How to clean faux suede?

Artificial materials have become quite widespread in everyday life. They are wear-resistant and practical, and often look indistinguishable from natural ones. Faux suede is one of them. It looks like the real thing and at the same time has all the advantages of synthetic fabrics that can be easily cleaned from dust, dirt, and stains. Let's take a closer look at how to clean faux suede.

Rules for cleaning artificial suede

This practical material is used not only for sewing clothes, shoes, accessories, but also as a fabric for covering sofas and armchairs. During use, suede may become completely dirty or become stained or dusty. But there’s nothing to worry about – the material is easy to clean.

What funds will be required?

At home, for cleaning various materials, complex products or their compositions are not used, which must be thoroughly mixed or subjected to any processing. Artificial suede is perfectly cleaned either with a special spray, foam, suede lotion, or with a vinegar solution, ammonia, starch, or milk.

Important! To lift the pile, use a soft brush (or a toothbrush), an eraser, or a special rubber brush for natural suede; to restore color, use spray paint of the appropriate shade.

Primary processing

When purchasing shoes made of artificial suede, immediately buy special products to care for them:

• A lint brush. The best option is a combination brush, with thick bristles on one side and a rubber comb on the other;
• cleaning foam;
• protective spray. It may be colorless, but the best option would be to purchase a spray or lotion with a tinting effect.

Even before using the shoe for the first time, treat it with a protective agent that has a water-repellent effect.. It will also serve as an invisible barrier to the penetration of moisture with dissolved salt and the formation of stains of various origins. It’s just a pity that after the first treatment, owners often forget about subsequent care, giving the green light to contamination.

Important! Such prevention is carried out several times a season for both shoes made of natural suede and artificial materials. After exposure to water-repellent or protective compounds, boots or shoes must dry under natural conditions for at least several hours.

Clothes and furniture with faux suede become dirty for other reasons, and primary treatment will not be a panacea for ills.For example, dripping molten candle wax will remain on the fabric even with the most thorough treatment, and from dust and stains during prolonged use there is no other way to escape than removing them with a vacuum cleaner or brush with a cleaning compound.

Step-by-step cleaning guide

To clean suede shoes, be sure to use a special foam or other product recommended by the manufacturer.. If for some reason you are unable to use guaranteed products, then you can find a way to solve the problem at home.

Before cleaning the product, we get rid of the surface layer of dust and dirt formed during the use of the shoes:

• Dissolve half a teaspoon of table soda in half a glass of skim milk at room temperature;
• treat the suede surface with a napkin slightly moistened with the resulting solution;
• after that, to remove any remaining solution, treat the entire surface again with another cloth moistened with warm, clean water;
• We dry the product naturally without additional heating;
• After drying, lift the pile with a special brush, or if you don’t have one, use an old toothbrush.

Glazed areas can also be refreshed and removed from the uncharacteristic shine of suede:

• Dilute a little vinegar essence in 1 liter of water, stir everything well;
• Treat problem areas with a clean napkin;
• dry without additional heating;
• ventilate to get rid of the pungent odor;
• lift the pile with a special brush.

How to remove salt?

The simplest but most effective way is systematic prevention with a protective composition + remedy for salt stains. At home, there are several ways to give shoes their original color and rid them of white areas. Use one of the following:

• Gently rub the dried salt with a suede brush or school eraser;
• a crust of black bread can also help in this situation. Proceed as with the eraser;
• dilute a few drops of ammonia in a glass of milk and treat the whitened area with this mixture, then walk over it with a damp cloth with clean water.

We clean all kinds of stains

To get rid of greasy stains we use the most famous method:

• generously cover the contaminated area with starch for at least half an hour;
• Using a clothes brush with thick bristles, we clean out all the loose composition;
• if the stain is not removed, then before applying it to the dirty place, moisten the starch with a few drops of ammonia and only after that place it on the product;
• After half an hour, carefully but thoroughly sweep with a brush.

Remove wax or paraffin from the surface of artificial suede using a moderately heated iron.. Place a napkin or clean cloth in several layers on the stain and iron the area. The wax will melt under the influence of high temperature, and the napkin will absorb it. It may take several approaches.