Scoring a luxurious leather (or faux leather) item at the thrift shop is fantastic but what do you do when your fab find is in less than stellar condition?
Follow my tops tips for cleaning thrifted leather and keep your second hand gear looking great!
1. Remove winter sidewalk salt splotches from leather footwear by combining 1 part white vinegar with 2 parts warm water and dabbing the mixture onto the affected areas with a soft rag. Wipe with a clean damp cloth and dry with a towel.
2. Petroleum Jelly (aka: vaseline) is awesome for shining up dull leather handbags and shoes. Wipe the leather item with a damp cloth, when it is completely dry spread a thin layer of petroleum jelly over the leather and then buff off the excess with a soft cloth.
3. Banana peels make incredibly frugal leather shiners + the potassium in the peels helps to diminish scuff marks. Wipe the inside of a banana peel onto your leather item then shine away any remaining banana residue with a soft cloth.
4. Bargain hair conditioners contain more wax than their more expensive counterparts which makes those cheap hotel freebies and magazine samples perfect for softening and protecting leather. Simply apply a small dollop with a soft cloth into clean, dry leather and watch it shine up!
5. Use this simple recipe to smarten up dull, scuffed leather: mix ¼ cup of olive oil with ½ cup of regular vinegar in a spray bottle and shake well. Create a scented version by adding a few drops of your fave essential oil. Spray onto the leather then wipe and buff with a clean soft cloth.
6. Don’t toss worn out nylons and panty hose as they are excellent for instantly shining up leather. Rub them firmly in a circular motion on your leather and faux leather goods for a quick and easy sheen.
7. Faux leather cleans up easily with a bit of mild soap and warm water. Once clean, use a soft, dry cloth to shine it up.
Please note that the above leather cleaning tips should not be used on suede items – my top tips for cleaning thrifted suede are right over here.
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I love to experiment with cleaning! Your post is really interesting! I have many leather things at home as sofa, chairs, jackets and shoes. My leather sofa is in a very bad state and I definitely need to clean it! Thanks for sharing this post! Greets!
You’re very welcome Grace, all of these tips can be applied to furniture too! 😀
Great tips! I was about to ask if you had suede cleaning tips so I wait patiently for your post on that! I’ve got an amazing pair of suede shoes that could use a good clean.
Suede is definitely more difficult than leather to maintain but I’ve got a few thrifty tricks up my sleeve that will brighten up your suede gear using items you already have in the house 😀
Great tips, Sheri! I would never have thought of banana peels.
The banana peel and nylon tricks were passed down from my Grandma who, of course, learned them from her mom (and so on…) 😀
Banana peels – I’d forgotten about banana peels, thanks! More posts on saving and caring for thrifted items would be awesome. Did you do fur yet?
I recently created a convenient index for all of my thrifty care & cleaning tips posts 😀 https://awesomesauceasshattery.com/tutorial-index-by-photo/cleaning-tips-laundry-tricks/
I haven’t even thought of doing a fur care post as I’m not a fan of the real thing and faux fur can easily be washed in the machine and hung to dry 😉