Leather chaps are no more a riding gear or worn by rodeos and cowboy to protect against thorn, bushes and animal attack. Today, they are a fashionable clothing also. However, when it comes to cleaning them , it might be a challenge. Leather chaps when they are new could look some stiff and fit you tightly but as the time passes by, the apparel will fit you more comfortably. Leather has a unique quality to stretch and they have the ability to mold to your body type. However, over years of use they accumulate dust and dirt. After all, they are a functional garment. It is true that chaps are low maintenance clothing but they need to be cleaned thoroughly once a while. The earlier cleaning methods Chaps when worn while mountaineering, biking, riding horses, working in fields are splattered with grime and mud. Therefore, they need to be cleaned. However, until recently, people use to wash the chaps with the normal detergents. It used to make the chaps a bit stiff. Moreover, the laundry products were only able to clean the dirt and not the lubricating oils from the chaps. People did not know of the other alternatives available and as a result, the chaps used to be starched with oils and body sweat and eventually become useless. There was no other option but to discard them and invest in a new leather chap. The latest – machine wash the leather chaps Today, you can easily find leather care products in the market, which will help you, remove any and every type of dirt, oil, stains from the chaps, and make them look like you bought them yesterday. You can machine-wash them at your home with these products. The cleaner will deep clean and remove every type of dirt during the wash cycle. Let us see how to machine wash the badly stained and dirty leather chaps.

• Brush off any external dirt. Close the zips and turn the inside out. This is done to protect the chap’s outer surface from washing machine’s abrasion. It is also important to be sure that the chap is colorfast. This is a consideration when you are buying them. However, while washing make sure that you wash different colored chaps separately.
• If the chaps are lighter in shade, set the machine wash cycle on press cycle and well for darker tones, delicate wash cycle will do.
• After machine washing and rinsing them, open all the zippers and lay them flat to air dry. However, do not put them to dry under direct sunlight. This could shrink the fibers of the chaps. While they are damp, apply leather softener and then again let them air dry.

The leather chaps when washed this way, will remain highly functional and keeping looking new for long. You need not think of investing in a new chap now just because they are very dirty.