Leather Care
Leather Care
Items made from leather have a beauty of their own, whether that item be a pair of shoes, a jacket or other clothing, or accessories. Leather tends to be durable and sturdy being able to give you years of pleasure and wear if cared for properly. It is important that you understand your leather so you can begin to maintain its sheen and impressive appearance.
Identifying your leather type
There are 3 main types of leather used in the manufacturing of clothes, shoes, etc; Aniline leather, Protected Leather and Nubuck Leather.
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Aniline leather when scratched will scratch to a lighter colour; it will be a smooth surface and you will be able to see the grain structure through the finish.
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Protected leather will not scratch to a lighter colour; it remains opaquely pigmented and is the most commonly used leather type.
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Nubuck leather will change in hue when your hand is passed gently over the surface and is similar in touch to fine velvet. Suede has a course velvet structure.
Having identified the leather type used to produce your goods it is essential that you abstain from making irreversible errors in cleaning such as using the wrong type of solvent or solution to clean your leather goods. Solvents, abrasives, saddle soap, household soaps and cleaners should never be used to clean your leather even if it appears to produce clean results as it may cause damage such as cracking since they will be incompatible with today’s water-based leather finishes.
Suede, Nubuck and Aniline leather have little to no protective surface coating so they will always require special cleaning.
Leather care begins at home
Bright and Klean’s leather care experts have put together a list of things for you to do to maintain your leathers beauty;
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Dust off your leather goods routinely (weekly if possible) to remove traces of dirt and soil
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Apply a leather protector or leather conditioner to your leather goods at least once a year
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Remove spills on you leather immediately by blotting it out using a soft absorbent cloth
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Do not rub out spill stains from your leather as it may abrade your leather or worst still leave it with uneven colouring
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Stubborn stains should be removed by soaking the leather in a solution of water and mild non detergent soap
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Let you leather goods dry out naturally after cleaning
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Nubuck or suede shoes should be brushed routinely to remove topical soil and spills should be blotted out immediately using an absorbent cloth
Additionally Bright and Klean also recommend that you wear a scarf when donning your leather jacket/garment to protect the collar from perspiration and body oils. Also store your leather in a cool ventilated area and if it becomes saturated in heavy rain let it dry naturally avoiding artificial heat at all cost. Stain removal is best done by the experts so pop your stained leather and suede into Bright and Klean. Finally do not store leather in plastic bags.
Professional Leather Cleaning [Imitation Leather and Suede]
Imitation leather and suede manufacturers are able, nowadays, to produce goods that are virtually indistinguishable for the real thing using a film of vinyl-based or urethane-based coatings, (other coatings can be made to look like suede). However, when cleaning items made from simulation leather and suede the coatings and adhesives can fail resulting in self sticking, blistering; and possibly even stiffening of the leather or suede, from dry cleaning.