How To Care For Your Designer Handbag: 16 Tips for Designer Purse Maintenance

Tips to clean your designer handbag or designer purse at home.

Worse than severely scuffed shoes or run down heels, a poorly maintained designer handbag is never in style.

From spots and stains to dust and grime, here are 12 ways to care for your handbag and maintain its’ eye appeal.

1. Zippers – Keep your zippers zipping.  Rub natural beeswax along the teeth of the zipper to maintain your fasteners’ grip.
2. Leather – Moisturize your leather.  Use a leather conditioning cream to stop cracks along the base of your designer handbag and extend the look of your purse’s handle.
3. Clean patent leather handbag stains with Windex, vinegar diluted with water, spray  glass cleaner, non-acetone polish remover and rubbing alcohol. (Use cotton balls and a clean cloth to add shine and wipe your patent leather designer purse clean.
4. No Bag Stuffing – Carry necessities only. Leave the heavy loads to tractor trailers and U-haul. Your designer bag and its handles can be stretched beyond repair when you overload it with too many items.  Overstuffing can weaken bag stitching as well.
5. Weather Protection – Rain guard not needed.  Skip the silicone spray for weather protection. If you’re caught in the rain, dab the splashes. Don’t wipe the moisture away.
6. Suede – Suede is notoriously difficult to clean, so handle this precious leather with care.  If your handbag has  stiff leather handles, wrap them in cotton strips, to keep the leather away from the supple and fragile suede material.
7. Never use a treatment on suede designer bags. A stiff suede brush can repair gentle scuffs, but leave the serious stains to professionals.
8. Beware of Beauty Products – Handbags and beauty products don’t mix. Cosmetics, perfume and lotions can cause bag discoloration.  Products that beautify your face and body often seep into the skins of your bag and age the materials.
9. Dust Bags Needed – A designer handbag is sold with a dust bag to protect your investment from dust, dirt and debris.  Don’t have a fancy-flannel-drawstring-pouch to store your purse? A cotton pillowcase works just as well.
10. Patent Leather  Handbags – Patent leather can be cleaned with a small dot of vinegar applied with a soft fabric. Isolate patent leather bags from dark colored bags to prevent discoloration.
11. Snakeskin and Exotic Handbags – Exotic handbags, like snakeskin handbags need special care. While you can clean these bags with a white cloth and a dab of water, serious repair should be left to the experts. In 2010, repairing a small snakeskin bag can cost you anywhere from 100 to 200 dollars.
12. Gimme a Handbag Break. – The everyday handbag is an oxymoron.  Just like shoes, bags need a chance to breathe. Don’t carry the same bag everyday. Select three designer handbags for work and rotate these three purses weekly. If you follow this one tip, your bags will last longer…whether you paid 20 dollars or 3,000 dollars.
13. Fabric Bags Need Love Too. – Fabric bags attract dust more than any other material.  Rub them down with a cotton cloth and lint roller before storage. Refrain from using fabric pens and cotton stain sprays for blemish removal. Serious stains require the work of a professional.
14. Proper Storage Techniques. – Retain the shape of your bag with acid free-tissue paper or bubble wrap.  Keep bags upright in your closet on a shelf. Don’t pile bags on top of each other in the bottom of your closet. Never stuff newspaper or colored tissue inside your handbags. The newsprint and colored ink will discolor the inside of your purse.
15. Small Bags – Wrap small bags in tissue paper and place in paper boxes for storage. Chain handles should be tucked in bags to prevent creases and broken links. Bags with beads, sequins, swarovski crystals and jeweled ornamentation should be stored separately.
16. Refresh your Handbag’s hardware. – If the metal accents on your favorite designer handbag are scratched, apply a metallic leafing pen to fill in the scratched areas. You can buy this inexpensive pen at craft and art supply stores for 5 to 7 dollars. Fill in the scratched hardware with the pen, then let the metal pieces dry for a minimum of two hours.

Articles on good grooming remind women to care for our bodies and clothes, but often neglect the handbag as an important image element for stylish women.  Before you shop for a new wardrobe of evening dresses or sportswear, treat your handbags to a little TLC.

With these tips you are now well-versed on how to clean your designer handbag at home.

Remember:If clothes make the man, immaculate handbags make the woman.