Leather

Coat loses its high gloss
Problem: A ladies three-quarterlength coat in grain leather lost its high sheen finish following drycleaning in a standard perc leather process.

Cause: The British Standard 7269 Part 1 requires that there shall only be minimal change of sheen in the top coat of a leather finish during test cleaning in perc. However, many finishes fail to meet the standard because, as was the case here, they have not been designed for drycleaning. This leads to complaints from the customer.

Responsibility: The blame here lies with the garment maker and ultimately with the original tanner. Neither the cleaner nor the owner should be sharing the blame.

Rectification: Most leather cleaners can respray a finish to match an original sheen, provided they have a pattern to which to work.

Disguise fails to hide splits and lines permanently
Problem: An attractive beige jacket made from a split hide developed unsightly linear marking. In some areas this opens up into slits in the surface of the hide itself.

Cause: The tanner has to remove veins from a split hide cut from a much thicker skin and this leaves lines of weakness and open cuts.

The result can be re-stuck and disguised to create garment leather, but the disguises do not always resist drycleaning, whatever it may say on the label.

Responsibility: The blame here lies with the garment maker and ultimately with the original tanner, who alone was in a position to remove those parts of the hide not suitable for use in a quality garment.

Rectification: None is possible because disguise is not possible at this stage.

Sunlight turns dye red
Problem: Ugly reddening could be seen on the outer sleeves and shoulders of a pale beige suede coat. This reddening spoilt the appearance.

Cause: Some leather dyes are affected by sunlight. The problem does not always show up straight away, but it is made much more obvious by drycleaning.

It is possible to differentiate between this and discolouration caused by contamination in the cleaning bath by the localised nature of the reddening, as seen in the photo.

Responsibility: The blame here lies with the dyer and not with the wearer or the cleaner. The garment should be returned to the place of purchase.

Rectification: Even recleaning will not improve dye reddening of the type seen here.

Sub-standard labels lead to complaints
There is a British Standard care symbol for a leather garment, - a leather mark containing a letter and one, two or three asterisks.

The leather mark shows that the garment is made from natural skin, the letter denotes the solvents to be used in drycleaning and the asterisks denote the level of re-oiling required in the final cleaning bath.

Why does the care labelling of most of the leather garments sold in the UK, fall well below these these simple requirements? Is it because the British Standard includes performance criteria in cleaning and does not permit a shade change of more than 3 to 4 on the grey scale, any adhesive migration, significant loss of surface finish or any substantial change in handle and texture? Or is it because of the difficulty in finding a test house set up to do the necessary drycleanability tests for a leather garment, which in turn reflects the very low demand for the service? This sub-standard labelling leads to a much higher level of consumer dissatisfaction with the results of leather cleaning as these examples show.

If you are faced with a leather garment with which the care labelling is sub-standard, you should not hesitate to query this with the retailer. Many very responsible retailers would be seriously disturbed to learn that they have on sale ranges with sub-standard labelling, especially when the actual performance of the garment in cleaning is being questioned as well.

Top develops hard patches
Problem: An area of hardening and compaction, accompanied by shrinkage and distortion, appeared on a white leather top after it had been cleaned.

Cause: Blemishes of this type commonly occur if an area that has been pre-treated in stain removal is not dried correctly prior to machine processing. They can also occur if a panel with a wet patch is passed forward for pressing.

Responsibility: The blame here is more likely to lie with the cleaner.

Rectification: It is unlikely that this can be put right.