An Easy Guide on How to Wash Leather Pants

Leather pants are becoming wardrobe essentials and come in myriads of designs, colors, and styles. How you care for your leather pants will determine how long they last. Thus, it is crucial to clean the leather cautiously to keep it nice and fresh.

So, knowing how to clean leather pants would go a long way in retaining the good appearance of this clothing item. While this process may seem tricky and go wrong sometimes, you can scale through with the proper skills.

For the most part, hand wiping and spot treatments are effective for leather pant cleaning. But, you can also conduct machine washing in a gentle cycle to remove dirt and oil stains from this piece. Keep reading this guide to learn more tips for keeping leather pants clean.

Supplies You Need to Wash Leather Pants

Supplies You’ll need to wash leather pants successfully include:

  • Garment bag
  • Water
  • Washing machine
  • Microfiber cloth
  • Steamer
  • Mild liquid detergent
  • Drying rack
  • Dry towel

how to wash leather pants by hand

6 Ways of Washing Leather Pants

By now, you should know that all leather does not need excess water for cleaning.

Are you keen on learning how to wash leather at home? Although similar to the regular washing routine, you should know slight differences in washing leather pants. Kindly follow the steps explained below:

Follow the Directions on the Cloth Label

Before getting started with washing your leather pants, it is crucial to refer to the clothes label. The manufacturer’s instructions on the label should tell you how to wash leather pants from H&M or other designers.

Some clothing items come with a tag that states “Not Washable” or “Dry Clean Only.” You may want to let this piece avoid moisture with such an indication, and a leather specialist or dry cleaning service would be great.

However, labels that provide machine washing instructions should perform well in washing and drying cycles.

Test Your Cleaning Materials

Leather is a delicate piece that gets damaged if exposed to harsh cleaning agents. Thus, it is important to conduct a spot test with your cleaning supplies. Damp a small cloth, wipe an inconspicuous area of the pant, and wait for a while.

Then, move further to check for discolorations, wrinkles, and fading. If none of these mentioned issues comes up, you can rest assured that you’re your most treasured leather item can tolerate being wet. However, you can contact a specialist to help clean this piece if you notice stains or wrinkles after conducting a spot test.

Wash with Cold Water on “Delicate” Cycle

Turn on the washing machine and set the water temperature to “cold.” Then, select the “delicate” washing cycle and then spin speed to the lowest setting available. Add some color-safe cleaning liquid detergent, and turn the pants inside out before placing them into the machine.

You can minimize the chances of wear and tear by placing your leather pant in a garment bag before tossing them into the washing machine. Such an action would reduce likely agitations as the machine washes the piece.

Wipe Leather with a Damp Cloth

If you don’t like machine washing, wipe the leather pant with a damp microfiber cloth. Run the cloth gently on the leather surface, and resist the urge to scrub this piece.

Apply Steam

Steaming is another effective way to go on how to clean leather motorcycle pants. Such a method helps rid the cloth of strong odors, including smoke smell. Set the steam machine to gentle and wand lightly across the pants when ready.

If you don’t have a steaming machine, you should consider hanging this piece in the shower while running the water to warm. While only the steam touches the garment, you would notice that the leather appears damp, and soon there would be fewer signs of wear.

Also, some people want to learn how to shrink leather pants-please note that steaming is an effective solution for such a problem.

Dry the Leather Pants

Place the leather pant on a drying rack or atop a dry towel for them to dry; these drying methods for your leather is pretty safe. Even though machine drying seems effective, it doesn’t work well for all leather types and can cause potential damages.

How Often You Should Wash Leather Pants

One thing about knowing how to care for leather pants is keeping them clean. However, some folks are keen on creating a “washing” schedule for such an outfit; hence, they want to know how often they can wash their leather pants.

While there are no rules governing such, the amount of times you wash your leather piece depends on the leather, color, how much you wear it, and how dirty it appears. Some leather trousers may need frequent washing, while others may not.

You can take some clues from the outline below on cleaning different leather types.

Lambskin Leather: This material does not require direct contact with water, and you should consider wiping it with a damp cloth. After each cleaning, kindly ensure you condition the piece appropriately.

Cow Hide: Deep cleaning of this leather is not necessary, and it is best to spot clean using appropriate supplies when needed.

Goatskin: With the aid of a specialized leather cleaning agent, the goatskin leather cleaning schedule covers 2 to 3 times cleaning yearly (unless the item gets dirty more frequently). But, this may be different from pants made from such material; still, excessive cleaning is not needed.

Faux Leather: Although regular cleaning works for faux leather pants, kindly ensure they are cleaned only when needed.

