Cleaning Leather New leather hides are supple yet firm, stuffed
with oils and moderately acidic. The goal in caring for leather
is to keep it that way, even through years of use.
According to most leather experts, the best way to accomplish
that is to treat it similar to our skin: keep it clean and
moisturize it.
Leather should be cleaned regularly by working up a lather with
a mild soap and as little water as possible. The best soap will
be non-alkaline, with a low pH. Some better cleaners contain
glycerine, an ingredient which attracts moisture from the air
and helps keep the leather softer.
When cleaning, should work up a lather with a sponge and rinse
often. They should change the water often to avoid putting dirt
back into the leather.
Use a soft toothbrush to reach into stitching, tooling and other
crevices. Strong cleaners and detergents should not be used on
leather, except to spot-clean bad stains before going over the
entire leather surface using your mild leather cleaner.
After the leather is clean, you should wipe away all soap with a
clean, damp sponge, especially in and around small crevices and
stitching. Allow the leather to dry naturally, never in direct
sunlight.
Conditioning Leather after the leather is clean and dry Leather
should be moisturized to replenish any oils which were lost over
time or removed during the cleaning process. The leather should
also be conditioned between regular cleaning, depending upon the
building's interior climate and the degree of wear the surface
receives.
In general, leather conditioning products are best when they are
light, spread easily, absorb into the surface, will not rub off
on clothing, will not permanently darken the leather's color and
are similar to the oils used by curriers to manufacture the
leather.
To condition leather, you should carefully spread a thin coating
of the conditioning product over the entire surface. Use a
clean, dry sponge, and not the same sponges that were just used
for cleaning and removing dirt and soap.
Again, the leather should be allowed to dry naturally. If time
permits, it may be lightly buffed afterwards to a nice matte
finish.
Some problems: Dirt and moisture create an ideal breeding ground
for bacteria and mold that eat away at the stitching that holds
a leather surface together
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