Cleaning and moisturizing leather
Leather care is the cornerstone of making leather last a long time. Leather is an organic material, and to prevent it from drying out and rotting, you need to take care of it. Dirt, impurities, old treatments, etc., break down the leather and shorten its lifespan. Leather that is not treated regularly will also dry out, the leather fibers become brittle and break, and the leather can suffer from so-called dry rot. When the leather has dried out so much, there is no way back, lubricating it will not help, it is time to take it to the landfill.
Regular leather care prevents the leather from drying out so much that it needs to be discarded. Leather care can be broken down into two components: cleaning and moisturizing.
Leather cleaning
Loose dirt, such as mud, sand and the like, can be washed off with plain water. Water is not harmful to leather, as long as it is not too hot. Rinse with lukewarm water and wipe with a dry cloth.
If the dirt is more ingrained, it usually takes a little more than water to remove it. A good and effective leather cleaner and a sponge are very helpful. Pour the leather cleaner into the sponge, squeeze it repeatedly so that it becomes a foam. You work the foam into the leather, and it serves two purposes. First, it dissolves the dirt, and secondly, the sponge absorbs it. Wipe off the excess foam with a cloth, or rinse with lukewarm water.
Avoid using dishwashing detergent, soap, regular soap or solvent-based products when cleaning leather, as they can damage the leather's surface layer and dry out the leather.
Here you will find a more thorough description of how to clean leather.
Rehydration of the leather after cleaning.
You should moisturize the leather immediately after cleaning, then the pores of the leather are open and what you lubricate the leather with penetrates better. You can use leather oil or leather balm. Leather oil penetrates the leather easily and should therefore not be applied too liberally, otherwise the leather can become saturated. Apply a little at a time, preferably every few days. It is enough to treat with leather oil once a year. If you apply leather oil too often, the leather can easily become oversaturated. A good leather oil is Gold Quality Leather Oil, which consists solely of natural substances, such as beeswax, marrow oil and vegetable oils.
A good leather conditioner should be based on beeswax and lanolin. Apply the conditioner to a sponge and work it into the leather. Let the leather absorb it for a while, then wipe off the excess leather conditioner with a dry, clean cloth. Tip Top Leather Conditioner and Gold Quality Leather Grease Both are good for this purpose. Conditioner can be applied more frequently than leather oil, so if you clean leather often, it is a good idea to use leather conditioner to lubricate the leather afterwards.
The difference between leather oil and leather conditioner is that the oil penetrates deeper and treats in depth. Leather conditioner also penetrates, but also remains on the surface of the leather and protects against wear and stains. Protective creams are another product that also has a moisturizing property, but also remains on top of the leather as an invisible film, which protects against friction wear, stains and sun fading (it usually contains a sun protection factor).
With regular leather care, i.e. cleaning with an effective leather cleaner and moisturizing with leather oil or leather balm, you will give your leather products a long life.
