FAN MAIL FRIDAYS: How I clean my bags

Hello guys! In this edition of Fan Mail Fridays, I'm going to talk about bag care and maintenance. Thank you Sincere for the lovely question!

Good day Ms. Martha!

Let me introduce myself first as one of your avid blog readers. I read your blog everyday as if it's my daily bread! Haha :) Ever since I've discovered your blog, I've become more conscious of myself, especially my skin. You really helped me a lot to bloom! :)

Sorry for the long intro hehe. Anyways, I wrote because I know that you treasure your precious bags so much. I have lots of bags and I really love them! But they're not as expensive as yours. :p I just want to ask if you could share how you take care of your babies. Do you wash them, or just spray certain products to remove dust?

Will appreciate your response so much! Thank you and more power to your blog and passion!

-Sincere Mejino (prettypepay)

Hello Sincere!

Thanks for the lovely message. And thank you for being an avid fan. :)

Cleaning bags has always been a huge task for me, specifically because the materials of my bags require special care and products, not to mention I also have to include my mom's bags on any bag cleaning day! :D

In general, I only use water to clean my bags because it's so economical! There are a lot of bag cleaners that promise this and that, but I think there's nothing that plain ol' clean water can't do. But for leather bags and bags with leather trimmings, I use a leather conditioner. I also have a vacuum cleaner to get rid of dust inside my bag. I clean my bags once a week, or twice to thrice every month if I'm really busy or lazy. :D

Click READ MORE and check out how I clean my bags.

WHAT I USE:

DAMP TOWEL

- Overall cleaning

DRY TOWEL

- To wipe off excess water

SOFT TOOTHBRUSH

- For persistent stains

COACH LEATHER MOISTURIZER OR ANY BAG CONDITIONER

- This is the only leather moisturizer I have available. You can use any type of leather conditioner, but make sure they're made by a reputable brand.

VACUUM CLEANER

- For cleaning loose dust

I've classified the bags depending on the material so you have an idea of how I clean them specifically.

JELLY BAGS OR PLASTIC BAGS

How I clean my Furla Candy Bauletto: This bag is made of high grade PVC plastic, and it's the easiest bag to clean for me. The slippery material doesn't really attract too much dirt and stains, so I just wipe it clean with a small towel dampened with water. However, the material retains moist, so I wipe it with a dry towel before storage. If I get sticky stains on it, I use a dollop of baby oil and apply it on the sticky stain, let it stay for a minute or two, then I wipe it off with a dry towel. For persistent sticky stains, I use cotton buds dipped in baby oil for spot cleaning.

COATED CANVAS

How I clean my Louis Vuitton Neverfull and Speedy: Same thing as the Furla bag. I just use a damp towel to wipe out dirt and stains. My LVs' exterior is also one of the easiest parts to clean. A friend once told me to clean them with leather conditioner, but I beg to differ because most LV bags are made of coated canvas such as these--they're not leather.

LEATHER PARTS: The only leather parts of my LV bags are the handles and trimmings. I use my Coach Leather Moisturizer on the leather trimmings to deter early oxidation.

INTERIOR CANVAS: This, in my opinion, is the hardest part to clean. It attracts and retains a lot of dirt and stain because of the cloth- like material. I take extra caution whenever I'm using my LV bags, specifically the Neverfull, because a slight stain may stay on the canvas for life! So I really keep anything that might stain the interior inside pouches, and I make sure I wipe the pouches clean before putting them inside the bag. It's always better to be safe than sorry. I'm OC just like that!

For moderate stains caused by dust, I also use a dampened towel and scrub the interior clean until I get rid of them. For darker and persistent dust stains, I use a soft toothbrush dampened with water. I wipe the wet parts with a dry towel afterwards.

For loose dust, I use my trusty handheld vacuum cleaner. I got mine from True Value, but completely forgot what branch. :p

WATERPROOF NYLON

How I clean my Longchamp bags: Waterproof nylon is the material used in the famous Le Pliage bags by Longchamp.

Longchamp bags require different cleaning methods, especially if you own different Le Pliage styles. For the classic Le Pliage, I only clean the interior and exterior parts with water. I use a hard cleaner like toothbrush on the exterior because I've observed that this part attracts more dirt due to its cloth- like texture. The interior of the classic Le Pliage is more slippery, and has a plastic- like feel to it so again, I just use a dampened towel to clean it.

LEATHER BAGS

How I clean my Rabeanco, Samantha Thavasa, and Longchamp Cuir Leather Bags: For these bags, I use Coach's Leather Moisturizer to clean them. I apply a pea- sized amount and spread it on a dry towel, then wipe out any dirt and stain with a light hand to prevent creating marks on the material. After cleaning, I just hang the bags to dry. I don't wipe the excess moisturizer off. Instead, I let the leather absorb it. Leather bags are just like our skin: If they're moisturized properly, they become more supple and resilient. I also use my handheld vacuum cleaner to remove loose dust from the interior.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Don't clean your leather bags with water! It will just result to irremovable blotches and stains on the material, plus the leather will oxidize much faster!

2. Make sure that your bags are completely dry before storage. Bacteria loves moist places

3. When using cloth cleaners, don't use the same part that you have used to clean a previous part. You'll just transfer dirt to another part of your bag.

4. For jelly and plastic bags, it's best to put a silica gel pack inside it before storage to prevent moist build-up. You can get these silica gel packs in hardware stores.

5. Don't throw away dust bags. Use them to prolong the beauty of your bag.

6. Don't overstuff a dust bag to prevent bag stench. Give your bags some room to breathe.

7. Make sure to keep your bag's shape when storing them

8. For detachable straps, roll them in a coil before storage to preserve their shapes.

9. Attach silica gel packs around your bag closet to combat moist.

10. DO NOT LAUNDER YOUR BAGS. DETERGENT IS HARSH, AND IT CAN BLEACH YOUR BAG!

There you go! Hope this helped you out, Sincere. And I hope a lot of my readers have learned from this post too! :)

**Got a burning question about makeups, skin care products, beauty, dieting, and health tips, relationships, and whatever? Just send them to martha.stabarbara@yahoo.com or shoot 'em up at The Beauty Junkee's FB Fan Page via the MESSAGE button and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. (Please, do not send me Math- related queries. :D)