How to get rid of the unpleasant smell of leather products

Leather things have their own characteristic smell. They acquire it while tanning animal skins. Someone even likes this smell, because it is associated with buying a new expensive thing. But most of them still want to quickly “weather” the new thing. What if the skin smell is so strong that the thing cannot be used for its intended purpose?

Water treatments

To get started, just wipe the leather thing with a damp cloth. Dampen a rag or sponge in warm water, into which a few drops of ammonia can be added. Wipe the leather accessory with this solution. Do not wet the skin too much - moisture is harmful to it. After that, wipe the product dry and hang it on the balcony to weather. Do not dry leather things with a hairdryer, especially with a hot air stream - the coating may shrink or crack. Also, do not leave leather things for a long time in direct sunlight - its structure deteriorates.

After water rubbing the thing can be wrapped in newsprint. This paper is very soft and porous, so it perfectly absorbs odors. If you are struggling with the smell of a leather jacket, you need to wrap it completely in a large newspaper roll. The same goes for briefcases, belts, wallets and gloves. If you have leather shoes, you need to put the paper inside. By the way, if the leather shoes are narrow enough for you, first moisten the inside of the shoes with alcohol, and only then fill with paper. This method will eliminate the unpleasant odor and slightly expand the narrow opening of the shoe.

Vinegar

Vinegar perfectly fights any kind of smell. If you wipe a leather product with it, vinegar will save not only the smell of the skin itself, but also foreign odors - the smell of smoke, dust, burning.

Dilute high-percentage vinegar with three parts of water and moisten a sponge in it. After that, try to apply vinegar to the invisible side of the product - the internal seams, the back side. Apply a sponge soaked in vinegar to your skin. And only after you make sure that the vinegar has not changed the color of the skin, you can process the whole product in this way. If the skin has changed color, there is reason to think, but is it natural?

Soda

You probably know that soda adsorbs unpleasant odors. That's why a simple bowl of baking soda can save you from smell in the fridge. But we need soda in order to cleanse the skin of aromas. Here are a couple of effective ways.

1. Dissolve two tablespoons of soda in a glass of water and wipe the leather coating with this compound. Do not rub too hard so that small grains of soda do not scratch the product. After this, you need to thoroughly wipe the thing with a clean damp cloth so that there are no white stains and smudges. This method is suitable for small leather items.
2. If this is a jacket, and even with a large number of seams and locks, it is not recommended to wipe it with a soda solution, because it will then have to be cleaned of white stains for a long time. To eliminate the smell of a leather jacket, place the item in a pillowcase or large bag. Pour a handful of baking soda there and tightly tie the top hole. Shake the resulting bag and leave it for a while. Dry soda absorbs odors. To clean the product from soda, you need to wipe it with a dry cloth or use a vacuum cleaner. Place a narrow nozzle on the vacuum tube.

If, after the soda procedure, the smell has become less aggressive, but has not completely disappeared, you can repeat the cleaning session.

Coffee

If your item is brown, you can wipe it with ground coffee beans. You cannot wipe a light product, in this case you need to put coffee in a fabric bag and place inside.Coffee will not only get rid of the unpleasant leather smell, but also give the thing a delicate coffee aroma.

Ammonia and soap

This is another effective way to deal with a leather smell. Add a tablespoon of ammonia and a little liquid soap to a glass of water. It is possible to dissolve in water and dry soap, crushed on a grater. In this solution, moisten a rag and wipe it with every corner of the skin, not forgetting about the inside of the product. After this, you need to grease the skin with fat castor oil. If not, you can use any other oil or glycerin. Also, instead of a soap-ammonia composition, you can wipe the skin with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. This usually helps to get rid of most of the aggressive smell.

Eliminate the smell inside the product

It sometimes happens that the skin is weathered outside and practically no longer smells, while the unpleasant and obsessive smell of new skin lives inside. This usually happens in briefcases and leather bags. To get rid of the inner leathery smell, you need to place a linen bag with table salt inside. Salt is a good adsorbent that absorbs an unpleasant odor. Before filling the bag with salt, it must be well dried in a pan, since dry salt absorbs odors much better. Instead of salt, activated charcoal tablets and dry mustard can be used. But be careful if the leather product has light colors. If the bag breaks, charcoal can stain the inside of the bag or briefcase.

Do not use acetone, gasoline or thinner in the fight against the smell of leather products. This will corrode the structure of the skin and ruin the thing. If you can’t cope with the smell yourself or are afraid for the quality of the leather coating, it is better to use the help of professionals. Take the product to dry cleaning, there they will help you to effectively and safely get rid of skin odor.

Leather products are able to emphasize the status and good taste of its owner. And you can always get rid of such a nuisance as the smell of the skin without much effort.