Cleaning Your Chanel Lambskin or Caviar Flap Bag
We are all human and sometimes when we’re carrying our Chanel flap bag, we tend to rub up against dirty things, spill our coffee or get our greasy hands on the beautiful lambskin leather. It’s always important to know that you can easily ruin Chanel lambskin leather by staining it, and also by the products you use to clean your bag. Chanel Caviar leather has a higher durability rate than lambskin, but you should still be cautious as to what you use on both leathers when it comes to cleaning. When you buy a Chanel bag brand new from a retail boutique, your bag should come with an original authenticity card, box and a small booklet that has brief information on how to clean your Chanel bag. Sometimes those little booklets don’t go into true detail on what to use and what not to use when cleaning. You could follow the instructions, but if you use the wrong cloth, or wrong soap, depending upon the type of leather and the age of the leather, you could be damaging your bag even worse than the original stain.
First things first in keeping your bag free of stains is obviously to be super careful with where you place your bag down, what you have on your hands while touching your bag, and be cautious as to what you wear while carrying your bag because Lambskin leather or Caviar Leather can rub against denim and sometimes cause blue stains, scuff marks or scratches. Depending upon the type of stain you encounter on your bag will call for different ways to clean and remove, but one thing is the same, never use chemicals!
For those stubborn liquid stains, depending upon the type of liquid that was spilled on your leather, using a soft microfiber cloth, and warm water, dap the stain gently. Never rub your lambskin or caviar leather Chanel bag! If you have a stubborn stain that won’t come out with just water, using a drop of fragrance free leather conditioner on a microfiber cloth can give the stain removal a boost. Caviar leather, due to it’s tough durability, will usually allow for stains to be removed much easier than the soft lambskin leather on Chanel bags. If you do much research on how to clean leather handbags, you may see many use a leather polishing cream that is also used for shoes. We don’t recommend using this cream, because not only do you have to constantly reapply this every so often, the cream has a foul odor that sticks with your bag for weeks, and can discolor your stitching. Also with constant reapplying, you’re rubbing the leather and threads and cause fraying.
For those grease, lotion, perfume, or make up stains, using a dab of fragrance free DOVE soap on a soft microfiber, or terry cloth with warm water can help diminish these stains. Keep in mind that it is never a good idea to put the soap directly onto the bag, yet to rub the soap into the cloth first, then apply the cloth to the bag, dabbing the stain. You can also use a sponge, yet never the rough side.
Discoloration stains are very difficult to remove simply because they have stained the leather. Never try to rub a denim mark or “tanning” or your leather bag. Rubbing stains on Caviar leather could result in the caviar leather texture to become ruined and “smooth.” If you are unsure about a specific stain and whether to use a leather condition or just soap and water, try each on a small inconspicuous spot, such as the bottom of the bag of underneath the flap. Consulting with a specialist is always a great idea, because even though you may spend a good amount of money having your bag cleaned, bringing it back to life can bring you a great return in investment if you wish to sell your Chanel bag in the future. Things happen and no matter how careful we may be, we just are not careful enough and over time, there is bound to be a spot or stain that will occur on your Chanel Caviar or Lambskin flap bag.
