Wallets are really handy! Whether for carrying IDs, cash, tickets, drivers licenses or gift cards, this indispensable leprechaun seems to have space for all of those little knickknacks we couldn’t do without. It’s practically the non-digitized data storage device, or the Swiss army knife of throwing our weight around. Oh, and the thing about throwing weight – just watch television sometime – you need to make it look stylish. You can’t go around lobbing rusty old anvils – you need some flourish. How you treat your wallet speaks a lot about how you treat yourself. Consider it a marketplace sample of a bargain cuisine at your local grocery store. People pay attention to that sample, and they make judgments with that sample. Give them something that’ll keep them coming back and wanting more.

Now that we’ve got you going with this new fascination, you need to know how to work it. Wallets have got a pretty diverse mien, but leather’s a type that’ll spark up immediate notice. Leather’s alive, leather’s got character, and leather knows how to move weight. Leather doesn’t just respect you – it respects itself. And you’re going to need to treat it with respect to master its full potential.

First rule about leather: leather gets dirty. With many fabrics, this just takes a clean cloth to deal and elbow grease to deal with. Leather’s a bit different. It breathes that stuff in, and we are talking literally. Check out how that works in our blog “How Does Leather Breathe?” Long story short, your leather absorbs materials around it through pores that are supposed to take in moisture and recycle oils. When dirt clogs up those pores, it prevents your leather from absorbing the moisture, which prevents lubricants from doing their job. After a little while, you’re leather’s going to become the Sahara Desert of unliving flesh. It’s going to dry out, it’s going to crack, it’s going to grow brittle and fall apart, and it’s going to spell disaster for your rep.
You can help prevent this with a good cleaning. What am I cleaning up, you ask? Your leather wallet’s just sitting inside your pocket, it’s true. Not too much exposure inside that thing. It’s just a dark, warm, probably often damp location that only comes into contact with various body oils, dust when dropped, surface contaminants when placed on stuff, and who knows what else that little creature is eating up while you’re not watching it. You get the picture. So how do I go about good doing good leather wallet care?

Turns out, leather wallet care is fairly simple. It's a small enough object. Make sure your leather wallet is empty before doing any touching up. For regular spot checks to remove surface dust and lint, gently wipe it with a damp, soft cloth until everything is gone. If your wallet gets wet, dab it to remove moisture as soon as you can, before it absorbs into the leather. Excess moisture can spell danger for your leather items. Remember to dab here – don’t smear, or you’ll just push the liquid further into the leather, and have a bigger problem on your hands. Dab, don’t smear. If you get grease on your leather wallet, as most people do, try sprinkling a small amount of talcum powder or corn starch on the grease stain, and leave it on for a few hours. The starch will absorb grease as it sits, so the longer it stays, the cleaner your leather wallet will be.

But good leather wallet care shouldn't stop here. Eventually, you’ll want to give your wallet a more thorough cleaning. Your routine will depend on the leather you have. If it is unfinished (which you can read about at “Leather Care for Finished and Unfinished Leather”), it may require a different routine than finished leather. Likewise, exotic leather (“Cleaning and Conditioning Exotic Leather”), such as stingray or crocodile, will need to be treated differently as well, probably using leather cleaners and conditioners designed for exotic leather.

If your leather wallet is standard cowhide, however, you should be safe to use standard leather cleaner. Try to stay away from commercial products – these are designed for leather, and can react badly when used on it. “Common Leather Care Mistakes” can show you how that works. Instead, try rubbing alcohol, or a compatible leather cleaner, such as Chamberlain's Straight Cleaner No. 2. Test anything you’re about to use first. Apply leather cleaner to a soft, white cloth, and gently rub it into a discreet part of your wallet—perhaps on its inside, or inside a pocket if the leather is the same there. Take care not to rub with much pressure, or you will rub some of the color off. After it has dried, check the leather for darkening or discoloration, your cloth for excess color rub off, or any other negative side effects. Anything that happens to that tiny spot will happen with your entire leather wallet if you use your cleaner. If everything looks good to you, clean away! Give a clean cloth a light amount of leather cleaner and wipe it gently and evenly across your wallet. Don’t use too much leather cleaner, and after the surface is covered, wipe off any residual fluid with another clean cloth. Let the rest dry.

After your leather wallet has dried, it’s pores are going to open and begging for more moisture. That’s the downside of cleaning your leather wallet – it takes away the leather’s vital lubricants. To restore these, you’re going to need to use a leather conditioner, such as Chamberlain's Leather Care Liniment No. 1. Test it the same way you did your leather cleaner, and if it works well, apply it to the wallet with a clean cloth gently and evenly. Let the leather conditioner dry for fifteen minutes, and buff off the rest of the conditioner with a clean cloth. Nice job! You have mastered leather wallet care!

On most occasions, you should probably only need to do a cleaning/conditioning routine about twice a year (“How Often Should I Condition Leather?”) for good leather wallet care. Other than that, pay close attention to the instructions on your leather wallet’s manual if it came with one, and give it preferential treatment to anything you find on the web, including here.

Dandy! Another shiny leather treasure done justice! We’re so happy you love your leather wallet so, proud leather patron! Keep up the love and care, and that lovable little mate will stick around for many years more. Good luck!

Contributors
Daniel Sutton
bestwalletguide.com