Salt Stains on your Leather

Don't let salt stains put tears in your eyes!

Take care this winter.

By Betsy Cohen

With the wet weather that comes with fall and winter, many people are very familiar with the affects that the snow, rain, and salt have on their leather apparel but do not know how to care for their leather and hopefully prevent irreversible damage. Seeing cracked leather that is no longer soft and supple but rather hard and "crusty" is a common sight.

Apple Polishes believes in consumer education to aid in damage prevention. We will be periodically posting articles on leather care throughout the year. These articles will help the consumer know what to do with their leather in different weather conditions.

First and foremost, people should treat their leather items from the moment after purchase. All too often, the consumer thinks the salesperson is just trying to get more money out of them. However, think about it this way, if you are going to spend more than a little bit of money (leather is rarely cheap) why shouldn?t you take care of it? The salesperson should be ashamed if they are not at least trying to educate the consumer about proper leather care. A favorite leather article will last for years to come with proper care. That is why Apple Polishes is addressing the issue of salt stains before the snow flies. Hopefully everyone will have time to learn the ins and outs of salt stain removal before it is too late.

Water and salt are leather's two biggest enemies. The first step is to wipe off wet leather. This single step will add longevity to the leather article. In addition to keeping the leather dry, salt stains must be removed as soon as they begin to appear. Often people think that one treatment at the end of the winter is sufficient when in reality it is already too late.

Salt acts as a drying agent as it "sucks the moisture" out of your shoes making them dry and brittle. Covering the white line with polish will only work until the item is re-wetted. The only way to remove the white line and general hazy appearance of salt stained leather is to treat the stains as soon as possible with a "salt stain remover". Apple Polishes has formulated their Leather Cleaner to remove salt stains. Applications must be repeated until the white line has completely disappeared. It is imperative to follow up with several liberal coats of a leather conditioner (Apple Leather Care) as many of the essential tanning oils have been taken out during the salt stain removal.