We promise, caring for leather is not as difficult as you think. But it is important to care for your leather goods so that you can enjoy them for a long time.
In this article you will receive valuable leather care tips and which household remedies you can use as an alternative to leather cleaner to care for your leather. Let's get started, get to work on the leather.
Why is it important to care for leather?
Leather is a high-quality natural product that accompanies you on many missions. As you know, leather is made from animal skin, e.g. from cow, calf, goat or pig. During the manufacturing process, the skin is tanned and dyed.
Of course , daily use leaves marks on the leather that should be removed . Sunlight and moisture can also leave marks on leather. And sometimes a French fry ends up on your chic handbag.
All these marks should be removed, along with a little care for the leather, and you will be able to enjoy your faithful companion for a long time.
If you are interested in this topic, then take a look at our guide for lovers: Overview of leather types
What is the best way to care for leather?
For proper leather care , it is important to choose a leather cleaner that suits your leather. You can also use household remedies for cleaning ; we will tell you what these are in the text below.
Caring for smooth leather
You should regularly remove dust and dirt with a damp cloth.
- Small,
- size,
- You can remove old and new stains with a professional leather cleaner that is specifically designed for smooth leather.
You can then protect and care for the smooth leather by waterproofing it; use a waterproofing spray specifically for smooth leather.
From time to time you can also treat your smooth leather with leather grease, but please do not use it every time you clean it. You will feel when your leather needs a dose of leather balm.
Caring for suede
Regular removal of dust and dirt is also essential here. The best way to do this is with a suede brush , and to remove stains with a cleaner suitable for suede.
It is particularly important to waterproof suede after cleaning , as the roughened leather is more susceptible to moisture. Waterproofing protects and cares for the leather optimally.
Caring for metallic leather
Here too, removing dust and dirt is the most important part of cleaning . You can do this with a soft cotton cloth . Please do not use microfiber cloths as this could damage the surface of the metallic leather.
For stains, you should use a special leather cleaner for metallic leather, as this is specially formulated for the sensitive surface . You should then waterproof the leather to protect and care for it.
Caring for light leather
You already know the basics of leather cleaning, right: removing dust and dirt. For light-coloured, smooth leather , you can use a dry duster , then you can clean the leather with a damp cloth, but please don't let it drip wet .
For light-coloured suede, you should remove dust and dirt with a suede brush and also clean the leather with a damp cloth, but only with a slightly damp cloth .
You can remove stains on light suede using dirt erasers . Light smooth leather and light suede should also be waterproofed after cleaning to care for and protect them.
Cleaning white leather is a whole other matter. Please take a look at the relevant article.
Caring for dark leather
You've probably guessed that removing dust and dirt is part of the care routine , even for dark leather. You can use a slightly damp cotton cloth to wipe the leather. You should then care for and pamper the leather by waterproofing it.
The best home remedies for leather care
You don't always need a professional cleaner to care for and clean leather. You can clean and care for your leather with these six household products for leather care. You probably already have some of them in your cleaning or storage cupboard.
Another tip : it is best to use distilled or boiled water for cleaning so that no limescale stains form. The best way to remove stains is to dab , please do not rub.
Rubbing could make the stain bigger and damage the surface. Before you start cleaning, always test how the cleaning agent works on an inconspicuous area.
Curd soap
Light dirt and grease stains on smooth leather can be removed with soap. Please never apply pure soap to the stains ; mix a little soap in lukewarm water .
Soak a cotton cloth and wring it out thoroughly before you start treating the stain . After this cleaning, the leather will appreciate an extra portion of care ; use a leather care product specifically tailored to your leather.
Wet wipes
You can also clean smooth leather with wet wipes, but please do not rub the leather too hard to avoid damaging the surface.
Upholstery foam
Upholstery foam has proven to be a great cleaner for suede. Spray the foam evenly on and massage it in with a suede brush . Then brush the leather with the brush to remove any foam residue.
Eraser or magic sponge
To remove stains from suede, you can use a colorless eraser or a magic sponge . Simply rub over the stain, but again, please do not rub too hard.
Shampoo and pH-neutral shower gel
Dissolve a little shampoo or shower gel in lukewarm water and use it to clean your smooth leather. Less is more , don't use too much shampoo or shower gel, use it sparingly . Since both remove fat from the leather , it is particularly important to pamper the leather with a care product after cleaning.
How often does leather need to be cleaned?
First of all, if you thought that you had to do a daily cleaning, we can reassure you!
Depending on the type of leather, it is sufficient to thoroughly care for and clean it every six to twelve months . Just like with your skin, you should not over-care for leather.
In contrast to leather products such as car leather care, i.e. products (care products) that you use every day, you are welcome to carry out regular cleaning and care.
