You have made the investment in your beautiful Coach leather handbag, but now it is dirty! What are you to do? Before you shed tears over your ruined handbag, there are a few simple steps to care for your Coach leather handbag. Once you clean your leather with the perfect leather cleaner, you can follow it up with a leather conditioner to preserve its beauty and keep it protected from harm.

Why would you need to clean your Coach leather handbag? Let’s think about the dirt and grime that it comes into contact with on a daily basis. Public bathrooms are about the worst place to bring your purse because the germs quite possibly jump right onto your purse without you even realizing it. The store, your office, the doctor – almost anywhere you go, you will experience built up dirt and grime, even if you do not see visible stains. In fact, it is better to clean your leather before you see stains to retain the best results.

The types of leather used for Coach bags vary quite a bit (Learn about leather types by reading our blog “How to Identify Types of Leather”) so pretest according to the following instructions:

1. Use a soft, white, t-shirt type cloth (or cloth applicator) to clean and condition. When you pretest using a white cloth, watch for 2 things.
a. color on the cloth
b. change to color of leather 1 hour after application.

If either happen do not use the product or accept that it will darken the leather a shade.

Once you find the perfect cleaner for your Coach leather handbag, such as Chamberlain’s Leather Milk No. 2 which is mild on the leather but tough on the dirt, gently rub the recipe into the leather in circular motions. Yes, this might get tiring, but if you envision all of the dirt and collected clogging substances that you are removing from your beautiful purse, you will feel motivated. Once you have massaged the entire leather bag, wipe it off with a new, clean cloth and wait for the leather to dry completely. Now you have a germ free Coach leather handbag!

Once your leather is nice and clean, it is time to condition it. Why do you need to condition it? Just like you likely condition your hair – it is the way to create the soft, supple look that you love about your Coach leather handbag as well as replenish the leather's natural oils that were removed with the cleaner and depleted with use. Chamberlain’s Leather Care Liniment No. 1 is the perfect way to create that soft, supple feeling as the oils that it is made from are light – meaning that they will not weigh your purse down or clog it up. All you need to do is massage the liniment in, just like you did with the leather cleaner, allow a short drying time and then briefly buff it out with a clean cloth. This will give your leather purse a simple refresh, just like you might use on your face for makeup throughout the day. Wake your purse up, giving it a beautiful shine that will make it look like you just brought it home from the store without putting out that large investment that Coach bags cost in the first place! Consider it like us saving you hundreds of dollars every time your Coach leather handbag gets dirty. You can thank us later.

Contributors
Stephanie Clarke
Chris Repp (www.leatherhelp.com)