Thrift shopping is a great way to discover fabulous leather and suede pieces. Here are some of my favourites I’ve picked up via thrift…
One thing that almost every piece of thrifted leather or suede has in common is they often stink.
That really obnoxious thrift store smell that is a mixture of musty basements, moth balls and what my husband claims is dead people smell.
I’ve tried everything to remove that rancid odour, washing with a damp rag and vinegar, placing the item outside for weeks on end, placing it in a bag with baking soda, using cat litter, you name it but none of these methods worked. Leather and suede are notoriously difficult for smell removal.
Usually, this meant I had to break down and take that item to have it professionally dry cleaned which meant loads of cash and saying bye-bye to any profit margin when trying to resell vintage.
How To Remove Bad Smells From Leather or Suede
I now have a guaranteed method to remove bad smells from leather or suede and it doesn’t cost and arm and a leg.
It is dead simple and you probably have the materials required already in your home.
That’s it!
Easy peezy.
I use a big paper bag that we normally use for collecting yard debris and I can layer in quite a few skirts, coats and purses into one bag. It is brilliant.
I just used the coffee we had in the house but I’m sure you can use any cheap brand.
Turn the coats or skirts inside out just to avoid any kind of staining. As long as nothing is wet or damp the coffee won’t stain anything.
When the weather is nice I place the bag outdoors, but it isn’t necessary.
For more stubborn smells like cigarettes, I find I may have to leave an item as long as a month but eventually the odour disappears without a trace of the dreaded wet ashtray smell. Yes, they do smell like coffee for a bit, but after a while, that smell dissipates as well.
Also, everyone I know loves the smell of coffee, so it’s not a huge deal.
I’ve even used this method on my antique leather couch. I filled the crevices with coffee grinds and after a few weeks just vacuumed them out. Worked like a charm!
I hope you find this useful.
Let me know if you find it as successful as I have.
PS You may be interested in some of my other tips as a professional thrifter… How To STOP Thrift Shopping, Train Your Thrifting Brain, Thrift Shopping Stimulates Your Creative Brain
Linking up with Visible Monday, I Will Wear What I Like, Shoe and Tell, Turning Heads Tuesdays, My Whims Wednesday, What I Wore, Fun Fashion Fridays
The Style Crone says
This is brilliant Suzanne. Great tip and will use it next time I score leather! Your leather and suede finds are amazing!
Connie* says
Coffee!!! Of course! When I was a flight attendant we used to use coffee grounds to get rid of the barf smells. You have acquired so many awesome things. It’s nice to know that not only do you look beautiful but you smell beautiful. Your husband is so funny with the dead people comment. I’ve been wearing vintage, or as we used to call it “second-hand” since high school or as my college roommate called it “dead people clothes.” Actually I like the idea that someone adorable will be rocking my wardrobe long after I’m gone!
No Fear of Fashion says
Very, very useful tip. Wish I had known this years ago when I lived in a damp house and my beautiful white boots were mouldy. Never got that smell out.
Greetje
Ps you had some great leather finds.
Marilee Gramith says
This is a GREAT tip Suzanne. THANKS for sharing it with us.
I think vintage leather is one of the best things to buy. More often than not the styling is classic and can be warn with more modern or other vintage pieces. A win-win!
jodie filogomo says
Okay—-this is quite the brilliant tip Suzanne!!
How the heck did you come about it? Of course, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m assuming you’re not lying to us (especially since it’s not April fool’s day)!
I actually just threw out some yarn a friend had given me because it smelled like smoke—I wonder if this would’ve worked on that?
Thanks for all your brilliance….and happy weekend!
jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
HappyFace313ha says
🙂 That’s easy peezy!
Thanks for the advice – it’s one I will definitely use.
Have a very HAPPY weekend, dear Suzanne! .-)
HappyFace313ha says
🙂 What a great idea – thank’s for sharing.
It’s something I will definitely try out.
Have a very HAPPY weekend, dear Suzanne xo 🙂
Shybiker says
How clever! I love the aroma of coffee so that’s no problem. Thanks for the tip.
CiCi Marie says
That’s a seriously useful tip! My first ever vintage buy was a leather frame bag that I’ve never used because it smells like it at one point contained something dead. Maybe there’s a future for it after all!!
patti says
Brilliant, thank you gorgeous lady. xo
-Patti
Samantha Blair says
Thank you Suzanne!
This is brilliant.
I have a vintage bag that smells disgusting.
I will be trying this ASAP.
XXX
Samantha
elle the Elle Diaries says
That is the best advice,, bar none, or how to get rid of smell in leather. I tired baking soda, too.. and I still had a smelly bag…( moth balls)
This is brilliant thanks , so much! And it worked for your sofa, that is amazing!
xx, Elle
http://www.theellediaries.com/blog/
Denise says
It’s very useful, for sure, dear Suzanne, I have never thought of that! I normally don’t thrift, but if I do and especially for leather pieces, I will remember that, for sure! I am in love with the blue skirt and the black leather trench coat! You certainly have such an eye for fantastic pieces! And your pictures are always amazing, you look so beautiful! Hope you have a very nice week! Bisous!
DenisesPlanet.com
Nancy says
Haha, I once, 30 years ago, bought a second hand leather long coat on the Waterloo plein in Amsterdam and I also thought it sneller like dead people! I am not a trifther, but I am going to try when I am in the UK!
Darlene Fadem says
Thanks for the info! Now I can go thrifting for leather, knowing that I can get the smell out!
#likeineedanymorethriftedclothes
#someonepleasehelpme
😉
http://whosaprettygirl.com
Vix says
You’re a bloomin’ genius! What an inspired idea. I’ve passed this on to a couple of traders who’d emailed asking me for cleaning tips. Thank you!
