Machine washing and drying a leather jacket.

[asdf123]

I'm considering warm water soaking the sleeves in my RO Moto jacket witch are bit too loose. Any pointers on doing that?

[eleven crows]

Add a bit of salt; some sliced potatoes; a few chicken bones: Baby, you've got a stew going.

[asdf123]

Add a bit of salt; some sliced potatoes; a few chicken bones: Baby, you've got a stew going.

No onions? ;)

[Uchiha]

I'm considering warm water soaking the sleeves in my RO Moto jacket witch are bit too loose. Any pointers on doing that?

same question here

[Smackfoo]

Okay so I thought I’d share my washing machine success story here too…

As a bit of background: A few years ago my girlfriend and I tried hand washing my leather jacket (mainly because the lining needed cleaning). It is a distressed cowhide motorcycle jacket. The result was a complete disaster. When the leather dried it was stiff and cracked and misshapen, it felt thin and hard like paper. It also smelled worse than ever because it took so long to dry naturally that it developed a mildew smell. There were also a few spots where the colours ran. It was basically ruined and unwearable.

I tried some products to rejuvenate it, but they didn’t work. After further reading online I came across some more products to repair and recolour leather, but nearly all required the leather to be clean and free of chemicals first. So after reading this topic, I figured I had little to loose by throwing the jacket in the washing machine. As I had already resigned myself to the idea that I would probably end up having to bin it.

So I turned it inside out, and put it in at 40 degrees, with ordinary washing powder. I squeezed some nice smelling shower gel into the draw in place of conditioner, and set it to rinse twice.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I took it out again, but I was astounded when I saw it. It looked really clean like new, and the spots where the colours had run, were almost completely washed out. So next I threw it in the tumble dryer on cool (which is still actually quite warm). I was paranoid about it shrinking, so I took it out every 10 mins and put it on to check. However I didn’t experience any shrinking at all from the dryer.

The jacket looks really beautiful now, almost like new, and is much softer than before. It doesn’t actually need any further treating. I could wear it as it is. However it is quite old, so I ordered some mink oil and I’m going to give it a light rub with that, I think then it will be like new.

I don’t know why it didn’t shrink, perhaps because I have worn it in rain so many times, it is hard to say. I’m also not sure why it got so much softer… Maybe to do with the tumble dryer, or the chemicals being rinsed out. But I’m not complaining. It’s so good to have my jacket back. Thank you OP

I took some photos, but they are not very good. I will try and post some more after I apply the mink oil.

[the breaks]

That is one ugly jacket. Each to their own of course, but you might be on the wrong forum. :)

[jeremy.x.x.x]

I washed few leather jacket before, ruined 1 and have found that lamb is the most washable leather. I'd like to wash kangaroo in the future as well. Here is my recipe:

- Oil the jacket one night before
- Pre-soak the jacket in warm water, if machine wash, only use the biggest front load at laundry shop. When I need to clean the lining, I use baby soap or with some oxyclean (in case for dirty garment) prior machine washing - don't forget to wipe them off as much as possible.
- When it's done, hang it air-dry (place not too much sunlight) and spray oil or leather conditioner several times for a few days before try on.
- I also suggest to have some leather dye, several conditioner, leather oil and tanning chem in cases of ugliness.

[michael_kard]

I just completely ruined a garment for the first time... I tried washing my Ann lamb leather in a machine, hoping that it would shrink around 1,5 size. The leather was completely desecrated, and the jacket will now fit my little cousin (aged 5) snuggly. I'm glad I tried this with a garment I did not care much about, but it was a beautiful garment nevertheless and it's a shame it ended so ingloriously. Anyway, I would recommend to everyone to be more patient than me and just dip their jacket in cold water first to see how the leather will react, instead of going for the full warm machine wash.

[Patroklus]

wait
how big is this cousin

[vitalj]

I wash my poor leather jacket in washing machine at 60° and dry it with the sun, the leather become better. The jacket shrink a little bit and fit better, the leather become "smooth" and remove all the shining. I will take picture ASAP.

[michael_kard]

Thinking out loud....Wonder what RO oiled calf would do if hand soaked and air dried. Anyone try it?

Can anyone confirm if Rick's oiled calf is washable? Don't want to ruin another jacket!

[CityHunter]

I have a red horse leather jacket (John Lawrence Sullivan, if that makes a difference). I'm trying to dull the color a bit well as soften it up WITHOUT shrinking it. Will a cold soak achieve this or is it a hot-soak-or-nothing kind of thing?

[William Bleak]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/8a4c0224f...zu4o1_1280.jpg


I thought you guys'd enjoy this image. Got the jacket at 14, misguided mom bought an XL to make sure it'd still fit when I'd grow up. I'm 22 and 1,93m now and it's still too wide after a 20 minute soak and wash in hot water. Cow leather, biker cut, wax aftercare. I'll post a picture of the done job if anyone is still interested in this topic.

[Crowzer]

Please resize your picture. It's really heavy.

[SamsTown]

Hey there,

This thread is very helpful, but I had a specific follow up! I have a stooges lamb leather in Dust SZ XL. Its actually not terrible in the shoulders (could be slimmer, but hugs ok), but through the body is loose. I'd like to bring it in, but I'm wondering if anyone has showered/soaked in a jacket?

[andpgud]

I am new here and own a to big jacket.
I have been going through this thread and was wondering about the timing.
I hand wash the jacket in hot water
Put it in the dryer?

For how long and how hot.

[andpgud]

Anyone?

[lowrey]

It's pretty much impossible to answer unless someone is familiar with the exact leather type.. There are leathers that get ruined in water, some will shrink and some might not react in any way

[andpgud]

its a lamb leather all saints jacket

[byhand]

I've soaked bison shoes in water for 12 hours and then dried them in the sun. Worked. They shrank a bit.