How to Clean Suede

By eHow Fashion, Style & Personal Care Editor

Clean Suede

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Suede is a lovely material - warm, soft and cuddly. Too bad it's such a terrible beast to clean. In general, have suede garments professionally cleaned. This can be costly but the most effective way to ensure the safety of your fabric. If you must clean your own, follow these guidelines.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Shoe Shining/cleaning Kits
Paper towels
Leather Cleaning Kits
Washcloths
Leather Protection Sprays
White Vinegar
Suede Brushes

Step1

Rub suede gently with a bath towel to restore some of its nap.

Step2

Remove dry stains and marks from suede by gently rubbing a pencil eraser on the affected area. For wet stains lay a papertowel on top of stain to absorb most of the liquid. Do not apply any kind of stain remover or other products, especially if you want to have it professionally cleaned. This can interfere with the cleaning process.

Step3

Brush with a suede brush.

Step4

Apply a small amount of white vinegar to a lightly dampened cloth as a last resort for cleaning suede shoes.

Step5

Gently rub the surface of the shoe with the cloth, then allow it to air dry.

Step6

Remember that stains on leather and suede should be professionally treated. This is always the best option. You never know how the leather was treated during the making of your fabric and what will happen if you try to clean it yourself.

Tips & Warnings

Pre-treat suede with a leather protection spray before use.
Leather and suede garments should be professionally cleaned at least every two years. Drop off your garment during the season you are not using it. This will guarantee that your garment is ready when you need it.
Note that suede shoes treated with white vinegar may have a mild odor after cleaning.

Comments

pan4sonic said

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on 1/29/2008 For those of you who have tried these methods with little or no resolve, I say look at suede from another angle. While most leather items thirst for moisture, suede begs to be parched. This is why the better results occur using cleansers such as cornstarch as opposed to detergent and water. While mild detergents help lift the initial stain, the final result will most likely leave you with a spot larger than the one you started with. Patience and a dry environment seem to be the key, as well as a good, clean nylon brush. I recently bought a used suede couch that had doggie drool stains across two sectional pieces. I gave it a vigorous brushing and the stain came out. A lack of humidity is definitely key, probably why cornstarch seems to work for some. Don't fret if you've used a wet method. My suggestion is, buy a cheap nylon brush at the grocery store. Suede wants its pile to be raised.

Mindamom said

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on 4/12/2008 I have a suede jacket that had an ink line on it courtesy of my 2 year-old. I tried the shaving cream, sandpaper, nail file, AND eraser. NONE worked. I finally had to take it to the dry cleaners to have it professionally cleaned. The ink came out. It isn't cheap ($43), but it saved my jacket AND took out the stains that vinegar and shaving cream left. Cleaning a suede garment is the ONLY way to ensure that it will come out without having it look horrible.

Mindamom said

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on 1/1/2008 I have a suede jacket that had an ink line on it courtesy of my 2 year-old. I tried the shaving cream, sandpaper, nail file, AND eraser. NONE worked. I finally had to take it to the dry cleaners to have it professionally cleaned. The ink came out. It isn't cheap ($43), but it saved my jacket AND took out the stains that vinegar and shaving cream left. Cleaning a suede garment is the ONLY way to ensure that it will come out without having it look horrible.