Tips for Cleaning Suede

Suede is leather made out of calfskin. Normal leather will have a smooth side and a rough side. It is supple, smooth and lasts longer than other kinds of leather.

Suede leather on the other hand will have a textured feel on both sides. Suede items are popular because of the distinctive texture. The texture imparts individuality to the leather items.

Suede leather is usually cheaper than normal leather, as normal leather can be split twice or three times to make suede leather, which results in more square foot of suede than the area of the original leather.

Suede leather is difficult to maintain, and suede is not as durable as regular leather as the thickness is less. It is a good substitute for chamois leather for cleaning of household equipments.

Cleaning Suede:

Suede is a difficult material to maintain. It is damaged easily, and once it is damaged, it is very difficult to bring it back to original condition. The type of maintenance required for suede items is described below.

• You may use steam to clean the suede. Hold the material about 6 inches above the steam jet and once it becomes heated, brush it up with help of a special brush and clean the entire surface. Make sure that steam is used just for heating and that water penetration inside suede leather is at a minimum.
• Cleaning and removal of dust: Suede requires regular cleaning and removal of accumulated dust. The dust causes the surface to be discolored and this discoloration is not easy to remove. Special cleaning products are available from the store to remove discoloration.
• Sand papering: Sand paper can be applied to make suede leather look rough again. Sometimes the fuzzy look of suede becomes smooth due to friction and wearing off the grains. The sand paper can make it look rough again and color powders described above can make it look somewhat original. The original feel never returns to the suede leather by homemade methods. A professional with special cleaning equipment can make it look like the original condition.
• Use surface protection for suede leather. There are special surface preparation materials available from the store. They will need to be applied every six months or so.
• Flattened suede maybe returned to original conditions by brushing with a circular motion with a sponge or brush specially made for purpose.
• Suede leather does not take kindly to harsh treatment like abrasion and rough use. Rough use immediately results in scratch marks that are impossible to remove.

Removing Stains from Suede:

Stains on suede may be difficult to remove. The care to be taken is to see that the stains, particularly oil and grease stains are never washed with water. Water may make them spread on the surface. The types of stains that can cause real damage to suede are as follows.

Ink Stains:

Ink stains on suede leather are difficult to remove. The immediate action is to remove the excess ink by blotting. You can use a dry cleaning solvent that will evaporate along with the stains.

Body Oil:

Oil secreted by your body can damage the look of the suede. You can use leather degreaser for removing the body oils. The body oils are visible on the neck collars of apparel and headrests of furniture. If the leather degreaser does not work, you can remove it by using other solvents such as gasoline.

Grease and Oil Stains:

Do not use water and soap to clean the grease. To remove excess grease and oil purchase a leather product degreaser to work effectively with grease stains.