The Dos and Don’ts of Cleaning Leather Gloves

Whether you’re welding, working in construction or just challenging someone to a duel, your leather gloves will get dirty.

Washing is a great way to increase a glove’s lifespan, unfortunately, you can’t just throw them in the wash with your laundry and hope for the best.

Let’s walk through the dos and don’ts for cleaning leather work gloves.

How to Wash Leather Gloves:

DON’T:

• Use Harsh Soaps: This removes the natural oils that are present in the leather. No oils mean the gloves will stiffen and become brittle, effectively shortening the life, use, and comfort of leather gloves.

DO:

• Marseille Soap: A mild soap like Marseille soap that has a lot of natural fats.
• Dry Clean: This is your best option to clean leather work gloves because it keeps the oils and lets you get the most out of your gloves.

Now I bet your next question is: Does this apply to both grain and split-leather? It does!

Not sure about the difference between grain and split-leather? We’ve got you covered. When leather is first removed from the hide of an animal, it’s extremely thick. So the leather needs to be split into layers — like split and grain.

What is Grain Leather?

Grain leather is the top layer, which is more expensive than split-leather because of its appearance — Because it is more aesthetically appealing, grain leather is usually found in commercial goods like purses and shoes.

Since the grain remains, it provides fiber strength and durability.

The grain also has breathability, meaning it will remain cooler over longer periods of time.

What is Split-Leather?

Split-leather is the bottom more fibrous part of the hide, which is commonly called suede leather.

Split-leather has higher abrasion resistance, great puncture resistance, and impressive flexibility compared to other types of leather.