National Clothesline

Wetcleaning suedes and leathers consists of the following steps: acceptance and inspection, stain removal, classification of loads, prespotting, wetcleaning, drying and finishing.

The suede and leather garments accepted at the front counter should be inspected before wetcleaning for conditions of use, conditions of manufacture and natural conditions in exactly the same way that they are examined when they are accepted for drycleaning.

Conditions of use or abuse include wear and tear. Conditions of manufacture include trims and buttons. Natural conditions include scars like tick bites, belly wrinkles, vein marks and other markings that originate during the time the animal was wearing the skin used to make suede and leather garments or items.

Stain removal on suedes and leathers is very different from stain removal on cloth items. First of all, live steam is never used when spotting suede or leather.

Next, stain removers formulated for use on cloth items should not be used on any suede or leather item as they will cause color loss and damage the skin.

Finally, crusty stains are removed from suede by surface spotting or abrasion which involves scraping the stain off the surface of the suede.

While many water-soluble stains on suedes and leathers can be removed in the wetcleaning process, there are some stains that may require prespotting to dissolve them. As in drycleaning suedes and leathers, traditional wet side stain removal agents made for use on cloth items should not be used as they will adversely affect the color and softness of the skins.

Use only a safe, biodegradable leather prespotter designed specifically for use in wetcleaning suedes, leathers and trimmed cloth like Leather Magic.

It is not necessary to flush the leather prespotter from the skins before wetcleaning as it will rinse out in the washer.

Solvent-soluble stains on suedes and leathers must be removed before wetcleaning. Stains like paint, oil, grease and ink on suedes and leathers require water-soluble stain removal products that are formulated specifically for use on leathers that will flush out in the washing machine without removing color, finish or affecting the softness of the skins.

The oily-type paint, oil and grease (POG) stain removers made for use on cloth in drycleaning or laundry should not be used on suedes and leathers. Use only a safe, water-soluble non-oily paint, oil, and grease stain remover like Spot Magic-Green and a non-oily ink stain remover like Ink Magic, both of which are designed for safe use on suedes, leathers and trimmed cloth in wetcleaning.

It is not necessary or possible to flush the non-oily POG or the non-oily ink remover through the skins before wetcleaning. However, they will rinse out in the washer.

To remove water soluble stains, apply a safe leather prespotter like Leather Magic with a hand sprayer or an air pressure sprayer. Work the stained area with a brush or spatula if necessary. Do not use any steam! Wetclean to flush out.

To remove solvent soluble stains like paint, oil, grease and ball point pen ink, first wet the suede or leather thoroughly with a leather wetcleaning prespotter like Leather Magic. Then apply a non-oily water soluble POG like Spot Magic. Then work the stained area with a brush or spatula as necessary. Do not use any steam! Then rinse out by wetcleaning immediately.

To remove most types of ink stains, first wet the suede or leather thoroughly with a wetcleaning prespotter like Leather Magic. Then apply a non-oily water soluble ink stain remover like Ink Magic. Work the ink-stained area as needed with a spatula or brush. Do not use any steam! Then rinse out by wetcleaning immediately.

On suedes (not leathers) crusty stains can be removed by surface spotting. This is accomplished by first scraping or abrading the stains from the suede surface with an abrasive material. Scraping or abrading crusty stains from the surface of suedes is called surface spotting. The abrasive material used is called the abrasive spotter. It is a special emery cloth strip with a specific type and size of grit that will remove the crusty stain without harming the suede surface.

The technique used to scrape crusty stains from the surface of suedes is to apply pressure to the abrasive spotter as it is scraped back and forth across the stain several times in all directions. This is usually enough to break through the crust of the stain. Then, any staining material that has soaked down into the skin may be removed by dissolving it with safe leather wetcleaning spotters like Leather Magic, Spot Magic or Ink Magic stain removers as explained above.

Surface spotting: Scrape crusty stains off suedes with an abrasive spotter.

Prespotting: Apply a safe leather wetcleaning prespotter and work with a spatula or brush. Then wetclean to flush out.

P.O.G. spotting: Apply a leather wetcleaning leather prespotter and wet the leather thoroughly. Then apply anon-oily POG and brush or use a spatula to break up the stain. Then wetclean clean to flush out.

Ink spotting: Apply a leather wetcleaning prespotter and wet the leather thoroughly. Then apply a non-oily ink remover and brush or use spatula to break up the stain. Then wetclean to flush out.