The appearance of a greasy stain, like any other, on leather items or shoes is a rather unpleasant phenomenon. Moreover, it is not always possible to remove it effectively without damaging the surface. When special cleaning products are not available, it is acceptable to use those available in your home. We’ll talk about how to remove stains with them in this article.
Features of working with leather
Before using a particular substance, it is necessary to test its effect on the material on the inside of the shoe. And only after making sure of complete safety, feel free to start cleaning. When working with professional cleaning products purchased in a store, Read the manufacturer's instructions carefully. The fresher the stain, the easier it is to remove it before it has time to be absorbed into the deeper layers of the skin.
Preparing shoes for processing
As you begin the process, get your shoes in order. It should not have any traces of dirt or dust.We recommend drying very damp or wet ones without resorting to heating devices or heaters. Because, otherwise, this may lead to its deformation.
Ways to remove grease stains from leather shoes
Divided into two types:
- means popular among the population, available in every home;
- chemical liquids that exist in abundance in retail outlets.
The first type is the most accessible and cheapest, so we’ll start the review with it.
Folk compositions
Before you try one of the methods below, wet the stain with any fat-soluble dishwashing detergent. Perhaps this will be quite enough to get a positive result.
- Talc, starch, chalk, and baby powder are excellent for absorbing oil stains. Apply powder to the stain and remove it with a soft cloth after half an hour.
- Lemon juice has a fat-soluble effect, or rather, it gives fats a water-soluble effect, making them easy to remove from the smooth surface of the skin with a damp sponge. At the same time, its physical qualities and color are perfectly preserved.
- A mixture of laundry soap and gasoline in equal proportions helps eliminate even old, stubborn oil stains. After treating the area to be cleaned, immediately wipe with a damp cloth, as soap dries out the skin and leads to cracking.
- A teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a glass of water will also help quickly eliminate the problem.
Professional methods
When none of the methods gave the desired effect or the shoes are expensive and made from premium materials, such as stingray, reptile, or ostrich leather, which requires a delicate approach, you will have to turn to dry cleaning services.
It can be removed on any type of smooth skin with special preparations purchased from the retail chain, for example, LeTech Leather Degreaser, KERALUX Degreaser Spray, which absorb fats, oils, dyes, and sebum. But their cost is not entirely acceptable for a larger number of the population.
How not to ruin your shoes?
When starting to manipulate leather products, you need to consider several nuances:
- It is not recommended to use vigorous mechanical impacts on contaminated areas, such as scraping with sharp or scratching objects;
- Under no circumstances should items made of genuine leather be soaked in water or washed;
- carefully remove soda or salt from the surface, because, having abrasive properties, they can damage the top layers;
- After each product, be sure to wipe the surface with a damp and then dry cloth, do not leave them for a long time. Their aggressive influence can have a destructive effect on the composition of the material;
- Be careful with solvents or ethyl alcohol, they can change the color of the product and damage the structure.
When the desired result is obtained, treat shoes with a nourishing and water-repellent spray. We hope our tips will be useful to you and help you keep your favorite pair of shoes for a longer time.