How to Get Olive Oil Out of Leather

Care for your leather goods well and they can last a lifetime. While leather is certainly a durable material that naturally weathers over time, contaminants like olive oil and other food greases can unfortunately stain this fabric in unsightly ways. Luckily, all you need are a few simple leather stain remover products to remove oil from leather.

How to Remove Oil From Leather

Before attempting to remove an olive oil stain or another type of grease stain from leather, first consider what type of leather you’re trying to clean. If the leather you’ve stained is what’s known as unfinished leather, or leather that has been aniline-dyed, you’re unfortunately going to want to let the new stain be. Attempting any sort of rehabilitation with a leather stain remover on unfinished leather will likely only make the stain worse. If you’re working with any other sort of leather, though, continue by grabbing a microfiber cloth.

Video of the Day

The first step in any effective attempt to remove oil from leather is to blot away as much of the oil as possible with a dry, clean microfiber cloth. The more oil you’re able to soak up with the microfiber cloth, the less exposure you’ll need to give your leather to additional leather stain remover products. While leather is durable, it does benefit from minimal contact with cleaning products. Catching stains quickly and treating stains swiftly are therefore key to effective stain removal.

Whether you choose to use a lather, powder, or paste stain removal method, always first test your cleaning solution on a small, less visible area of your leather good to see if it causes unwanted discoloration. Tests like this can save you from further frustration down the line.

Apply Gentle Leather Stain Removers

After you’ve soaked up as much oil as possible with a microfiber cloth, create a lather by mixing a gentle degreasing detergent with a few drops of distilled water. Lightly dab the solution into the stain, either with the cloth or with your fingers. Applying a bit of heat through your fingers opens the leather’s pores and lets the lather soak in and sop up more of the unwanted oil. Once you’ve given the lather a chance to work its magic, add distilled water to a fresh cloth and dab the stain again. Let the leather dry fully, preferably in a cool, dark area and repeat until the stain disappears completely.

If your stain warrants a more powerful leather stain remover, opt for the powder method. You’ll want to start by removing as much of the oil as you can with a dry microfiber cloth. Next, sprinkle either corn starch or talcum powder over the stained area. Let this sit overnight, giving either powder ample opportunity to absorb the oil. The next day, wipe away the powder. Repeat the process as many times as it takes to totally lift the stain.

For a heavier-duty solution, transition from powder to a paste. Mix 1/8 cup of salt with 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of white flour. Add a few drops of distilled water to moisten the mixture. Spread this paste over the oil stain and let it sit before wiping it off. One risk of using this paste method to remove oil from leather is that it is incredibly drying. If you do choose to go this route, be sure to apply a leather conditioner after you lift the stain to rebalance the leather’s moisture levels and protect against further damage. Coconut oil can be a great natural leather conditioner.