Clothes made of genuine leather have many advantages over artificial analogues. It "breathes", looks more attractive, retains heat, and serves for years. Many people wonder how to clean a leather jacket at home so that after the procedure its style does not deteriorate, and there are no stains or spots on the surface of the fabric. Before starting work, you should familiarize yourself with the basic methods of removing dirt and the rules for regular care.
Basic methods
Items made from natural materials require more careful care than clothes made from artificial fabric. It is better to do light cleaning several times a week or as the item gets dirty. This method will help to easily and effectively relieve jacket owners from the need to wash. To remove difficult stains, it is important to clean in the following order:
- removing greasy stains from the surface of the jacket;
- removal of individual dirty areas;
- collar cleaning;
- tidying up sleeves and cuffs;
- wash the entire product.
Surface cleaning
Before washing the entire item, you need to clean it from stains, as well as perform preventive care for individual parts of the leather jacket. The first thing to do after degreasing is to remove dirty areas from clothing. Stains on a jacket can be of varying complexity. Each type has its own method of removal:
- Normal dirt. It is removed with a wet piece of cloth or sponge. This is the easiest way to clean a white or dark leather jacket at home. If this method does not work, you can wet the brush with soapy water or a special stain remover.
- Greasy or oily area, traces of sweat. They are removed with alcohol or gasoline. In the latter case, the jacket will have to be washed to eliminate the specific smell.
- Ink. It can be easily removed with rubbing alcohol.
- Stains on the surface after rain or moisture. We remove them with table vinegar.
A proven method for removing odor after cleaning with alcohol or gasoline is to wipe the treated surface with orange peel or another citrus fruit.
After removing stains of ink, paint, sweat from a leather jacket, the collar should be cleaned. This area gets dirty quite quickly. If you do not wash it in time, difficulties may arise in the future. There are several methods for regular care of the collar and lining:
- in case of light contamination, you can clean it with a regular cloth or sponge soaked in warm water - after this, the area of clothing is dried or wiped with a napkin;
- Cosmetic milk for removing makeup also copes well with light and medium-severity stains; it can be applied using a cotton pad;
- onion juice and orange peel can deal with small and simple stains; after the procedure, the area should be washed;
- difficult stains on a leather jacket should be removed with medical alcohol or gasoline, and to eliminate the resulting odor, you need to wipe the treated area with citrus peel;
- Suede collars and linings are cleaned only with a rubber brush on the hard side, while it is necessary to add a cleaning mixture consisting of salt, potato starch, talc and tooth powder.
The outer side of the collar can be cleaned as it gets dirty, but the lining gets dirty very quickly and requires stain removal every week.
After the collar, you need to clean the sleeves and cuffs of the jacket from dirt. To do this, the product should be laid out on a flat surface and checked for any dirt. If any stains are found, remove them.
After cleaning a light leather jacket, it is given a little shine. To do this, it is necessary to prepare a solution consisting of ammonia and warm water in a ratio of ½ and wipe the sleeves and cuffs with a soft sponge. After completing the procedure, the coating of the clothing should be soaked with glycerin or colorless cream.
Washing
Machine washing of genuine leather clothing is not recommended, as this procedure can damage the appearance and structure of the product. However, if you follow the rules, the quality of cleaning a leather jacket will increase significantly. When machine washing, remember the following recommendations:
- wash only in delicate mode;
- if the required mode is not available, then the program for wool products will do;
- the water temperature should not exceed 30 °C;
- to avoid damaging clothes, it is recommended to set the spin speed to 300-600 rpm;
- Instead of washing powder, it is better to use liquid soap - it has a gentler effect on natural leather.
Once the jacket is completely dry after washing, you need to soak the surface with glycerin or a special colorless cream for natural leather. Then you should thoroughly crumple the clothes. This allows you not to think about how to remove stains from a leather jacket for a long time.
Choosing a product depending on the color of the jacket
Leather products do not have a wide range of colors, but when cleaning, you should carefully select the means, as they can negatively affect the appearance of the jacket. In total, there are 3 main variations of shades of outerwear:
- Light-colored items. For these, it is recommended to clean the leather jacket at home or take the items to professionals. Stains can be removed from beige or white items with beaten egg whites. The resulting foam is used to treat the surface of the item, after which the item is washed under running water and wiped dry. A white jacket can also be cleaned with nail polish remover, but it is best to use it only as a last resort.
- Brown and red items. To clean a genuine leather jacket of this shade, you need to use half an onion or a soap solution. It is not advisable to use gasoline to remove stains, as it may leave dirt behind.
- Jackets in dark colors. The least capricious items that can be treated with any cleaning agent. The only exception may be a solution of water and chalk in a ratio of ½, since after such treatment, white streaks and spots remain on the surface.
It is not recommended to use cleaning products made from citrus peel, as it gives the light coating a yellow tint that is difficult to remove. Professional jacket care products include creams, sprays, conditioners, shampoos, and wipes. For maximum results, any product should be tested on an inconspicuous area first.
How to remove stains
Deep stains of various origins may appear on a leather jacket. Traces of sweat, grease, oil paints, mold are easily removed using regular gasoline. Turpentine can be used as a substitute. After such treatment, the jacket must be soaked in glycerin so that the leather does not become rough. Some soft items made of such material cannot be exposed to gasoline or turpentine - in this case, you can use a solution of chalk or starch and water in a ratio of 1:2. After preparing the product, apply it to the stain and leave for 1-2 hours, after which time the area is wiped with a soft sponge.
To remove traces of a ballpoint pen, you can use regular medical alcohol, which you need to wipe the stain with. To clean a jacket from salt stains, you should make a solution of running water and table vinegar in a 1:1 ratio. If you don’t have the ingredients, you can use liquid soap. Blood stains can be removed with a cold soap solution and professional products, such as wipes and sprays.
If none of the stain removal methods helped, you should seek help from a dry cleaner, because independent attempts to remove such contamination can spoil the appearance and structure of a product made of genuine leather.
How to get rid of greasiness
In addition to stains, jackets also have to be cleaned of grease. The following parts of the jacket are often subject to such contamination:
- collar lining;
- inner and outer part of the sleeves;
- pocket area.
Recommendations on how to clean a leather jacket from greasiness:
- Wipe the area on the clothing with a cotton pad or soft sponge soaked in rubbing alcohol.
- Treat the area with lemon juice or citrus peel.
- Wet the surface of the product with glycerin and thoroughly knead the jacket.
Wearing a scarf or wiping the area weekly with a sponge soaked in detergent prevents the collar lining from becoming greasy. It is also recommended to use water-repellent sprays and care creams more often. To remove stains at any time, you should purchase a ready-made set of products and know how to clean a leather jacket at home.
Video