Note: Even though you may not wash your leather slacks each time you wear them, experts recommend that you handle stains immediately.

Tips for Caring for Leather Pants

  • After cleaning this piece, applying a leather protectant would make this cloth last longer.
  • Try to condition leather pants once a month to keep them flexible and soft.
  • You can remove ink on leather using saddle soap, rubbing alcohol, or a magic eraser.
  • A mixture of water and vinegar can help eradicate salt stains on this outfit; dip it in the solution, wring, and let dry.
  • Be sure that you keep your leather pants away from corrosive agents and cleaners such as bleach and similar products.
  • Are there oil stains on your leather trousers? Pour some cornstarch on the spill to absorb the oil and clean the leather appropriately.
  • Store leather in a place free from excess heat
  • Never fold leather trousers! It would help to hang them with padded hangers or place them in garment bags.

FAQs

Can I put leather pants in the washing machine?

While a few leather pants are not suitable for machine washing, you can find many with labels that have machine washing instructions. Thus, you can wash such apparel in the machine after setting on the delicate cycle.

Always wash with cold water, and if possible, choose the lowest spin level on the machine. If, however, your leather pant has the “Non-Washable” or “Dry Clean Only” inscription on the tag, you should consider taking them to a dry cleaning service.

Can leather pants go in the dryer?

It is never ideal for any leather to be thrown into the dryer. Since this material is frail when exposed to heat, exposure to the dryer can cause the leather to peel and crack. Thus, the best way to dry your leather pants is by placing them on a drying rack or laying on a dry towel. Be sure to air-dry leather and keep it from direct sunlight and excess heat.

How can I wash my leather clothes?

If your leather clothing items have machine washing instructions on the label, their water tolerance is fair, and you can decide to wash with water and mild soap. You can employ a washing machine for this purpose, but it would help place it on a “delicate setting” and low spin.

Also, you can hand wash leather outfits-soak in warm soapy water and wring gently afterward. Then layout to dry on a dry towel or drying rack. Once done, you should condition the leather to make it look great.

Will washing leather ruin it?

Washing does not destroy leather if the texture supports it. If you want to know if your leather goods are suitable for washing, you can check the manufacturer’s instructions on the label. For leather items that are not suitable, you can seek the help of a leather expert to get them cleaned.

How do you wash vegan leather pants?

Start by inspecting the piece for stains, note them, and treat them appropriately. Then move further to hand wash or machine wash (on gentle agitation and reduced spin) with cold water and mild detergent.

Before tossing the garment into the machine, kindly ensure you turn it inside out. Wring out excess moisture after you’re done. How to dry faux leather pants? Place atop a drying rack or dry towel.

Can you wash Zara leather pants?

Although some pants among Zara collections require only dry cleaning, this manufacturer may allow washing some leather textures. But, it is important to learn how to wash leather pants from Zara.

On a normal note, avoid using hot water to wash such leather pieces and do not employ a dryer to get it dried. It is recommendable to dry clean, and it is best to seek the help of a leather expert for such tasks.

Can you steam vegan leather?

This artificial leather material requires additional care, and it is best to engage effective solutions. You can steam vegan leather if there are wrinkles and press on low heat. However, after steaming, you should ensure that the moisture gets dried first before ironing on a low heat setting.

Can leather pants be ironed?

The texture of leather does not allow excess heat on the material, and as such, it is not suitable for ironing. But, you can press a leather to remove wrinkles from its surface by employing intricate skills.

First, empty the iron steam, set it on “low,” and place a cotton sheet or brown paper atop the leather. Such covering would ensure the iron does not contact the leather directly and transfer minimal heat to help remove the wrinkles from the piece.

Wrap Up

Most persons are obsessed with leather pants, as these tight-fitting and exquisite clothing items can be styled differently and still give off a pronounced fashion statement. However, it is best to learn how to wash leather pants and keep them clean at all times.

Proper maintenance is needed to improve the longevity of your favorite fashion leather piece. Not to worry, this guide exposes the effective ways to clean leather pants to you, and these expert tips should help you achieve outstanding results.

Evina Naomi

Ewofere, Evina Naomi is a biotechnologist and passionate content writer. As a great lover of leather and various leather crafts, she broadly addresses leather-related issues. She is a writer of many excellent articles on leather. With great knowledge and enthusiasm, readers can access researched pieces on various leather types and the best techniques that work on them. Naomi is here to lead you through the journey of choosing excellent leather products and ensure you handle them rightly. So you can embark on your leather sewing and crafting journey with her and have an incredible experience.

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