Aside from shoes and jackets, garment manufacturers use suede to make gloves. These have now become a staple for many workers, fashion icons, and regular folks like you and me. Most brands include care tags showing instructions on how to clean suede gloves.
But what if the gloves don’t have care tags? In that case, you can consider using a suede eraser, suede brush, or vinegar.
Table of Contents
What You Need
1. Suede eraser
As much as possible, you need to make sure that your suede items do not come in contact with water. Well, that’s what a suede eraser is for.
You don’t need to add water or any cleaning product to remove the small scuffs and dry stains when you use a suede eraser. However, it does not work on oil-based stains, colored stains, grime, and mud items.
Tip: If you don’t have one, you can use the good ol’ pencil eraser.
2. Suede brush
A suede brush is often used for suede coats and shoes but it can work on gloves as well. Like any type of brush, it has a handle and bristles, which removes the dirt and brings back the original texture of the suede.
Since it is designed for shoes, however, I find the suede eraser easier to control and target areas when cleaning suede gloves. Just the same, suede brushes only work on minor surface-level stains.
Tip #1: Suede eraser and suede brush go hand-in-hand, and they work on any suede item.
Tip #2: No suede brush at home? Use a bath towel instead!
3. White vinegar or rubbing alcohol
Because you can’t use water to wash suede work gloves, it is only logical to avoid water-based cleaners. Believe it or not, water can stain your suede items.
If you need to clean stubborn stains, you can use white vinegar or rubbing alcohol as a suede cleaner. All you need is a cloth or some cotton balls, and your suede brush.
If you want to clean up salt stains, you will need a cotton cloth or cotton balls, an old toothbrush, a bowl, white vinegar, and water.
Different Methods to Clean Suede Gloves
1. Cleaning minor dry stains with suede eraser and brush
Step 1: Choose your work area and gather your supplies like the suede eraser and suede brush. If you don’t own these, get a pencil eraser and a bath towel.
Both suede and pencil eraser can leave a little bit of residue. Thus, it is best to clean your suede gloves in an area you can tidy up easily afterward, such as your garage or workshop. Avoid carpets, couches, or any furniture that are difficult to clean.
Step 2: With your bath towel or suede brush, work the nap up. Run the brush or the towel against the grain in short strokes and move up towards the fingertips.
“What’s a nap?” you ask. Well, it is the fine fibers that you can feel on the suede, and they make the surface smooth. You need to whisk them a bit to prepare the suede.
Step 3: Gently rub the stain or scuff with the suede eraser in back and forth motions. If you can still spot stains, gradually increase the pressure. The same technique applies to the pencil eraser.
Step 4: Lastly, remove the eraser residue if there’s any either with your hands or a suede brush.
Feel free to watch this video to see how Youtuber Emily Munn uses the eraser and brush to clean stains from suede slippers. Just as she said, do not apply too much pressure on the brush. Plus, the brush comes in handy if you need to restore the suede’s texture.
2. Cleaning stains using vinegar or rubbing alcohol
Step 1: Get your suede brush and lightly scrub off the surface-level dirt. The best way to do this is with a quick sweeping motion in one direction. After that, you can apply more pressure as you brush back and forth.
Step 2: Soak your cloth or cotton balls with alcohol or vinegar. If you are using a bigger cloth, you can pour white vinegar in a cup or blow and submerge the cloth inside.
Step 3: Press the vinegar-soaked cloth onto the suede glove. Then, with mild pressure, leave the cloth on the stained item. The goal here is to allow the stains to absorb the vinegar.
Step 4: By now, you will see some stains left. Use the cloth or cotton balls to work the vinegar into the remaining stains. Rub them against the grain thoroughly. Once the stains are gone, take your gloves to a well-ventilated area and allow them to air dry.
3. Cleaning salt stains using vinegar
Step 1: Gather all your supplies in your work area and prepare the vinegar solution. You can do so by mixing one part water and one part vinegar in the bowl.
Step 2: Using the toothbrush, apply the vinegar solution to the suede by gently rubbing it. This will help lose the salt from the glove. You can check this video by ehowhome to see how it’s done!
Step 3: Get your cloth or cotton ball to blot the area then allow the suede to air dry. If there are still some salt stains left, you can repeat steps 2 & 3.
Other Ways to Care for Your Suede Gloves
Accidents can happen despite our efforts to take precautions. However, there are ways to minimize, if not entirely prevent, the damage. Read my tips below:
1. Waterproofing
As many textile and fashion experts have pointed out, water and suede do not go along well. You can avoid the hassle of cleaning up water stains with a waterproofing agent for suede. Apply it every six months, and your suede gloves will be protected.
2. Suede Cleaning Kits
Besides the methods I shared above, you can opt for suede cleaning kits that garment and shoe manufacturers sell. Usually, cleaning kits include brushes, erasers, pieces of cloth, and suede shampoos.
However, each brand may formulate the cleaning solution differently. UGG suede gloves, for instance, offer Sheepskin Cleaner and conditioner. Meanwhile, cleaning suede fire gloves require a different approach because of the additional heat-resistant material within the garment.
Be sure to read the instructions that come with the cleaner, as well as other information, such as specific types of gloves the cleaning solution is made for.
Conclusion
Whether it’s work gloves or fancy suede sheepskin gloves, keeping them stain-free may take some effort. The good news is that you don’t need a lot of specialized equipment to do; you can use supplies that you already have at home. Best of all, they work well with different suede products!
If you find this tutorial on how to clean suede gloves helpful, don’t forget to share it with your friends! Lastly, feel free to join the conversation in the comments and let us know if you successfully removed stains using the techniques above!
Veronica is our content editor. She is a talent in delivery. Her main work is editing and writing articles that are both informative and simple to follow. She is in charge of synthesizing our understanding of what personal protection equipment (PPE) is needed in each job, how to best apply it, and how to visualize that equipment.