A few months ago I found this yellow leather handbag by Cynthia Rowley at T.J. Maxx and simply HAD TO HAVE IT. It was a little pricier than I normally pay for a purse, but not as astronomical as if I had been paying RETAIL. I just couldn’t resist the soft yellow color and the overall shape and design of the bag. It quickly became my very FAVORITE purse!
Unfortunately, after several business trips (including 2 to New York City) it was looking pretty abused. As much as I LOVE the color of this bag, it’s also incredibly impractical for keeping clean. Especially when I’m dragging it through airports, shuttle buses, taxi cabs, parking lots, restaurants, etc.
Before my most recent trip to Austin, Texas for BlogHer Food ’13 I sadly emptied my favorite purse and hung it up in the laundry room until I could figure out what to do with it. I just couldn’t take it with me. I felt terrible.
Ever since then, every time I walk by it hanging on a peg in the laundry room I hear it calling out to me, “Help me!” lol. But I had no idea what to do! Earlier attempts at spot cleaning were not successful and it needed a lot more than just SPOT cleaning now.
I probably should have taken it to a professional leather cleaner (not that I’ve ever heard of one of those before), but you know me, I want to do it myself. (Hmmmmmm…just realized that the acronym for “do it myself” is DIM…maybe we’re onto something here! lol)
So I devoted some time out of my crazy busy day yesterday to research how to clean a leather purse, because my yellow friend was depending on me! After many, many unsatisfactory answers, I came across a post by Serene at Elegant Bohemian about how she washed her leather Coach bag in the WASHING MACHINE!
Related: How to Clean Leather Furniture
At first I was certain I had read it wrong, but no, I hadn’t. She had taken a leather Coach bag that was in much the same shape as my beloved Cynthia Rowley bag (basically headed to the donation pile) and decided to give it a spin in the washer. Since her post only shows “After” pictures, I had to take her word for the results. But with a name like Serene, how could I go wrong! ;-) So off to the laundry room I went, to either give my purse a new lease on life or sign it’s death certificate.
Serene used Murphy’s Oil Soap to wash her bag, but I’ve never been much of a fan of MOS, so I decided to try some of my trusty Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap.
Instructions:
HUGE DISCLAIMER: This worked for me, but that certainly doesn’t guarantee it will work for everyone. As a matter of fact, I can hear professional cleaners all over the world GROANING after reading this post. It’s definitely a method to be reserved for items that are in that “what have I got to lose?” category. Proceed at your own risk. :-)
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Completely clean out your bag. Make sure you check all those little pockets!
Pour about 1/4 cup castile soap into the washing machine, drop in bag, set washer to GENTLE CYCLE (or hand wash cycle…something along those lines), and turn it on.
Now walk away go douse yourself in Zen essential oil blend to quell the anxiety you are now feeling! :-) Breathe deeply too!
When the cycle is done, you can either toss the bag in the dryer on LOW heat with some big, fluffy towels for 5-10 minutes, then hang to dry….OR…you can take it outside (if it’s a nice, sunny day like it was at my house!) and let it dry in the sunshine.
When your bag is completely dry, protect it with some leather conditioner. (I haven’t done this step YET.)
As you can see, the washer actually WORKED! Much to my surprise there was a HUGE improvement! Not PERFECT, but vastly improved and definitely good enough to take out in public again! :-)
I might have gotten a little choked up as I hung it back up in the laundry room last night, restored to it’s former glory. I think I might have even heard it humming a happy little tune. ;-)
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if you wash a purse with leather cleaner product then purse shine better then simple washed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You made my son very happy and saved his favorite leather jacket with this post.
When the dry cleaner told him there were no leather cleaners in the state and he might as well throw his jacket away he was pretty unhappy to say the least. I don’t have the following you have but I’m definitely sharing you! Thank you again!
You can always use shoe polish of the same color(if you can find it) to make the color more vibrant from use or even dye it another color.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love ur all bags …..i will defintely try to buy !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I work at a dry cleaners, and let me tell you- I didn’t cringe at all!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.While I agree that this method is best for “what have I got to lose?” items, I’m really glad that you posted it. I always have people coming in with their leather handbags, asking about getting them cleaned. When I tell them that we can send them to a professional leather cleaner (yes, they do exist), but it runs around $40 or $50, most people skip it and decide to buy a new bag (because, um, yes you can buy a new one for that much!).
Now I have a new tip to pass on! In fact, I have a leather bag that I may try this with….
This is Serene from The Elegant Bohemian! I saw this huge spike in hits to my blog and saw that it had come from your site. Thanks so much for the mention! You are too kind, and I really appreciate it. I still wash all my suede and leather skirt and bags and LOVE the results! Can’t wait to check out more of your blog! Serene
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does anyone know if this will work for suede too? My husband bought me a beautiful suede purse for valentines day and just a week later I carried it while wearing new black pants and the dye from the pants seemed to stain the suede…it breaks my heart that I may have ruined the bag and I don’t know what to do about it…I’ve just been making sure to strategically carry it with the stain side to my body in the hopes that nobody will ever know.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have done this with suede as well for great results! Serene
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I learned when my now grown daughters were little that you can wash nearly everything and it will look better. Little girls shoes and purses whether they are leather or not always came out looking better. Truthfully, nearly every time they came out looking really great! Like new. If you are to the point you are going to throw it out then risk a washing. You might just be surprised in a good way. At the time I did not have an HE machine and I think the large amount of water might be key to getting little shoes etc. gently clean. I don’t think it would work in today’s newer low water level HE machines and it could damage the machine. I still wash my husbands leather sneakers. I use a gentle cycle, cold water and I even add a little bleach if they are particularly dirty. They come out looking marvelous every time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.In the past I have always leaned my leather, boots, jackets & purses with saddle soap. Then conditioned them with mink oil. I’ve never tried washing them in the washing machine! Very surprised it worked so well!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.For interests sake, when two items rub together and the darker transfers dye to the lighter, its called crocking. (Bleeding is when this happens while the items are wet) That’s what is on Jillees purse. Coating the purse will work but so will NOT using it while wearing jeans! Especially new (ish) or dark ones! Keep that in mind when using light coloured purses.
