How to Do Things

Raw animal hide and skin, primarily from cattle is tanned to create a flexible and durable material called leather. The primary difference between the leather industry and the fur industry is that leather industry is a by product of the meat industry as meat has a greater commercial value whereas the meat is a by product of the fur industry as fur has a greater commercial value. There are many types of leather available such as, aniline leather, artificial leather, bonded leather, chamois leather, morocco leather etc. The trouble with leather is cleaning it. In the guide we will see how to effectively clean all your leather possessions.

First step is to get together all the supplies you will need. You will need any gentle/mild hand wash soap, a length of soft cloth, a little olive oil and water. You can use the water running from the tap. It is very important to test cleaning a small unnoticeable corner first to check for side effects. Some soap might react with particular kinds of leather and dry or lighten or darken the leather once cleaned.

Now you are ready to start cleaning. Prepare the soft cloth by moistening it and then applying a little bit of soap to it. Do not apply soap directly on the leather. Also do not use large quantities of soap as it might ruin your leather. Always squeeze out the extra water from the soft cloth before applying soap to it as the cloth has to be moist only and not dripping wet.

Rub the soft cloth against itself for a bit to let the soap be absorbed and spread over before you start cleaning. Now slowly and gently rub the cloth against the stain on leather. Do not overdo. Let a light lather form and rub until the leather appears cleaner than before.

Now take another piece of soft cloth, and moisten it like the first one. Use this piece of cloth to wipe any soap left over on your leather during cleaning. Remember even finished leather is not completely water proof and hence it should never be washed directly under a tap or any sort of running water. Leather is easily damaged when it absorbs water and hence make sure the soft cloth contains minimal amounts of water, just enough to clean off the soap.

Bring out another piece of soft cloth. Make sure this one is completely dry. Use this piece of soft cloth to remove any excess amount of water from the surface of the leather. Let your leather item sit for a while now till its completely dry before moving on to the next step.

Now for the last step to make your leather look all shiny and new. Cleaning with soap removes the natural oils in the leather giving it a dry and old look. This is what the olive oil is for. Take another piece of dry soft cloth and pour a couple of drops of olive oil on it. Too much olive oil will make your leather sticky and greasy making it easy for dust to settle on. Only apply a tiny amount of oil. Now use this cloth and rub it on the surface you just cleaned to oil it a bit. When finished it should look exactly like the leather next to it. If its turned out to be shinier or darker after the oiling you have done, you have used way too much oil.

This method of cleaning leather is extremely effective and can be used on any kind of leather, from belts, watches, car seats to sofas.