Cleaning suede yourself - 13 well-known rules

Few people can resist suede things and accessories, although they know how difficult it is to care for products made from such material. Only the most gentle means and delicate methods are needed - if you know how to clean suede at home, the new thing will delight for more than one season, remaining invariably neat and attractive in appearance.

Staying beautiful and stylish is not difficult, even without spending money on professional aerosols and impregnations for suede bags, jackets or boots. And helpers in this will be small folk tricks.

So, you hesitated for a long time, doubted and finally succumbed to the temptation and bought fashionable suede high-heeled shoes, or a beautiful suede bag. At first, things will look perfect and attractive without requiring much maintenance. But there will come a time when it becomes necessary to clean the suede at home.

You can delay it for a long enough time, if you follow certain rules of use and things made of suede.

1. Natural suede is usually made from calf skins, which undergo long and difficult processing. The result is an exquisite and rich material that is smooth on the seamy side and fleecy on the outside. And this is the whole problem, because this pile absorbs moisture instantly. After drying, stains and streaks remain on the surface. The pile itself coarsens and becomes tough. This means that the first and main rule is not to use things in the rain and snow, but to put them on only in dry weather.
2. The second rule is directly related to the first - since suede does not tolerate water, you cannot wash products from it. Priority is given to dry cleaning. But even here you cannot use any means, if you choose the wrong cleaning composition, the suede can shed or "go bald".
3. Rule number three: if you want suede things to stay clean as long as possible, do not absorb dirt and moisture, do not become dusty, the first time they need to be treated with a special protective spray immediately after purchase. Only then can you safely use new boots, shoes or bags.
4. You can only clean suede products with special rubber or silicone brushes. Then the pile will remain fluffy and soft. To remove stubborn dirt, use a stiff brush or the finest sandpaper. This is the fourth rule.
5. And one more thing you need to know: various stains are very easily formed on suede. Even a drop of water on the glove leaves an ugly mark. What means to remove them will be described below. But you should always pre-test on an inconspicuous area of ​​the suede product. If in a quarter of an hour after applying the stain remover nothing bad happens to the capricious material, you can start removing the dirt.

From all of the above, we can conclude: it is better to protect suede from stains and dirt, and if it nevertheless becomes dirty, it must be cleaned very carefully only with gentle means.

Folk recipes for cleaning suede

What can you do if you are unlucky enough to step into a muddy puddle in suede boots? There are no special tools at hand, but somehow you need to put your shoes in order. To begin with, you should dry the affected shoes, and then try to scrub dry dirt with a brush.

If the dirt remains, the color of the suede has become uneven, the pile has crumpled, then you just need to hold the product over the steam for several minutes. After that, the shoes are treated with a rubber brush. Not available? The brush will be replaced with a regular stationery eraser.

You can also use ammonia, this substance removes dirt and stains well, does not make the suede hard and restores its color:

• pour 150 ml of heated water into a small bowl or jar;
• pour a few drops of shampoo or liquid soap into the water;
• add a spoonful of ammonia.

In the resulting composition, moisten a clean cloth and wipe off the dirt. Then the traces are soaked with a dry napkin or sponge, after which the pile must be lifted and leveled with a rubber brush or eraser.

How to deal with greasy stains

They are especially noticeable on light-colored suede. Use talcum powder or potato flour to remove grease stains or to clean and restore greasy areas. To make the product work faster and more efficiently, the powder used can be heated in a pan.

But don't overdo it - suede doesn't like high temperatures. Sprinkle on the stains generously; the more powder, the better they will absorb grease. From above, the treated areas are covered with any absorbent paper.

You can also use fine kitchen salt to remove greasy stains on light-colored suede. But for dark suede, salt is not suitable - greasy stains will go away, but white stains will remain.

If you have a liquid detergent for woollens or dishwashing liquid on hand, you can also use it to remove grease stains. But first it must be diluted in water and whipped into a foam, remember that such material cannot be wetted too much.

Sludge often appears on a bag or gloves, on outerwear. You can correct the situation and make your favorite things beautiful and tidy again in the following ways:

1. Warm up 100 ml of milk, add a spoonful of salt to it and stir. With the resulting liquid, wipe the salted areas and leave to dry completely, and then wipe the pile with a brush or eraser.
2. Add a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide to a glass of warm water, then clean the suede.
3. Bread crumb is often used to remove salinities. You just need to roll a crustless piece of bread over the material until it absorbs all the dirt and grease. To clean the light-colored material, use the crumb of white bread, and for the dark one, respectively, rye.

Do not forget about the traditional restorative folk remedy for processing black and brown suede - coffee grounds. A sponge is dipped in it and the product is carefully wiped. After drying, you need to brush the suede with a brush: the color will become saturated and even again, and the pile will be soft and fluffy.

Features of wet cleaning

Of course, such methods are highly undesirable for suede. But if the shoes are very dirty and all the means suggested above are ineffective, then the shoes will have to be cleaned with soapy water. First, the entire surface is treated with a sponge, then it must be removed with a clean, damp cloth.

Immediately after that, the shoes are wiped with a mixture of water and glycerin - they are combined in equal proportions. This must be done so that the material does not become coarse. Now it remains only to dry the cleaned shoes and do not forget to treat them with a protective spray.

Suede is a moody material. But it can be kept clean and beautiful with the simplest tools at hand. This is not at all as difficult as it may seem, and now you should not refuse to buy the thing you like, made of natural or artificial suede.