When you have invested a lot of money in a designer, leather handbag you want it to last a lifetime and look brand new through-out. Taking care of leather items can be tricky, but prevention is always better than allowing it to get marked/stained and trying to remove that. Use some of the below tips to clean, and more importantly, care for your investment.
- Wipe over your bag once a week with a damp, soft cloth to remove any dirt
- Always wipe with the grain of the leather to avoid ruining it
- Stuff your bag when not in use as it will help it to keep it's shape
- Remove ink stains as soon as possible. Either use a special ink removing product for leather or take to a professional.
- If the ink stain is old, take to a professional as you will never get it out at home without ruining the leather.
- Grease stains should easily wipe off - don't use water!
- Avoid touching your bag if you have just applied hand cream, or you are just asking for grease marks!
- Use a professional leather cleaning product on tougher dirt. These will probably cost more but because they don't have to be washed out, it wont damage the leather.
- Always do a spot test! Preferable somewhere on the inside where it can't be seen.
- If you have really made an investment on a handbag, consider getting it insured. (Yes, this is actually a thing!)
- Try and match a shoe polish to the colour of the bag to remove/hide very stubborn stains
- Don't use saddle soap. It will be too strong/harsh for the leather
- Don't use a light coloured bag with a dark outfit as the dye from the clothing may transfer - this is one of the hardest stains to remove
- Always store you nag in the dust bag it came with. If you don't have one, use an old pillowcase
Do you have any more tips for caring for investment leather handbags?
Love Laura x
I use a lot of these tips and interested to see the others! Brilliant :)
ReplyDeleteI once had a new tan handbag that someone dropped tapas all over...I actually cried!!