Fruit juice stains are a common problem for many homeowners and if you have leather furniture, these stains can be difficult to remove. Luckily I’ve compiled a few hacks and tips that will help you get rid of those pesky fruit juice stains from your leather items. The good news is the things you will need are simple everyday items.
So how do you remove fruit juice stains from leather? You can use mild dish soap to clean fruit juice stains from your leather by;
- Step 1: Dampen the surface of the leather.
- Step 2: Leave for about 2 minutes.
- Step 3: Put 2-3 drops of mild dish liquid soap in a bowl of warm water and make it lather.
- Step 4: Dampen your sponge in the soapy solution and wring it out.
- Step 5: Scrub the surface of the leather with the damp sponge.
- Step 6: Use a microfiber cloth dampened with clean water to wipe the surface of the leather.
- Step 7: Leave the leather to air dry.
- Step 8: Condition the leather and dry before use.
To learn the details on how to remove fruit juice stains from leather items keep reading this article. But first, let’s take a look at some of the factors that make removing fruit juice stains from leather a bit tricky.
What Makes Fruit Juice Hard To Clean From Leather?
- The main issue with fruit juice stains is that the sugars, oils, and acids in them make a perfect environment for bacterial growth.
- In addition to this, many fruits have high levels of acidity which makes it difficult to remove their stains from your leather items without proper treatment or cleaning agents.
- This high acidic content also causes the leather fibers to break down over time causing permanent damage after the fruit juice has had contact with the leather item.
- Another thing that makes fruit juice stains difficult to remove is their coloring – whether from natural color or the heavy food color that is commonly added. This is why when a cup of grape, cranberry, or cherry juice, spills on leather items it invokes a lot of panics.
- Fruit juices are often left sitting on top of other liquids like coffee making them impossible to remove through simple wiping.
- They need more aggressive action such as warm water followed by using dish soap and then drying off the surface with paper towels before applying saddle cream (also known as boot polish) evenly across all surfaces until dry.
- If you notice any problem areas, use a clean cotton swab dipped in alcohol to remove any residue and then apply the saddle cream. More details on this later in this article.
But the idea of this is an attempt to target every type of stain the fruits juice may leave on the leather. Hope you catch my drift!
How To Remove Fruit Juice Stain From Leather – Details
Now to the main meat of this article! Do well to follow my step-by-step guide as much as possible for the best results.
1. Blotting Method
Blotting with damp warm water is one of the first things you should try when your leather items get spilled with fruit juice. The idea of this is to get rid of as much liquid from the leather or suede surface that’s possible without using solvents or other chemicals like alcohol.
This method will usually work when the fruit juice stain is fresh and hasn’t had time to dry. So it’s a good first step or process to try if your leather items get stained by fresh juice.
You want to use something as absorbent as possible that could help absorb as much of the fruit juice from your leather or suede surface. You can use something like paper towels, microfibre cloths, or any lint-free towels you may have.
The main idea for this method is that when we’re dealing with fresh fruit stains, they can usually be removed without too much hassle. So simply blotting them up with some sort of moist material could get the job done.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to carry out this method.
Things Needed
- Microfiber Cloth
- Warm Water
- Leather Conditioner
Procedure
Step 1
- Prepare the warm water. Make sure it’s not too hot or cold. You would want to aim for what is usually referred to as lukewarm water!
- If the water is too warm it can cause the leather to wrinkle and water that is too cold may not allow it to cut through and lift off the stains.
Step 2
- Now dampen your microfibre cloth or lint-free rag as much as possible and then wring it out.
- Do not attempt to wipe the surface of the leather with a rag or cloth that is too wet.
Step 3
- Now start blotting up as much of the fruit juice stain with your microfiber cloth or towel.
- Again, make sure to wring out any excess moisture before doing so.
Step 4
- Now leave the leather item to air-dry for a couple of hours. You do not want any moisture sitting on the surface of your leather as this can lead to mold or discoloration.
Step 5
- Once the leather is dry apply your regular leather conditioner and leave the leather to air-dry.
- This will remove many common types of fruit juice stains that may come from fruits like orange, cranberry, grapefruit, passion fruit juice especially if the stains are fresh.
In some cases blotting alone won’t work if the fruit juice stains have been on the leather. You might want to try the next method which involves using soap.
2. Mild Dish Soap Method
The mild dish soap method is great if you have had the fruit juice stains sitting on the surface of your leather item for quite some time.
This kind of stain often would have seeped much deeper into the leather material and will require something robust to get rid of the stain.
The mild dish soap method is a safe and effective method for getting rid of such fruit juice stains from your leather items. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to use this method to remove fruit juice stains from leather items.
Things Needed
- Mild Dish Soap
- Microfiber Cloth
- Leather Conditioner
Procedure
Step 1
- Dampen the surface of the leather where the stain is and leave it for about a minute or two.
- This will help to loosen up the stain on the surface of the leather.
Step 2
- Put 2 drops of mild liquid soap in a bowl of warm water and bring it to lather.
Step 3
- Dampen your sponge or rag in the soapy solution and wring it out. It is important not to make the rag too watery.
Step 4
- Begin to scrub the surface of the leather with a damp sponge. Make sure to scrub in a circular motion.
Step 5
- Dampen your microfiber cloth with clean water and wipe away the lather from the surface of the leather you have just cleaned.
Step 6
- Rinse the microfiber cloth with clean water, wring out, and use the microfiber cloth to wipe the surface of the leather again.
- With the help of a dry clean cloth or rag, wipe off any excess moisture from the leather surface and leave it to air dry.
Step 7
- Once dry, apply your leather conditioner and leave it to air-dry again before use.
3. Using Special Leather Cleaners And Stain Removers – Saddle Soap
There are many different leather cleaners and stain removers available to purchase from a variety of retailers. Here is how you would go about using one of the most common ones – saddle soap.
Things Needed
- Saddle Soap
- Microfiber Cloth
- Leather Conditioner
Procedure
Step 1
- To use saddle soap to clean fruit juice stains from your leather items, moisten or dampen the surface of the leather with clean water.
Step 2
- Load your microfiber cloth with the saddle soap and then apply it over the stained area and leave it there for about five minutes before wiping it away with a damp clean cloth or rag.
- Make sure not to wipe too hard as this could cause damage to the surface of the leather.
Alternatively, if you have been given a specific cleaner by your retailer that is suitable based on what substance has caused the stain – follow their instructions carefully.
This is also a great way to remove stubborn fruit juice stains from your precious leather items without ruining them.