How to remove a stain off your favourite leather bag, at home!

Wondering how to remove a stain from your expensive leather products?

Leather should be cleaned and moisturised regularly so that it remains in top form and retains its original look, feel and softness.

Different leather types require different care protocols.

All kinds of pigmented leathers (i.e, painted leathers) are usually very easy to clean and can also be cleaned at home! (the trick that usually works is using a mildly moist (soft) towel to wipe off any kind of stain/spot. The ease of cleaning is due to the fact that the dirt/stain sits on the pigment coat and does not get absorbed by the leather). However leather that absorbs water (for e.g.., aniline, nappalon, suede and the like) is very hard to clean, as the stain is absorbed by the leather and thus seeps deep inside. In such a case a professional leather care expert should be consulted! Below we have mentioned some tips and tricks on how to remove a stain from your leather handbags!

General Cleaning Tips!

1.Brush off dry dust using a soft cloth or a leather care brush.

2.Wipe off dirt/spots by gentle brushing with a mildly damp towel.

3.Salt causes leather to crack. It should thus be wiped off before it dries out, preferably with a damp sponge. Afterwards, a top-coat of leather conditioner is recommended.

4.Keep newspapers and pens away, as ink stains are tricky and sometimes hard to remove.

Suede Care Tips!

1.Gentle brushing with a suede brush is recommended to clean suede leathers.

2.For dry stains on suede, use a pencil eraser.

3.In case of a liquid spill, blot quickly (without pressing down to hard), instead of wiping off, to prevent the liquid from seeping in deeper.

Suede absorbs water rapidly. Thus it would also absorb ink rapidly. This ink seeps into the leather and is hard to remove. One can try sanding suede with a fine sand paper to remove ink stain. On the other hand it is so easy to remove ink stains from Nappa leather as the ink does not soak into the leather, it sits on the pigment, thus can easily be removed with a coat of paint.
Glue marks can be successfully removed by sanding the leather with a fine sand paper
A napping brush can also be used to remove general dirt and dust from suedes and nubuck. It is different from a suede brush , it has softer bristles and is much more effective. Amid using a magic eraser.
To remove wrinkles/fold marks from suede leather, just very gently apply steam to straighten out the skin! Do not press iron!!!- Only steaming is recommended!

More on how to treat stains & discolouration

Leather is prone to spotting if it comes in contact with water. In such a case, it should be dried out at room temperature in gentle air. Avoid using hair-dryers or other sources of hot air, which may cause leather to shrink.

Discolouration is hard to be treated at home, because it usually needs to be filled in with a top coat of dye/pigment depending on the quality of the leather in question! In such a case, a professional leather care technician should be consulted!

Some stains are just impossible to remove! For example a colour rub-off in a patent bag can never be cured, even by a professional! Thus bags should not come in contact with each other and should be stored away in cotton/cloth bags, one in each bag!

There are an end number of leather care products available on the market! They should be used with proper discretion , else they may end up destroying the products! General cleaners and deep cleaners are the most common ones!