New products made from genuine leather always have a characteristic smell. Over time, the specific aroma disappears, but there is not always the desire or opportunity to wait. In addition, leather jackets often absorb surrounding unpleasant odors.
It is possible and even necessary to fight such a nuisance. It is of course possible to get rid of all these bad fragrances on your own, the main thing is to know and understand how to do it correctly, as well as what means are suitable.
First of all, let's talk about why a leather jacket can acquire an unpleasant aroma. What causes bad odor?
Why might a jacket smell?
Natural leather material has the ability to absorb any foreign odors well. The most common unpleasant odors are: sweat, cigarette smoke, mustiness, and the smell of food if, for example, a jacket was hanging on a hanger near the kitchen. Often the product may smell like second-hand goods.
Each situation requires its own approach. Products that help cope with bad odors must be selected individually.
Bad aromas have varying degrees of absorption and difficulty in eliminating. That is why any one substance cannot be universal for all occasions. Let’s look at this in detail today. But first, let’s find out what kind of products are used in the fight against odors ingrained into leather products.
Features of leather products
Leather material is very dense in its structure, which is practical, since it is difficult to tear high-quality leather, but it also causes a number of maintenance difficulties. Leather outerwear easily absorbs various unpleasant odors, which are not easy to remove. Often, leather material, after prolonged use, develops abrasions that need to be painted over with special paint, and it is best to do this by dry cleaning. It is recommended to regularly soak leather products with special moisturizers.
The humidity of a leather product is directly related to its increased absorption of unpleasant odors. Leather items should always be thoroughly dried.
Products that eliminate odors
Of course, dry cleaning has always been an excellent way of not only cleaning, but also eliminating odors from things. However, this method is too expensive. Moreover, there is not always time for it. And why resort to such radical measures if the situation is not so critical and it is quite possible to manage on your own.
There are home remedies that will do the job just as well. Almost every home already has them. Therefore, you may not even have to buy them specially.
What substances will help:
- table vinegar;
- soda;
- ammonia;
- ammonia;
- concentrate for rinsing clothes;
- coffee;
- aromatic and essential oils;
- lemon juice;
- citrus fruit.
All these products are simply a godsend for removing stench. But each problem has its own approach.
Of course, first of all, it is better to try washing the leather jacket in the usual way, with fabric softener, this will probably help get rid of the problem right away.
But what to do if washing the product is contraindicated or there is absolutely no time for it? How to remove odor from a leather jacket quickly and effectively?
Just choose a ready-made recipe for your case and put it into practice. Many housewives have been using these methods for a long time and are satisfied.
A radical approach - home washing
It is known that it is not recommended to wash leather items, since excess moisture causes things to lose their shape and their presentability. But when there is no other choice, washing becomes the last saving solution. To wash a leather jacket yourself, you can resort to two methods:
- Manual. The jacket must be washed in warm water, and to eliminate the smell, add 1 tbsp. table vinegar. Soak the item for 8–12 hours. Squeeze and dry. Then wash by hand using liquid powder and baking soda (0.5 cups).
- Machine washable. If you don’t want to wash by hand, then a washing machine will come to the rescue. The mode must be selected “delicate wash” or “hand wash”. The temperature should not be more than 30 C. Liquid powder will best cope with the task of removing unpleasant aroma. Skip the spin cycle.
Drying leather products is carried out in a dark place. To prevent the jacket from losing its shape, place it on a terry towel. Place dry towels inside and also in the sleeves. When most of the moisture has been removed, hang the jacket on a hanger and dry it completely.
Fighting cigarette odor
People who smoke know first-hand what the problem of smoky items is. Outerwear suffers most often.
Removing the smell of tobacco smoke from a jacket made of real leather or leatherette is not so difficult. One of the listed options will come to the rescue.
Lemon juice
How to remove odor using this product? Lemon juice should be used dissolved with water, in a ratio of 1 to 1. The mixture is poured into a mechanical sprayer, and the outerwear item is well sprayed inside and out. Particular attention should be paid to the sleeves and collar part.
