How to Care and Maintain a Leather Suitcase for Years?
Introduction to Care and Maintain a Leather Suitcase for Years
A leather suitcase makes your travel organized and adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to the look. It reflects your class, style, and personal taste. Maintaining the natural texture, luxurious appeal, functionality, and durability deserves your attention. The care and maintenance of a leather suitcase sounds complicated. The truth is, it is easy and can be done at home. With the right care of a leather suitcase, it won’t just survive for years but will look better with every trip.
In this guide, we have shared the best steps for cleaning leather suitcases and factors to consider while caring for leather suitcases.
Why Proper Leather Suitcase Maintenance Matters?
Every time you use a leather bag for travel and office trips, it undergoes mishandling during travel and exposure to moisture. But how many times do you clean and condition it? Neglecting a leather suitcase'scare results in stiffness, cracking, discoloration, and loss of charm. With the right maintenance, the leather suitcase can turn out to be a long-term investment.
Proper leather suitcase maintenance matters for the following reasons:
1. Proper Care of a Leather Suitcase Contributes to Its Longevity Do you know leather is a natural material? It breathes and stretches. It's fibres change when exposed to different temperatures and environments. The leather degrades, loses its charm, and cracks along its edges when it doesn’t get its due care.
Proper care of leather not only prevents discoloration but also replenishes the natural oils in leather. Timely conditioning and cleaning retain the durability and extend the longevity of the leather suitcase.
2. Leather Care Retains the Aesthetic Appeal
For decades, leather accessories, including the suitcase, have been known for their elegant look, fine appearance, inherent roughness, and earthy smell.
With the timely usage of the leather suitcase, it starts to lose its shine and charm, builds up sweat and dust, and suffers from scratches and marks. When you clean it properly and condition it every two months, you can retain its luxurious look and feel.
3. Proper Care Contributes to the Durability of a Leather Suitcase
The water-resistance property, breathability, and heat insulation capabilities of a leather suitcase make it a must-have travel accessory. To preserve these virtues, it is important to clean and condition a leather suitcase.
After learning about the importance of leather suitcase maintenance, it is time to know the best steps for cleaning a leather suitcase. After all, cleaning a leather bag requires the right application of the right knowledge.
Step 1. Remove Dirt from Outside
Once you’re back from your weekend trip or the office tour, make it a habit to remove dust from your leather suitcase. Though it seems tiring, doing so will expand the lifespan of your leather bag by more than 10 years. Use a dry microfiber cloth to remove dust. Don’t forget the wheels, if you have a trolley suitcase bag.
Step 2: Clean the Inside Linings of Your Bag
Once you’re done removing loose dust from the outside, move to remove the dust and dirt from the inside. Use a soft, brittle brush to remove the loose dust.
Step 3: Check for Oil Stains
The bottom of the suitcase is most prone to oil and mud stains. Therefore, it is advisable to check for the stains after every trip. Using baking soda is the most common method to remove oil stains. Gently massage the affected area in a circular motion. Use a microfiber towel to wipe away the baking soda. To know how to remove paint from leather, read how to remove paint from leather.
Step 4: Leather Conditioning
The leather conditioning every 2-3 months is the best way to replenish the natural oils, prevent cracking, and retain the shine, texture, and luxurious appeal of the bag.
Benefits of Taking Care of Leather Suitcases
When you take care of a leather suitcase with proper cleaning and conditioning, you enjoy the innumerable benefits like:
1. Leather Care: Preserves The Luxurious Appeal and Look
Leather is not just an accessory; it is a style statement that elevates your look. With time, the leather ages and is exposed to different environments, as a result, it starts to dry out.Leather carekeeps it durable, soft, and ready for everyday use. It keeps the bag in good shape and retains its shine.
2. Leather Care: Improves the Leather's Breathability & Flexibility
The real leather materials, like top-grain and full-grain, are known for their high breathability, implying that air passes through them and prevents the accumulation of sweat.
Moreover, the leather bag adjusts to the body's temperature, making it comfortable to wear for long tours. The added feature of the leather bag is its flexibility, meaning it can conform to the body's shape and provide a comfortable fit. The proper care and maintenance of a leather suitcase maintains the breathability and flexible nature of leather.
3. Leather Care: Maintains the Durability and Longevity of Leather
The biggest advantage of buying leather travel bags, like a suitcase, is their strength and resistance to wear and tear. In comparison to synthetic material, leather is more durable as it develops a patina over time. The premium quality leather bags can withstand heavy weights and stress without tearing or breaking.
With regular cleaning and leather conditioning, leather maintains its durability, strength, and functionality. As a result, you can use leather products for years, and you can even pass them on to the next generation as a symbol of legacy.
Things to Consider While Caring for Leather Suitcases
Leather care is not just about following what to do. It is equally important to know the Don’ts about Leather care so that your care turns out to be the best decision of your life. In this section, you will learn about the things to consider while caring for leather suitcases:
1. Right Storage After using the leather suitcase and cleaning it properly, store it in a dust-free bag in a cool and dry place. Never store it in a plastic cover. Keep your leather bag away from direct sun exposure.
2. No Overstuffing When you overstuff your suitcase, its shape and edges get distorted because the elasticity of the fiber gets loosened.
3. No Use of Chemicals to Remove Stains When you use bleaching powder, alcohol, or other harsh chemicals to remove stains from the bag, the leather loses its natural oil, shine, and strength.
4. Right Stuffing Material Stuff your bag with cotton cloth to sustain its shape and structure. Never use newspapers as stuffing material since they can stain your bag from the inside.
Your one-time leather suitcase purchase can turn out to be your best and long-term investment with timely cleaning, conditioning, and the right storage method. Retain the natural shine, distinct character, texture, durability, and resilience of the leather suitcase with the right leather care method. After all, when you take care of a bag, it takes care of your travelling needs.
FAQs
1. How do you clean a leather suitcase at home?
Use a soft brush to loosen the dirt from the bag. Use a soft cotton cloth to remove the dust and dirt from a leather suitcase at home.
2. What is the best way to store a leather suitcase?
Store a leather suitcase in a dry and cool environment, away from direct sunlight exposure. Moreover, store the suitcase in a cotton bag to prevent moisture buildup.
3. How often should I condition my leather luggage?
In general, it’s recommended to condition your leather luggage every 2-3 months.
4. Can you waterproof a leather suitcase?
One can’t waterproof a leather suitcase completely. However, you can create a waterproof barrier by applying cream and wax.
5. Does leather luggage crack over time?
Yes, a leather luggage bag can crack over time if you overstuff it with items or don’t condition it timely.
6. What products should I use to clean a leather suitcase?
You need a mild solution of warm water and soap to remove stains from a leather suitcase. Alternatively, you can use leather cleaner to clean a leather bag.
7. Can leather suitcases be repaired if damaged?
If there are minor scratches and stains on the leather suitcases, you can fix them at home. For larger damages, it is advisable to seek professional help.