One other consideration when washing a bag is the lining. High end purses should have high end, good quality linings so they should wash ok but if they are silk you need to use a soap gentle enough for the lining too. Shampoo or euclan silk and wool wash is most recommended. Should be fine for leather too though I don’t know if it will remove the worst stains. While the leather is wet, Grandmas stain remover might be a good idea.
For cheaper purses though, the lining which was almost certainly not prewashed, could potentially shrink. Most purses are lined with polyester which shouldn’t shrink but with the Fibres possibly being unknown it is a risk you take so again, this is in the category of either it comes clean or that’s the end of the bag.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Kate Spade stores sell leather cleanser. Just use a white cloth and rub it on your purse an it takes the stains and dirt right off. Mine looks brand new. Condition afterwards. $10 per bottle which lasts forever. Works on purses and leather shoes. I can’t recommend it enough!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Anyone know how to get denim stains off of a canvas purse? My daughter just got a Michael Kors canvas bag and right away her jeans stained the whole back of her bag. No one at the store had any suggestions.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Brilliant!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have dyed leather bags in the washing machine It was a risk but it came out great.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sort of along the lines… I had a small leather change purse. It completely dried out and I hated using it in this state. After years of it sitting around (I couldn’t bear to get rid of it) I covered it in coconut oil and rubbed it in really well. It is back to its former soft supple condition and I use it daily now for my id and debit card.
We now use coconut oil on my kids leather combat boots and all kinds of other leather items. It does a good job restoring the oils in the leather.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That is a really nice bag Jillee, I love the color. So glad you found a way to enjoy it for years (hopefully) to come! As always thank you for sharing as well. You are like Pinterest without the searching! lol
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been washing leather sport shoes for years. I put them in with towels, use regular detergent and normal wash cycle. Also, I never put them in the dryer, I just let them air dry. I have never had a bad outcome and they can be washed many times over and over but eventually the white dye in the leather will begin to fade.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband has this leather bomber jacket that he LOVES and is so dirty. If I didn’t think he would kill me I would throw it in the washer ASAP. LOL
I work in a furniture store and we sell leather cleaner and conditioner. I think I will try that first on my purses and then maybe hubbies jacket. I just know come winter he will dig it out and I will be cringing in grossness.
@Shirley, to pin something means to post it to your Pintrest board.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you for this. I have a leather coat I bought at Goodwill for $10 but haven’t worn it because I felt like it needed to be “clean” before I put it on. Will try your method.
P.S. What is “Pin It”?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s a quick way to put the link onto your Pinterest board. Pinterest is a way to corral or save things you find on the web that you would like to refer back to. It’s handy, free and worth checking it out if you haven’t already.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Haha! Shirley DON’T “Pin It”!!!! You will get sucked in to hours, days, weeks, months!! of Pinning Nirvana! It’s basically just a virtual pinboard for ideas, recipes, quotes and such. It’s HIGHLY addicting!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I rarely get my purses dirty because I am OCD about keeping them nice! I NEVER sit them on the floor, but keep on my lap or hang on the back of a chair, etc. Good info though since I love to find leather treasures at the thrift stores!! I’ve found some fabulous Coach ones!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.On this leather discussion, I received a beautiful maroon leather chair and ottoman. It is in beautiful shape, except that it has the dye worn off in places. It’s not scratched, but on the arms seat and top it looks all much lighter color. It almost looks scratched because of the folds in it. I’ve thought about dying it, but have no experience in this and don’t want it to end up like a hodge podge either. Has anyone had experience in dying furniture that could give me some hints?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Find an old fashioned shoe repair shop and ask them. They used to re-dye shoes once upon a time and I imagine the dye was obviously waterproof to last on shoes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.SORT of off-topic-SORT of kind of…The first thing I would do when I got a pair of leather sandals or Doc Martin or hiking boots was to trot down to The Great Salt Lake and walk through ankle deep water for about thirty minutes or so.
This 1. preserved the leather, 2. molded my shoes to my feet thus eliminating blistering problems, 3. made my feet all soft and happy as little clams
Lacking the lake now that I have moved far away and long ago, I soak them in a salt-filled bath tub (which works with cowboy boots now that I have moved to cowboy boot land).
Love you, Love your blog.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.OMG! This actually worked! I have a few things I will be trying this out on.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas everyone thanx. One thing I have done, for leather & suede that has worked in the past is to use duct tape. I adhere the tape to the spot and lift it off. Be careful though because if the tape is stuck on too long you will have the problem of getting the sticky residue off. Also– do a test spot because sometimes it pulls some color with it. My son used this method when a friend’s suede boots absorbed dye from her new jeans. Her new, but dry, jeans rubbing caused color transfer. It was her first time wearing the boots and it saved them. I had success with the tape on leather seats in a car.
JILLEE–help it seems I can only access your new posts through e-mail. If I go directly to your site all I get is the mousepad how to.
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