For convenience, the jacket can be hung on hangers. After 2-3 hours, the outer material is washed with a sponge with soapy water, and then with just clean water. After this, dry the jacket with a dry towel.
Citrus
Fruits such as orange, grapefruit, and lemon are excellent odor neutralizers. You can also use fresh citrus peels to combat tobacco. But this method can only be used on dark materials, in order to avoid staining light skin.
How to remove the smell of cigarette smoke using citrus peels? Just rub the peel well on the area of the collar, sleeves, and possibly underarms to neutralize all excess. Let it dry for about 15 minutes, and then wipe the jacket with a damp sponge and dry with a dry cloth.
Natural coffe
How else can you get rid of the smell so that your jacket doesn’t smell like cigarettes? It is no secret that coffee not only has a pleasant aroma and works as a flavoring agent, but also has sorbent properties. It perfectly absorbs any fragrance.
This method will take some time, but it's worth it. All you need to do is find a large bag that will fit the jacket. We fold and place the product in it, then pour in ½ cup of natural ground coffee and tie the bag tightly. You will have to wait about 2 days, but the product will no longer smell of tobacco, but will acquire a pleasant coffee aroma.
Fabric softener
You can also try using external washing of an outer wardrobe item with water and a laundry rinsing concentrate. This product not only gives a pleasant aroma, but is also able to remove unpleasant odors.
It is enough to dilute the substance with warm water (1/3 cap of product per 1 liter of water), stir well and wipe the most odorous areas. Leave for 10 minutes and wipe the jacket with a clean damp sponge.
Tips for light clothes
Caring for a light leather jacket at home requires delicacy. White items are the most susceptible to stains, and when removing them you should be careful not to smear the dirt. Colorless products that leave no residue are best. Suggestions for cleaning a white leather jacket:
- lemon juice;
- hydrogen peroxide;
- milk or lotion to remove makeup;
- milk (recommended to combine with soda, egg yolk or turpentine);
- soapy water with ammonia.
A soft rag, sponge or cotton swab is moistened in the selected product. Contaminants are processed. To keep your jacket sparkling clean, it is recommended to periodically wipe it with a sponge and a “cocktail” of milk and water.
In order to no longer think about how to wash a leather jacket, it is recommended to carefully care for your outerwear. Do not be lazy to wipe the product after rain, lubricate the leather surface with protective cream, remove dirt immediately and use a water-repellent spray.
Killing the smell of sweat
Dealing with the smell of sweat can sometimes be even more difficult than the smell of tobacco smoke. But it is still possible to correct the situation. Other means may be suitable here.
Ammonia solution
Ammonia and water are what perfectly remove sweat odors from the lining of a leather jacket.
Dilute 2 tbsp. spoons of the substance in 0.5 liters of water, and thoroughly wipe the lining area in the collar and armpits. You can repeat the procedure 2-3 times. The pungent ammonia smell will quickly evaporate along with sweat.
Soda
You can also solve the problem of the sweaty smell of a leather jacket with the help of soda.
You need to turn the item inside out, dilute soda powder with water to the consistency of a thick paste, and treat the fabric in the armpit area.
You will have to leave the composition on the jacket until it dries completely, and after that it will be enough to simply shake off traces of soda.
Essential oil
Essential oils not only have a strong aroma, but also disinfectant properties. Therefore, you can also get rid of the stench of sweat with their help.
You will need to take any essential oil you like, preferably citrus or tea tree oil, drop 3-5 drops into a soap solution and wash all smelly areas of the product. You can also wipe the outside of the jacket; esters will not harm the natural material.
Table vinegar
A fairly common remedy is table vinegar. If you dilute it with water in a ratio of 1 to 1, you can easily get rid of unpleasant odors from sweat.
You can wash the armpit area with the solution and spray the entire lining with a spray bottle. When the material dries, the nasty spirit will not remain.
