When you have little kids, stains are less of a possibility than an inevitability, and as a result, many families worry about buying nice things until their children are older so read on to learn about Treating Leather Stains: A Guide For Moms.
Even so, parents spend years learning the best ways to remove stains from clothes and other household objects and guarding those things they worry can’t be cleaned.
Among this latter category, you’ll find just about anything made from leather – but maybe you don’t have to be so worried.
While leather and little kids certainly aren’t a natural pairing, you don’t have to ditch your leather chair, purse, or other favorites just because you have young ones in the house.
Instead, you just need to make sure you know how to care for these items. When accidents happen, you’ll know exactly what to do.
Table of Contents
Act Fast
One of the most important things you can do when you’re faced with a leather stain is to clean it right away.
Leather is porous, and the longer you let a stain sit, the more likely it is to stick around.
This is especially important when dealing with substances containing oils, markers, and similar products.
Something like crayons, on the other hand, are more likely only to leave surface marks, but you still don’t want to wait around.
Know How Its Made
How you clean your leather depends on how it has been treated, as well as some other factors, so when your kid scribbles on your favorite leather crossbody bag, you need to know a few things about the material in order to address it properly.
For example, cleaning an unfinished, aniline-dyed leather requires different tools than pigmented leather products.
You also need to know what caused this stain, which can, unfortunately, be a mystery when it comes to childhood mischief.
Use The Right Tools
If there’s one thing you should never do when treating leather stains, it’s use harsh chemicals to attack a stain.
This can be tempting, especially if you’re stressed about the situation, but you’ll end up doing more harm than good.
Water-based stains on aniline-dyed leather can be cleaned with distilled water and a microfiber cloth, while grease stains need to be absorbed using either corn starch or talcum powder, then treated with a leather conditioner.
Call The Professionals
While a little know-how will help you remedy many household stains on leather, sometimes you need to call on professionals to properly address a stain.
It’s not always ideal, and it can cost a pretty penny depending on the item, the stain, and where you live.
Still, that’s less wasteful and likely cheaper than replacing the item outright.
Store It Carefully
Leather that’s already sporting some damages because it’s been exposed to the sun or become dried out is going to be damaged more easily – and this is something you can control.
Caring for your leather properly, such as by keeping items in a protective bag and out of the sun, as well as conditioning your leather goods, will make them more resilient and easier to clean if the need arises.
Kids will change your life, but that shouldn’t mean putting everything, including wearing your favorite clothes, on hold.
Meanwhile, when life, or marker and Play-Doh stains, happen, you’ll know what to do.