Jacket bathing

[John Lever]

After some disasters in the washing machine this is my method of cleaning. There is no agitation of wet leather/ sheepskin so mechanical stresses are minimised.
1. Fill the bath with hand warm water to a depth of about 4 inches or 10 cm. Add sufficient liquid soap flakes to produce a lather

2. Put the jacket in the water and gently massage by hand paying particular attention to the collar and cuffs. Add soap directly to these areas if they are very soiled.

3. Rinse at least twice again massaging to encourage the dispersal of soap.

4. Allow to drain for about an hour. Then roll the jacket on to a towel so it can be lifted while fully supported this is important with sheepskin. Using several towels blot and pat the jacket to dry out.

5. Allow to air dry this usually takes 3/5 days. Or carefully put inside a pillow case and spin dry. Remove from the pillow case carefully without any hard pulling. Air dry.

I have used this method a few times now and though it is not as thorough as using a washer the risks are slight.

 

[Falcon_52]

That's good information, John. What type of soap do you typically use for this procedure?

Noel

 

[John Lever]

Dri-Pak
http://www.homecareessentials.co.uk/aca ... oCO9Xw_wcB

 

[dujardin]

interesting

thankssssssssssss

why not a video :?:

 

[Falcon_52]

Thanks, John. I don't know if I could ever bring myself to use this method but it's good to know.

Noel

 

[John Lever]

Thanks, John. I don't know if I could ever bring myself to use this method but it's good to know.

Noel

Some jackets are just too dirty to wear IMO

 

[zoomer]

Is the Dri-pak method any good at getting out perspiration stains?

(In case you don't know Dri-pak, it's pure soap flakes, no additives such as found in detergents.)

 

[pillepalle123]

Here in Germany we have leather detergent with a pH level (around 6) more matching leather and top coat (if there is any). Most leather soap I found had a ph above 9.0 which will negatively impact leather and top coat at the same time. Since the link is down I can´t say anything about the Dri-Pak though.
Top coats show significantly reduced rub-off resistance in tests after being subjected to cleaning with the wrong pH level several times.
(Might help to get a patine faster though ;D )

6 is a bit low for the top coat and a bit high for leather, but a better compromise in my opinion than the 1000x (logarithmic...) more basic pH level of 9.

For aniline leather or suede you can rinse the leather with water+vinegar mix or a leather fixative before washing to fixate the tannins and color better again.

 

[John Lever]

Please can you share the name of the detergent?

 

[pillepalle123]

There are several, I used both of these with great success in the past. It has been a while since I used them, I will ask the manufacturers if anything about the mixture was changed in the last years to not give wrong information here, (e.g. about pH level of the detergents) then post here again.



LEDER-FEIN Leder & Fell Waschkonzentrat

and

Lederwaschmittel Lederseife Ledershampoo Lederpflege 250ml | 042939

Waschmittel für viele Leder auch für Lederpolster, Lederhosen, Ledermäntel, Taschen, Jacken Schuhe usw. Auf natürlicher Basis von rückfettenden Kokos- und Lanolin-Derivaten.

schuhbedarf.de

They recommed to use a a leather fixative beforehand if it is a leather textile mix (like in most jackets) but I actually did not do that and it worked fine... But your mileage may vary.

I still would only use this bathing method as a last resort (e.g. smoker jacket or after many many years of use and sweat), I could get most of my jackets clean with a mild leather cleaner/distilled water and a soft brust/rag so far. The lining usually only needed some days outside and sometimes a quick rinse with water+vinegar mix.