How to Clean and Care for a Leather Bag: The Full-Grain Guide

A good leather bag is one of the few things you can buy that improves with age. Full-grain leather does not wear out so much as wear in — softening at the corners, deepening in colour, taking on the particular shine that only comes from being carried.

But that only happens if it is looked after. Left in a damp cupboard, wiped with the wrong thing, or caught in a November downpour and then dried on a radiator, leather will crack, stiffen and stain. None of it takes much effort to avoid. Here is everything worth knowing, in the order you will need it.

First, know what you are working with

Full-grain leather is the top layer of the hide with its natural grain left intact. It has not been sanded smooth or sealed under a heavy plastic coating, which is why it breathes, ages well and develops a patina — and also why it can absorb water and oils if you let it.

That single fact explains almost every rule below. You are caring for a natural material, not a plastic one. Treat it a little like skin: keep it clean, keep it conditioned, keep it out of extremes.

Everyday care: the two-minute habit

Ninety per cent of leather care is simply wiping the bag down. Once a week, or whenever you remember, take a clean, dry, soft cloth — a microfibre cloth or an old cotton t-shirt is perfect — and go over the whole bag, paying attention to the base and the corners where dust collects.

Empty it out while you are there. Loose coins, biros and keys rattling around in a lining will do more damage over a year than the weather will. A coin purse, a glasses case and a small pouch for pens are not just tidy — they are protective.

How to clean a leather bag, step by step

1. Empty it completely and turn the lining inside out if you can. Shake out the crumbs and dust.
2. Dry-dust the exterior with a soft cloth before you introduce any moisture. Rubbing wet cloth over grit is how scratches happen.
3. Test first. Whatever you are about to use, try it on a small hidden area — the underside of the base, or inside a flap — and let it dry fully before going further.
4. Wipe with a barely damp cloth. Use clean water, or water with the smallest amount of a pH-neutral soap. Wring the cloth out until it is damp rather than wet, and work in small circles.
5. Do not soak. Never hold leather under a tap, never put it in a washing machine, and never let water pool on the surface.
6. Dry naturally. Blot with a dry cloth and leave the bag to air-dry at room temperature, away from radiators, hairdryers and direct sun. Heat is what makes leather crack.
7. Condition once dry — see below.

Rain, salt and winter

Getting caught in the rain is not a disaster. Getting caught in the rain and then drying the bag badly is.

Blot the surface gently with a dry cloth as soon as you are inside. Do not rub, which pushes water into the grain. Stuff the bag loosely with plain paper or bubble wrap to hold its shape — avoid newspaper, whose ink can transfer — and leave it somewhere cool and airy to dry over several hours. If a watermark appears, it will usually even out once the whole panel has dried and been conditioned.

Winter pavement salt is the more serious threat. It leaves pale, chalky tidemarks that can set. Wipe salt off with a barely damp cloth the same day, then condition once dry.

Conditioning: how often and how much

Conditioning replaces the natural oils that leather loses over time. Twice a year is enough for most bags — once at the start of autumn, once in spring — or three times a year if the bag is in daily use.

Use a small amount of a dedicated leather conditioner or balm on a soft cloth. Apply it in thin circles, let it absorb for fifteen minutes or so, then buff off the excess with a clean cloth. The mistake almost everyone makes is using too much: a thick layer will sit on the surface, attract dust and darken the leather unevenly.

Avoid household oils, baby wipes, alcohol-based cleaners, washing-up liquid and furniture polish. All of them will strip, stain or seal the surface in ways that are difficult to undo.

Stains: what to try, and when to stop

• Water marks — lightly dampen the whole panel with a barely wet cloth so it dries evenly, then condition.
• Grease or make-up — blot immediately, do not rub. A little cornflour or talc left on the mark overnight can draw out fresh oil; brush it off gently in the morning.
• Ink — be honest with yourself. Ink is the one stain where home remedies usually make things worse. Take it to a specialist leather cleaner.
• Colour transfer from dark denim — common on pale bags. Wipe early and often; once it has set into pale leather it rarely comes out completely, which is one good argument for a mid-tone bag if you live in jeans.

Storing a leather bag properly

How you store a bag between seasons matters as much as how you clean it.

• Stuff it loosely with plain tissue or bubble wrap so it holds its shape. An empty bag collapses and creases along the fold.
• Keep it in a breathable dust bag — cotton, not plastic. Plastic traps moisture and invites mould.
• Store it upright on a shelf, not crushed at the bottom of a wardrobe or hanging by its strap, which stretches the fixings.
• Somewhere cool, dark and dry. Lofts and unheated conservatories are the two worst places in a house.
• Unclip and store detachable straps flat rather than coiled tightly.

A note on suede

Suede plays by different rules. Never use water on it. Brush it with a dedicated suede brush in one direction to lift the nap, use a suede eraser on dry marks, and treat it with a suede protector spray before you wear it for the first time and again a few times each winter.

Hardware, stitching and straps

Wipe metal hardware with a dry cloth to stop moisture sitting in the joins. Check the stitching at the strap fixings a few times a year — that is where the load is, and a loose thread caught early is a five-minute repair rather than a lost bag. If you rotate between several straps, the fixings on each of them wear more slowly, which is a small but real advantage.

Our own care guide has the short version of all this, and every Pom Pom London bag comes with a 12-month warranty if something is not right.

The short version

Wipe it weekly. Keep it out of heat. Blot rain, never rub it. Condition twice a year, sparingly. Store it stuffed, upright and breathing. Do that, and a full-grain bag will outlast almost everything else you buy this decade — and look considerably better for the years.