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dukey33
0
Yep, after 10 years of riding in the various conditions of Southeast Texas, with the help of the internet, I found a way to launder my leather jacket.
The product I found was reviewed, tested, commented on by a few different sources including some moto sites but was primarily developed for horse tack and equestrian apparel.
www.leathertherapy.com
I ordered the leather laundry solution and the leather rinse and dressing in the small bottle (4 oz) size. Ordering was simple, delivery was pretty quick.
I followed the directions in their faq for leather racing suits...
http://www.leathertherapy.com/pages/FAQs.html#2
...removed all the padding, inverted the garment and zipped it back closed. I also unfastened the waist adjusters, but closed the hook-n-loop back on itself.
One thing I added was a sheet of Shout Color-Catcher to minimize any potential dye bleeding (my jacket has black, blue and white leather on it)
We have a front loading machine, so it was easy to set up.
Laundry solution in the detergent cup, Rinse and Dressing into the fabric softener cup. Set for cold wash and low speed spin. Note: the 4oz bottles are enough for two washings.
An hour later, the jacket is done. It is significantly cleaner than it was (not all the soil spots came out, but I did not pre-clean any of them either), the color is still good, no dye bleeding, no more malodorous scent (according to the wife) and the jacket seems fully functional.
(btw, the sheet of color catcher was dark dark blue-black)
After letting it air-dry on a hanger, it was stiff as expected but some leather conditioner has it back to its previous state. All I have left to do is wipe down the armor padding and reinstall.
Cost for detergent & rinse, shipped: $13.45 (compare that to leather cleaning at the dry-cleaners
)
Final verdict:
The product I found was reviewed, tested, commented on by a few different sources including some moto sites but was primarily developed for horse tack and equestrian apparel.
www.leathertherapy.com
I ordered the leather laundry solution and the leather rinse and dressing in the small bottle (4 oz) size. Ordering was simple, delivery was pretty quick.
I followed the directions in their faq for leather racing suits...
http://www.leathertherapy.com/pages/FAQs.html#2
...removed all the padding, inverted the garment and zipped it back closed. I also unfastened the waist adjusters, but closed the hook-n-loop back on itself.
One thing I added was a sheet of Shout Color-Catcher to minimize any potential dye bleeding (my jacket has black, blue and white leather on it)
We have a front loading machine, so it was easy to set up.
Laundry solution in the detergent cup, Rinse and Dressing into the fabric softener cup. Set for cold wash and low speed spin. Note: the 4oz bottles are enough for two washings.
An hour later, the jacket is done. It is significantly cleaner than it was (not all the soil spots came out, but I did not pre-clean any of them either), the color is still good, no dye bleeding, no more malodorous scent (according to the wife) and the jacket seems fully functional.
(btw, the sheet of color catcher was dark dark blue-black)
After letting it air-dry on a hanger, it was stiff as expected but some leather conditioner has it back to its previous state. All I have left to do is wipe down the armor padding and reinstall.
Cost for detergent & rinse, shipped: $13.45 (compare that to leather cleaning at the dry-cleaners
)Final verdict:
