Car Leather Cleaner:
Why your cleaner doesn't work

To say that your car leather cleaner sucks may sound over-dramatized, but the reality is, unless you are trying to clean car leather that is already clean, you will most likely be very disappointed in your current leather car seat cleaner.

It is the classic case of business covering their asses. Because we have become a society full of litigation, manufacturers have to cover their ass by engineering idiot proof products; they don't want some knucklehead using their car leather cleaner as mouth wash. So society ends up with products so diluted, they are ineffective at best.

Mislead by an Industry

Glorified Status of Leather

To further the problem on hand, the industry has elevated car leather to an unrealistic status of specialness; we have been scared to the point of inaction. We are now afraid our leather will melt unless we use "special" cleaners, formulated with special ph balances. Of course we as consumers are all too willing to play along with this specialness game, since it makes us special by association when we have the ability to afford a car with leather upgrade.

• Leather is not as delicate as we have been lead to believe
• Leather is made with a clear coating of protection

Pigmented Leather

Most car leathers are made using aniline dyed leather that also has a clear topcoat and pigments applied for protection. This process is what usually gives leather its even coloring and sheen as well. Being overly concerned with exotic blends and ph balances is a non-issue when it comes to cleaning most modern day car leather interiors. This might also lead you to conclude that leather conditioners will also then be a non-issue since the conditioners will be unable to penetrate into the actual leather.

Simplified Car Leather Cleaning

General Leather Cleaning

When it comes to new leather, or leather in exceptional condition, any name brand car leather cleaner will work. When it comes to very superficial light dirt, these overly mild leather cleaners will be all that is needed.

Heavy Leather Cleaning

The problem comes when you have car leather heavily soiled with built up dirt. You will find traditional leather cleaners ineffective on heavily soiled leather. But with the right techniques, you can have better results when cleaning heavier soiled leather.

• Use a plastic scrub brush along with the cleaner to break up dirt.
• Use a pot scrubbing pad like Scotch-Brite, or a Mr. Clean miracle Eraser pad.
• Using a stronger cleaner like Simple Green.

Most of the dirt that will be on leather will be some form of grease based dirt, which means you will need a cleaner with some form of grease cutting capabilities. I have used the popular cleaner called Simple Green with much success. Because this cleaner is sold as a concentrate, you have control over the strength of the solution.

I hope you have learned some things about car leather that is unconventional and informative in a way that can be applied to get you better results with your car leather cleaning efforts.

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