Questions and answers

Leather care made easy: How to keep your suitcases and bags beautiful for a long time

Posted on by Theresa Habermann
07
Aug

For an optimal natural care routine of your leather bags and suitcases, you basically don’t need much.
First you need means for cleaning. Our leather and saddle soap is ideal for bags and suitcases made of smooth leather. This removes dirt and stains with the help of a sponge and cleans in depth without damaging the material.

For coarse dirt, the dirt brush is suitable, with which dust and dirt can be easily brushed off. For suitcases and bags made of suede, you can use either the suede eraser or a suede brush. This gently cleans the material and at the same time the characteristic fibers of the suede are restored.

In addition to cleaning, you will need products for leather care. Again, it depends on the type of leather, because smooth leather requires different care than suede.
Leather oil or leather grease is suitable for smooth leather, as well as our liquid leather care product for shine. These products nourish the leather, keep it supple and protect it from drying out. In addition, the leather care also ensures a beautiful shine and a well-groomed look if desired.

Finally, a natural impregnation ensures that the leather bags and suitcases are well protected from water and dirt. This is especially helpful for suitcases that are used a lot outdoors and are often on the road.
At Tapir, we offer you both an impregnation for smooth and one for suede.

So if the products are used regularly and attention is paid to the correct application, the leather bag and suitcase will remain beautiful and well-groomed for a long time.

To clean your leather bags and suitcases in depth, follow these steps. First, brush off coarse dirt with the dirt brush. Then put some leather and saddle soap on a damp sponge and crumple it until a fine foam is formed. Then rub it over the leather of the bag or suitcase and massage it in well. Now give it a little exposure time. The foam penetrates deep into the leather and cleans from the inside out. The foam must then be removed again. If necessary, this process can be repeated until you are satisfied with the result.

The cleaning is now done, but don’t forget the subsequent leather care!

If minor scratches have formed on the smooth leather, you can remove them relatively well with a little trick. At best (after extensive cleaning, because you don’t want to massage existing dirt even deeper into the leather!), use our leather care cream. These are available in different colors and the application is very simple.

The cream can be wonderfully applied to the leather with an application brush or a cotton cloth. Massage it carefully into the leather. After a short drying time, the leather can be brought to shine by friction with a gloss brush. Minor scratches thus disappear.

The stains depend entirely on which stains they are. Grease stains, for example, should first be treated with baking soda or baking soda. Simply apply and vacuum or brush off again after a longer exposure time. The powder sucks the fat out of the material. But caution is advised here, please always test home remedies on an inconspicuous area first.
Then clean the leather in depth with Tapirs Leather and Saddle Soap. Put some of it on a damp sponge and crumple it until a fine foam is formed. Then rub it over the leather of the bag or suitcase and massage it in well. Now give it a little exposure time. The foam penetrates deep into the leather and cleans from the inside out. The foam must then be removed again. If necessary, this process can be repeated until you are satisfied with the result. Most stains thus disappear. To get rid of particularly stubborn stains, the application of the leather care cream helps after cleaning. These are available in different colors, which can be selected to match the leather color. Simply apply the cream with a cotton cloth or application brush and massage it in well. Then polish with the gloss brush. Now your leather bags and suitcases should look almost like new again!

To ensure that your leather bags and suitcases are optimally prepared for longer storage and damage such as drying out, mold or deformation is avoided, you should follow a few important steps.

Proper preparation
Your bags and suitcases should be thoroughly cleaned of dirt, grime and other residues before storage. To do this, use either a dirt brush or, for more stubborn soiling, our mild leather and saddle soap. After cleaning, a suitable leather care product such as leather grease or leather oil is recommended. This keeps the leather supple and protects it from drying out.

Suitable storage conditions
Store the leather in well-ventilated and dry rooms. Damp basements or warm attics should be avoided, as moisture and heat can lead to mold and dehydration. In addition, the leather should be kept out of direct sunlight, as UV radiation can fade the material and make it brittle.

Proper storage
When storing leather cases and bags for a longer period of time, it is best to store them in breathable cloth bags to protect them from dust and sunlight. Please do not use plastic bags as they can trap moisture and promote mold. Suitcases and bags can be stuffed with newspaper, for example, to avoid deformation.

Mould prevention
In order to be able to remove mould quickly, you should check the storage environments and the leather regularly, about twice a year. Small bags of silica gel or activated carbon near the leather can absorb excess moisture from the air.

With these measures, your suitcases and bags remain in optimal condition even over longer periods of time and are immediately ready for the next use.

As is so often the case, the care of your leather suitcases and bags depends entirely on the type and intensity of use.

Type of use

Care interval

Regular use

Every 2-3 months

Occasional use

Every 6 months, but at least 1× annually

before & after prolonged storage

Always before storage + after removal

after contact with rain/wet

Dry immediately, then recare if necessary

The following steps should then be taken for leather care.
First, remove dust and coarse dirt with a soft cloth or the dirt brush.
For a more thorough cleaning, use our mild leather and saddle soap, which removes dirt from the depths of the leather.
After cleaning, the leather deserves sufficient care. Leather balm or cream is best suited here, each matching the type and color of the leather.
Especially if you travel a lot and often outdoors with the leather bags and suitcases, or if you are planning a trip, they should be treated with a suitable impregnation at the end. These protect the leather from moisture, dirt and stains.
A good time for more thorough care is especially before and after the change of season, i.e. in spring or autumn. So you also have a routine that you can’t easily forget.
Finally, cleaning and good impregnation before going on holiday or outdoor use is a good idea.

With this regular thorough leather care, you will enjoy your bags and suitcases for a long time.