A leather belt is an excellent investment because it’s durable, stylish, and multifunctional.
With care and maintenance, it can save you from making frequent belt purchases. However, not all people understand how to care for a leather belt.
They treat a leather belt as a typical belt made from other materials. But this shouldn’t be the case.
Leather requires care and maintenance to last long and develop a patina. If you’ve invested or are looking forward to investing in leather belts, continue reading to understand how to take care of leather belts.
Nevertheless, besides knowing how to take care of a leather belt, you must invest in:
Care tips for a leather belt
Don’t know how to take care of your leather belt? The following are some important leather belt care tips you should know about. Keep on reading to learn more.
1. Purchase the right belt
The first cause of leather belt damage is purchasing the wrong belt. When you buy a short belt, it means the belt will require stretching to fit your waist, which might damage it as time goes by. Also, when you purchase a long leather belt, it’ll form tiny folds resulting in damage over time.
2. Avoid letting your leather belt get in contact with water
Water and leather aren’t good friends. Putting them together spells chaos. Avoiding your leather belt from coming into contact with water is advisable. But if accidental contact happens, air-dry it to prevent stains.
As far as drying a leather belt is concerned, never speed up the process using shortcuts like a hair dryer. Instead, get rid of the water on your belt using a towel and hang it to dry. Once the belt is completely dry, apply leather oil to maintain its shine. Remember, moisture of any kind, whether from water or sweat, can ruin your leather belt.
3. Keep it away from direct sunshine
The same way you should prevent your leather belt from water contact, you should also not subject it to direct sunshine. The heat from the sun causes cracks on leather, resulting in a worn-out belt.
Cracking is among the worst things that can happen to leather material. They make the material look cheap and low-quality. To avoid painting such a picture of your expensive belt, keep it away from windows or anywhere else that can emit sunshine heat. Remember, you shouldn’t sun-dry your wet leather belt to avoid excessive heating.
4. Always hang your belt after every use
Most people are used to folding their leather belts after using them. If you’re such, you’re making a mistake that might cost you your precious accessory. After wearing your belt all day long, at the end of the day, it requires breathing. Nevertheless, the belt can’t breathe in a similar position it has spent its day; folded.
To ensure your belt relaxes and is free of tension, always hang it as with the rest of your wardrobe. This way, the belt will breathe, relax, and be free of creases.
5. Have at least two belts
Wearing a single belt for a couple of days equals wearing it out. It’s therefore important to invest in at least two to allow each time to relax and rest from previous wear.
Too much use of a single belt might interfere with its care routine. For instance, if you have a single leather belt, you’ll have to wear it every morning, regardless if it’s wet or not. As discussed above, you shouldn’t speed up the drying process once the belt is wet. Yet if you must wear the belt, you’ll have no choice but to speed up the process or wear a wet belt, resulting in damage.
On the other hand, as far as having multiple leather belts is concerned, you shouldn’t neglect any one of them. For example, you might be tempted to leave your previous belt on your trouser since you won’t use it the following day. Leaving a belt on a trouser can result in curling that might cause creases. Therefore, always remove the previous belt from your trousers to avoid damaging it.
6. Clean up the belt
As with anything else in your wardrobe, your leather belt requires cleaning from time-to-time. Luckily, with a high-quality leather conditioner and the knowledge to clean up the belt, you can maintain your belts for a long time.
Leather conditioners ensure your belt looks sparkling clean while enhancing its patina. Quality leather absorbs the conditioning to protect its fiber while preventing the belt from staining. In other words, a high-quality leather conditioner can be described as a product that enhances leather quality.
Concerning leather belt cleaning, it’s crucial to understand how to go about the process to avoid damage. Plus, it’s vital to note when your leather belt requires cleaning. Here are some signs that you need to clean your leather belt:
- The belt is stiff: A stiff belt results in challenges when putting it around your waist. If your leather belt fiber seems and feels stiff, you might need to clean up the accessory. Again, you can have a seamless cleaning process with a high-quality conditioner.
- The belt smells awful: Leather is a good absorber of smells and fragrances. When these smells accumulate for a prolonged period, they produce awful, noticeable smells. To avoid the embarrassment of a smelly leather belt, ensure to clean the belt regularly.
- The belt is stained: A stained leather belt can be challenging to clean. Therefore, cleaning up your belt once you spill something on it is vital. If you spill water on your leather belt, pat it with a clean towel, but if you spill other liquids like wine or beer, you must clean the belt as soon as possible to prevent tough stains.