Artificial leather care and leather cleaning - these are the dos and don'ts
There is another popular fashion favorite in the fashion world, and that is faux leather . In every fashion metropolis, Berlin, Paris or New York, you see fashion-conscious women with faux leather bags.
To ensure that an artificial leather bag continues to shine by your side, PICARD tells you the best leather care methods to properly care for and clean artificial leather.
The do's and don'ts for caring for artificial leather are very simple, they are easy to care for and clean . You don't even need any special leather care products. If you like things to be particularly easy and simple, it is even enough to clean with a clean, wet cloth and a little soap .
The don'ts that you shouldn't try are overly aggressive cleaning products . Although artificial leather is not as high quality as real leather, there are still small things you should pay attention to.
Expert tip: The PVC in the artificial leather is sensitive to oils and fats in various cleaning products. After a while, these can accelerate the migration of plasticizers and the artificial leather can become brittle .
The next trip to the lake is coming up? Not without shiny car seats - The right leather care for car seats
You have big plans for the weekend, you're going on a great and exciting trip to the lake. You've already put the car through the car wash, but what about the car seats?
It is always important to maintain the beauty both inside and out. We will help you to carry out correct and proper leather care for your car seats .
You don't have to become a cleaning freak, it's perfectly sufficient to take care of the leather of your car using a few care products . But do everything one after the other so that your leather is treated gently.
The first recommended step would be to clean the leather seats with a brush to remove any coarse dirt from the leather.
In the next step, we look at the smaller and finer stains in the leather. The stains that may not have gone away during the first cleaning.
Here we say goodbye to all the finer stains by applying care products to the leather. You can use care milk with a UV filter ( UV protection would be good, especially in a car) or other special leather care products.
The final step in leather care is to apply cream or grease to the leather . This is very simple, you can simply apply leather grease to the leather seats. This will give the leather back the oils and fats that were removed.
Checklist - what you need for the leather care of your car seats
- Bucket and water
- Clean rags, possibly polishing cloth
- Gloves, garbage bags
- Leather brush or vacuum cleaner
- Care products for car leather seats (care milk, leather grease, UV protection)
- Cleaner for leather care
The principle of leather care also applies to car seats. Less is more, you shouldn't overdo it with cleaning and care! With the right amount, love and patience, nothing stands in the way of shiny car leather seats.
Leather care for sofas and couches
We promise, caring for leather is not rocket science.
There are even household remedies that will quickly make your leather couch shine again. Every household has a duster, damp cloths, wet wipes, soap and, of course, a vacuum cleaner. If you have these household remedies in your home, then nothing stands in the way of caring for your leather couch.
It is completely sufficient if you wipe your couch once a week with a damp cloth. Ideally with a little soap, so that no more stains bother you!
It is important to pay attention to the type of leather. If you have a smooth leather sofa , you can remove dust and crumbs with a dry duster .
For the suede leather sofa , we recommend weekly leather care with a furniture brush and regular vacuuming . That's how easy it is to care for the leather couch and the leather sofa.
Who hasn't experienced it? Dry and cracked skin in winter. What do we do? We take the time for our skin and look after it. You have to look at your leather couch in the same way. Leather is a natural product and although leather is robust, the sensitive leather skin reacts to the dry heating air in winter.
To ensure that your sofa looks great in summer and winter, our tip is to regularly re-grease the leather. Re-greasing gives the leather the moisture it needs .
Here you can use leather grease (only for smooth leather, not for suede) . This way, you and your leather couch will shine!
Conclusion
Have we promised too much? You can see that leather care is extremely simple , you can even do something good for your leather with household products. Of course you can also use professional care and cleaning products , but even with these, cleaning leather is really easy.
What is the most important thing when it comes to leather care? Removing dust and dirt , then regular care and that's it. So it's not as complicated as you might think. Have fun cleaning and caring for your favorite PICARD piece.
FAQ
Why is it important to care for leather?
Leather is a natural product that can show signs of daily use, sunlight, moisture and dirt. Regular care will keep the leather in good condition and maintain its longevity.
What is the best way to care for leather?
For smooth leather: Regularly remove dust and dirt with a damp cloth and clean stains with a special leather cleaner for smooth leather. Then impregnate the leather and occasionally use leather grease or leather balm.
For suede: Remove dust and dirt with a suede brush, clean stains with a suede cleaner and waterproof the leather.
Similar cleaning and care steps apply to metallic leather, light leather and dark leather, using appropriately adapted products.
How often does leather need to be cleaned?
Depending on the type of leather, a thorough cleaning and care every six to twelve months is sufficient. It is important not to over-care for the leather. However, regular cleaning and care are recommended to keep the leather in good condition.
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