How to remove the smell of cigarette smoke from clothes if you have no time
Surprisingly, clothes also become saturated with the smell of smoke very quickly. To get rid of it, you can use some of the products that we suggested for treating hair. So, you can spray an air freshener on your clothes, but you must remember that it only masks the smell, without removing it. In addition, it can harm clothing. It will probably have to be washed or cleaned later.
You can also try spraying your clothes with a baking soda solution. You can just sprinkle it with baking soda. Baby powder is also suitable for the same purposes. After processing the clothes, take a brush and carefully remove the soda or powder from it.
We remove the smell of genuine leather, second-hand goods and mold
These types of odors are quite persistent and it is not so easy to get rid of them on your own. However, it's worth a try. As a last resort, you can always go to dry cleaning.
Ammonia
Ammonia will help remove odors such as mold, specific leather or second-hand ones only if you wipe the entire jacket with it on the outside and spray it on the inside.
You can also try soaking the item in a basin of water and ammonia for 15-20 minutes. The ammonia will quickly dissipate, there is no need to worry, and all other fragrances should disappear with it.
Drying and airing
If a natural leather jacket suddenly acquires a musty smell after being stored in a closet for a long time, then only drying it in the heat on the balcony (but not in direct sunlight) and, of course, airing will help. Unfortunately, this method rarely helps with the smell of second hand goods.
How to wash clothes correctly to get rid of the smell of smoke
It is better to wash clothes not with washing powders, but with laundry soap mixed with 1/4 cup of baking soda.
Linen washed as described above should be rinsed in water with 1/4 cup of white vinegar added. Don't worry about your clothes starting to smell like vinegar. After you rinse it in clean water, there will be no smell left.
Store-bought odor neutralizers
Special products for removing various odors from the skin can be purchased today at any hardware store. Of course, these compounds are synthetic and are not cheap, but in some cases you cannot do without them.
It is recommended to use store-bought neutralizers only after reading the instructions. They are mainly used by spraying onto the surface and lining of the product.
These products should not be confused with regular flavorings. They may also smell good, but they also have the additional properties of absorbing and evaporating unpleasant odors.
Removing stains from a jacket
Regular alcohol will help remove unsightly sweat stains from a white wool jacket. To carry out the procedure, it is enough to wipe the contaminated areas with a cotton swab well soaked in alcohol, after which the clothes are rinsed and washed in cool water. You should not wash a woolen item in hot water - this can cause it to become deformed and “shrink,” that is, decrease in size.
If the stains are located on the white lining of the jacket, then a mixture of:
This mixture is applied to the item for a short time, after which it is thoroughly washed off. The advantages of this method of removing stains are that in addition to dirt, the corrosive, unpleasant odor of sweat is also removed .
You can remove stubborn stains with gasoline (or ammonia). The procedure consists of applying the solution to the stained area with a cotton swab, after which the item must be washed with powder.
A mixture of white spirit and ammonia (ratio: 4 to 2), which is used to treat the dirt and leave the item for a short time, will help to clean a wool jacket After this, the item is rinsed in warm water and, if necessary, washed with powder. The same method can be applied to silk by changing the amount of ingredients - white spirit and ammonia are mixed in equal proportions.
Hydrogen peroxide against sweat spots
The advantages of using peroxide are that it protects the item for a long time from the appearance of dark spots from sweat; it reacts with proteins contained in bodily secretions. use peroxide diluted in half with water or pure. As a rule, a mixture of peroxide and water is initially used - applied to the item for half an hour, then the clothes are hung out to dry. If this does not help, then the procedure is repeated, making the mixture more concentrated, that is, adding an increased amount of peroxide.
With a cotton swab dipped in water, hydrogen peroxide is applied to the stain with light movements, the item is rinsed in warm water and dried in the sun. This method is especially effective for getting rid of sweat stains on crisp white shirts.
A mixture of peroxide, soda and water (a quarter cup of each ingredient is taken) is brought to a mushy state, adding soda if necessary. The finished product is applied to the item laid out horizontally , to contaminated areas, including the area near them, and left for half an hour. Afterwards, rinse, wash in the usual way and dry.
