product on a small section of the leather to be sure that it will not ruin the leather. When you are removing a stain from one of a set of items like gloves you will want to treat both of the gloves to be sure that the color remains matched. You can also remove small spots with alcohol or cornstarch. Cuticle remover can also work on small spots. If your leather item becomes water stained in one place you may be able to save the piece if you wet the entire garment to get the same look on the entire garment.
These are just simple to do steps to make your leather looking amazingly new and smelling great. By maintaining your leather, mold and mildew won’t even think of inhabiting on your leather, plus, it will surely last for many years.
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