March Project with Howard's
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
I remember the first time that the reps from Howard’s approached me about their leather cleaner. I must have looked confused because for the most part, Howard’s products are all about wood. Restore A Finish, Feed and Wax, SunShield, Fine Wood Cleaner are all excellent products, and they are all about restoring and maintaining wood finishes. So, when they pitched me the Leather Cleaner and Leather Salve, I had my reservations. But after restoring the leather chairs in my mom’s office I was convinced they had made two really good products, especially when used together.
First, let me tell you about how bad the office chairs looked in front of my mom’s desk. They looked hazy, not the rich deep maroon finish that they normally had. And on the desk was a bottle of Windex, the culprit cleaner. Everyone knows most Windex formulas have ammonia in them that is great for glass, but not good for the leather on the chairs. I thought the Windex had etched the leather, but lucky for me, the Windex had just dried out the leather leaving it with a white haze.
I had both Howard’s Leather Cleaner and Leather Salve on the shelf in our cleaning aisle. Grabbing both of them and a soft rag I decided I would try and save these office chairs that had great sentimental value because they had been Dad’s. I used the cleaner first even though I felt that the Windex probably had left them squeaky clean. And after the cleaner, they looked better and that’s what encouraged me. If the cleaner could make them look better, how much better could they look with the Leather Salve? Leather Salve is a heavy bodied deep penetrating leather conditioner that restores DRY leather. Well, that was music to my ears and the answer to the hazy look of the chairs. With just one coat of the Leather Salve the chairs looked good as new. I followed the directions and buffed out the leather after letting it penetrate the back of the chair.
I know that the chairs really weren’t dirty, but I have suggested Leather Cleaner for my customers that have white oily stains on leather. Maybe it’s where someone lays their head or constantly places their arms and body oils have left their mark. Leather Cleaner breaks down the oil so that you can clean it away. It’s a safe cleaner that will not damage the leather and prepares it for Leather Salve.
The great part of Leather Salve is that it will disguise leather scratches and help preserve the surface of the leather. It rejuvenates leather by using lanolin, Neatsfoot and coconut oil, and protects from any future damage by using beeswax and carnauba wax. And it will deepen and bring back the original color of faded leather.
But maybe you don’t have leather furniture, what can you use Leather Cleaner and Leather Salve on? Do you have leather seats in the car or truck? Leather boots and shoes, purses, briefcases, and leather coats would all get protection from these two products.
So, this is project #3 – The first project was removing white moisture rings with White Ring Remover and then second was using Morgan’s Repellent to repel pests and now, restoring leather with Howard’s. I hope you are feeling more confident about tackling projects and sharing the knowledge with your friends and neighbors. I saw many of you from Houston last weekend and enjoyed meeting you. The next time you are in San Antonio, please come by the store show me your latest project.
Now to the email….
Question: A friend of mine that smokes rode in my car. Even though he would never ask to smoke in my car, the lingering smoke on his clothes is all over my car. Every time I get in my car I can smell this lingering smoke odor. I have tried all kinds of car deodorizers, and they help for a bit but then the air conditioner comes on and I can smell it in the car. I have fabric seats and I’m afraid that the odor is there forever.
Answer: A couple of products will help. First an Air Sponge that you open up and place under the seat. And since the seats are fabric, spray them with Bio Zapp and those two products will stamp out any odor for good.