Looking fabulous in all your leather and suede outfits. xxx
Nicole says
Really!?! This is amazing! Smells are the one reason why I seldom buy second hand leather, but now I am rethinking all of the leather I see in the thrift shops. Thanks for sharing this great tip!
The Artyologist
Elizabeth g. Arthur says
Thank you, Suzanne, great tip. In the summer here it can be very wet and leather stinks of mould. I use clove oil in water, wipe over the garment and air outside. xx
Sherry - Petite Over 40 says
Oh my gosh! I’m going to try this! You won’t believe it but your post is impressively timed with me removing several leather jackets (and other things) out of storage. They don’t *stink* exactly–Mike can’t smell anything wrong about them–but I smell *something* and I was convinced I was going to have to send them out to get them professionally cleaned. This terrified me a little because I don’t have a dry cleaner here who specializes in leather. I was afraid they’d ruin my nice jackets. Now I can just use coffee–one of my favorite aromas!!
Thanks for the info! I love it when you share tips like this.
– Sherry
http://www.petiteover40.com
Shelley@ForestCityFashionista says
I wish I would have known this before I threw out a very nice long purple suede skirt I thrifted. It had a strong perfume smell from the previous owner that I could not get rid of, and I couldn’t stand to wear it. Will definitely file away the information for next time.
You have such an enviable collection of thrifted leather pieces!
Theresa Campbell says
I’ve got a very nice 70s burgundy leather jacket that I cannot get the musty smell out of. I’ve aired it out for months to no avail. The coffee fix sounds very interesting and I’ve also heard kitty litter works too. Unused of course! But I like the idea of having the delicious aroma of coffee wafting around me!
Anne M Bray says
Do you think this would work on polyester? I have some leggings reeking of Febreeze. Already tried a vinegar bath and 2 days out on the clothesline with no luck. I think the oil in the Febreeze bonded with the poly. Gah! I hate that Febreeze has become the standard “fresh” smell.
suzanne carillo says
That is weird about the polyester. Normally I find that is the easiest for bad smell removal. Did you wash them in hot water?
Did you try the coffee or kitty litter trick? I works well on suede and leather. It might work.
Angelo says
Thanks for the tip Suzanne. How many grams of coffee do you usually use for a single leather jacket?
I have tried almost everything to get rid of the vintage smell from my leather jacket, but nothings seems to work. I tried putting vinegar, but it just ended up corroding the studs on the jacket, so aside from the smell, I ended up dealing with rust as well.
suzanne carillo says
The more coffee the better. I have about 10 large nylon pouches that I use which are filled with coffee but I use that for a big garden bag filled with leather items.
I’m also trying out another option right now that is less expensive, kitty litter although I think I prefer the smell of the coffee over the kitty litter.
Another thing you can try is freezing the jacket for a few weeks. I’ve heard that can help. Place it in a bag in a freeze for a few weeks. Let me know if you decide to try it if it works.
Angel says
I’m thrilled I came across this post! I am going to try it today 🙂
I have a question though: if I am only try to deodorize 1 suede jacket, how many nylon-bags of coffee should I use? Would 5 be over-kill?
Thanks!
suzanne carillo says
I think even three would be good.
Shellie Smith says
Have tried several ‘home remedies’ to get the vintage smell from a suede leather jacket. Nothing working so far. I don’t have a large paper bag, so I put my jacket in a cardboard box with the pouches of coffee. Do you think it will work just as well?
suzanne carillo says
You can try it. Cardboard does breathe so that should help. You can also try kitty litter if the coffee isn’t doing the trick. Sometimes suede is particularly difficult for removing smells. Good luck!
Anonymous says
Thanks!
I’ll leave it in with the coffee for a week or two and see how it does. If I need to I can try the kitty litter… Or leave it a couple of weeks in the freezer.
Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait!
Shellie Smith says
Thank you! My jacket is ‘brewing’ away in the box. Here’s hoping for good results!
Pip says
Well, this is a super valuable post! I thrift all the time and have found some amazing leather pieces. This one coat I have is the coolest coat ever, but has a smell I just can’t get rid of no matter what I tried. It’s not a terrible smell, but I tried everything and don’t want to take it to the cleaners because I am always taking thrifted clothing to the “green” dry cleaners because I buy a lot that needs to be dry cleaned. I sometimes just don’t want to spend the money! Thank you for this and I will try this out for sure!
suzanne carillo says
Hi Pip. Please let me know if this works for you. I also suggest using activated charcoal or kitty litter in place of the coffee if the coffee doesn’t do the trick. Good luck!
Cathy says
Does this work with shearling coat?
suzanne carillo says
It should work with any leather coat.
Blair says
I recently bought a gorgeous ‘pre-owned’ RL suede jacket, but it does have the ‘musty’ odor.. From what I’m sure. Since this thread has been here a while, I’d like to ask, which works better, the coffee grounds, or activated charcoal? Or to do a really thorough job, coffee grounds for a couple weeks, followed by activated charcoal for a couple weeks????? What’s the best? Thanks much!
suzanne carillo says
You could try both if the first time with the coffee doesn’t do the trick. I’ve also used cat litter and it worked well too. Good luck!
Jaime says
So happy I came across this. I just bought over the knee black suede boots. They were used but looked like they were in great condition so I thought it was a steal based on the price. I was super disappointed when I opened the package in the mail to a powerful mothball smell. I’ve had these boots sitting in my garage in hopes they air out. Do you think the coffee will work on these as well?
suzanne carillo says
You can try coffee and if that doesn’t work try activated charcoal or kitty litter. Good luck!