/smart-living/Homemade-Leather-Furniture-Cleaner-30606503 on this server. Your technical support key is: 36b3-ea9a-1756-6707One of my earliest memories, although I have no idea how old I was, is of me standing in the front hall of the house I grew up in getting bundled up to go outside on a cold winter day. Standing there in my coat, boots, snow pants, mittens, and hat, so protected against the weather I was more like a stuffed animal than a human.  Arms and legs locked into place by stuffed mounds of nylon, dacron and scratchy wool.  The final step before going out into the kind of cold that makes your nostril hairs freeze in place, was the doing up of the coat. This step normally went well, but if Betty was in a hurry to get me out of the house she’d grab onto the zipper and tug it up fast and hard.  If I looked down at the wrong moment the zipper teeth would chew into my chin leaving me screaming and my chin angry .  That’s how you could tell all the mother’s on the street that had a job, soap opera or drink to get back to.  

Their kid had the tribal scarring of a tiny red welt on their chin all winter. As a kid my coats were never down filled.  They had some kind of revolutionary 70’s era pillow filling in them that mainly kept you from getting wet as opposed to cold. Now my two main winter coats are down filled.  The first one, is a white, down filled, waist length Lacoste coat.  Very cute, very fashiony, very white. The second one is a Canada Goose “Resolute”.  This has been my go to Canadian winter coat for the past 10 years.  The Canada Goose coats are the warmest coats known to mankind.  They were “the” coat to own if you worked outside in television, and for a time you could spot someone who was in television based on if they were wearing a Canada Goose.  This coat has now become one of the most popular winter coats in Canada and the U.S. despite their shocking price tag. The only problem is … you have to dry clean it. I have a thing about dry cleaning.  

It isn’t the price, it’s the pain.vacuum cleaner price in delhi I realize it doesn’t take that much time and it’s really no harder than filling up your car with gas, but I hate that too, so I guess it all makes sense.best cleaning laminate wood floors I’ve been washing my down Lacoste coat in my washing machine and dryer for years.  best dryer vent cleaning serviceIt’s a white coat. best vacuum cleaner walmartIt gets filthy after about 5 wears.  It says you can machine wash it, so I do that and it always comes out perfectly. For some reason, the Canada Goose coat says dry clean only.  

So for 10 years I’ve watched my beautiful red Canada Goose coat get dirtier and grungier and filthier.  I looked online to see if anyone had washed their coat in their home washing machine but couldn’t find anyone who had.  I guess the $800 price tag on the coat  is enough to stop anyone from taking the risk. Unable to stop myself any longer, and unable to wear the coat because of the bizarre black/grey/red colour it had become, over the Christmas holidays I said a little prayer, removed the fur collar (it just unzips), and stuffed my $800 Canada Goose coat into my washing machine. This is how it turned out. My Canada Goose coat washed perfectly in the washing machine.   Here however, are my disclaimers. 1.  If you wash your Canada Goose coat in your washing machine you void the warranty. 2.  If you let your coat get as dirty as mine was it might take several washes as well as working in a bit of stain remover. (I had to wash my coat a total of 4 times, using various stain removers in between to get it clean.

I started off with the “delicate/hand wash” cycle to be safe then gave up and went full force.) 3.  To dry it, you need to add a few tennis balls into your dryer to help smash the down and let it fluff up. 4.  It will take around 7 hours to fully dry.  That’s your dryer running for 7 hours straight.  Just so you know. 5.  I’m  not responsible if your Canada Goose coat happens to fall apart if you wash it and you’re forced to wear leg warmers, a snood and oatmeal mittens to keep warm.   Having said that, I can tell you I will never dry clean my Canada Goose coat.  I’ll be washing it  in my own washing machine at the end of every season while I fondly finger the tiny scar in the middle of my chin.Cleaning and restoring leather & leather-trimmed handbags: Removing water-based stains Water-based stains and spills can be mitigated or completely removed with professional cleaningBy: Stu Bloom The most common stains we see on leather and leather trimmed handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks are water-based stains.

With hand cleaning you might be able to lighten the water-based stain to the point that it’s not too visible. But you’re unlikely to restore the accessory to fully wearable condition with cleaning alone. In this blog post, we explore some of the more common issues you might face when you attempt to clean a leather or leather-trimmed accessory with water-based stains and provide examples of the results that can be achieved with the application of skills, experience and time. Cleaning and restoring Louis Vuitton brown monogrammed PVC handbags When it comes to cleaning and restoring LV brown monogrammed PVC coated canvas handbags and other accessories, you might not know which way to turn. Louis Vuitton brown monogrammed PVC coated canvas handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks presents some maintenance issues that are unique to these accessories. But that doesn’t mean that you have to abandon your Louis Vuitton brown monogrammed PVC coated canvas accessories just because it has some “issues”.

These handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks can be cleaned and restored to wearable condition with the application of skill, process and a little time. In this post, we explore some of the more common issues associated with these accessories and demonstrate the results that can be achieved. Cleaning and restoring handbags: Removing dye transfer stains from jeans Dye transfer from blue, navy, black or red jeans can be mitigated or completely removed with professional cleaningBy: Stu Bloom One on the most common stains we encounter on handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks is dye transfer from jeans — blue, navy, black and red. Professional cleaning can remove most if not all dye transfer from handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks as long as they are leather, suede, nylon, nylon/leather trim, canvas and canvas/leather trim. When it comes to PVC coated canvas accessories your chances are 50:50 and when it comes to patent leather your chances are close to zero.

In this blog post, we provide examples of the results that can be achieved with the application of the right skills, judgement and hand cleaning processes. Shoe repair shop handbag cleaning: Exercise caution Shoe repair shops offer $5 to $10 shoe shines. Cleaning and restoring handbags is a vastly different process. If you’re going to drop off a handbag, purse, wallet or backpack at a shoe repair shop for cleaning, we’d suggest that you exercise caution. Because shoe repair shops are in the business of repairing and shining shoes. And, because they “sew leather”, some offer luggage and handbags repair. A few even offer “handbag cleaning”. The rationale for offering handbag cleaning is that “we know how to shine shoes” and that “there’s no difference between shining shoes and cleaning handbags.” The problem for the owners of high-end handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks is that shoe repair shop typically won’t invest the time necessary to hand clean, condition, refinish and sanitize the exterior of a handbag and hand clean and sanitize the interior of a handbag.

In this blog post, we illustrate this point with an example of a handbag that was “cleaned” by a shoe repair shop and then reworked by a handbag specialist. The difference is night and day. Cleaning and restoring handbags: Killing the germs should be part of the process A professional cleaning of your handbag should involve killing the germs hiding inside your handbagBy: Stu Bloom You rest your handbag on the floor or seat of your car, on the floor of a restaurant, cafe, bar or movie theater, on the counter at a retail store, on a desk top at an office, on a kitchen counter, and a host of similar locations. Bacteria transfers from these surfaces to your hands and to the exterior of your handbag. And from your hands and the exterior of your handbag to the interior of the handbag when you dig for something. All of which points out the need to clean clean both the exterior and interior of your high-end handbags, purses, wallets and backpacks on a more frequent basis.

In this post, we discuss why every handbag cleaning specialist must incorporate a deodorizer, sanitizer and virucide as part of their cleaning process. Cleaning and restoring sports memorabilia: Sporting patches RAVE FabriCARE restores vintage sporting patch featuring the hydroplane, Miss Seattle, a two-time Gold Cup WinnerBy: Stu Bloom Collecting vintage sporting patches occupies a relatively small corner of the entire market for sports memorabilia. We restored a sporting patch that was in relatively poor condition: the fabric was fragile and exhibited rust, grease stains and yellowing associated with poor storage over the years. In this blog post, we illustrate the results that can be obtained through professional restoration. Cleaning and restoring handbags: Sometimes the only option is to replace the lining Replacing stained, soiled and/or torn linings can transform a handbag from unusable to perfectly wearableBy: Stu Bloom The lining of your favorite handbag, purse, wallet or handbag gets soiled from general usage and/or stained by a cosmetic, pen, beverage, candy and the like.

In most cases, these stains and soils can be removed by gentle hand cleaning. On occasion, however, the accumulated soils and/or stains are so extensive and/or so ingrained that no amount of hand cleaning is going to return the lining to “like new” condition. At this point, it’s appropriate to consider replacing the lining. In this blog post, we illustrate this idea with the transformation of a white Chanel handbag from disastrous to perfectly wearable. Cleaning and restoring a custom-made vintage silk coat The restoration of a vintage garment requires skill, judgement and process. And often, a healthy dose of compromise and luck. When you’re restoring a garment, household textile or accessory of historical significance, maintaining the integrity of the original components (color, buttons, hardware, linings, etc.) is critical. When you’re restoring a garment, household textile or accessory for your own use, you might need to compromise in order to achieve the result you desire.