One of the cardinal rules of Leather is not to let it get soaked. But we all know, sometimes, shit happens. And sometimes, despite our best intentions, we can get our leather soaked. Whether it’s a jacket or a bag you got caught in the rain with, or a wallet you forgot in your pants before you washed them, or your horse went for a little dip while all talked up… whatever the situation, sometimes our leather gets soaked. But what do you do after? Here are three easy steps you can take to save your leather when it’s gotten wet.
With all the rain we have had in my area, it was bound to happen eventually, and it finally did! I got caught outside in a rainstorm with my carved cross-body bag. As you can see from the photos, it got well and truly soaked.
While I was outside, I unfortunately didn’t have any way to cover it, so it got very saturated. When your leather gets this soaked. The main worries are stretching or distortion and watermarks.
1. Wipe dry
The first thing I did when I got home was to wipe off any excess water. I then cleared out a space that wasn’t in direct sunlight where I could leave my bag for a day or so.
2. Let it dry out
Next, I carefully pulled out everything from my bag. I was very careful not to stretch it, as stretching leather when it’s wet will cause it to retain its stretched shape. After I pulled everything out, I left it open to dry for 24+ hours. If you are doing this to a wallet, you would do the same thing, pull out all the cards, and try to flatten it out.
You can tell it is completely dry when the color has returned to normal and both sides of the leather are dry to the touch. It should not be significantly cooler than room temperature and should have been back to normal color for at least 3-5 hours.
3. Condition It
When it is completely dry, the next step is to condition it. I use a beeswax-based balm, you can find it here if you’d like to try it. I apply a liberal coat with a horse hair brush to get into the dips of the carving and buff it with a soft, clean cloth.
That’s all there is to it. In the end, my bag looked as good as new and didn’t end up having any watermarks. If there had been any watermarks, I would have gently re-wet it completely and evenly with a clean, damp cloth and let it dry out again before conditioning it.
For stubborn stains, you can try a 1:3 ratio of rubbing alcohol and water to dampen it. But be careful and test this in a discreet spot before, as most leather dyes are alcohol bassed and this mixture can lift it.
That’s all there is to it. Three easy steps you can follow if you ever accidentally soak your leather. If you do this every time your leather becomes saturated, it will last much longer and continue to look good. Leather is a very durable product; however, water is one of the primary ways a leather worker manipulates it into a different shape. If you are not careful, your wet leather can stretch out and lose its shape when wet. Unfortunately, once this happens, there is no going back. So be careful with your leather when it’s wet and remember to: dry it off, empty it, dry it out, and condition it for the best results!