Saddle soap is a known cleaning product for leather. It’s usually used to clean and condition all leather types. You might know saddle soap is an organic product and good for preserving leather. But, there are potential risks in using it that you don’t know which can result in damaging leather. Continue reading to understand the hidden dangers of saddle soap.

This is one of the main problems in using saddle soap. It has soap components, like many cleaning products, that can remove essential oils in leather every time you clean it. So, if you use it too many times or you don’t use conditioner after using it, your leather can be stiff and dry. This can result in the peeling, fading, or cracking of your leather item. You can prevent this by using a good leather conditioner after washing it with saddle soap.

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This is one of the most common issues in using saddle soap to clean leather. Saddle soaps strip the oils from the leather, causing it to crack. Because you'll almost certainly have to replace your leather item once it cracks, use the soap sparingly.

Compared to standard soap, saddle soap has a lot of wax and oil. This results in making the soapsuds from saddle soap very oily, creamy, and thick.

Thick residue can remain on your leather if you don’t wash it properly after using the saddle soap. The build-up from this residue will make your leather stiff, gummy, and crusty over time. The material also attracts more dust and dirt making it look dull and stained.

This happens when you scrub your leather using saddle soap a lot and dry it in improper environments such as sunlight. This will eventually end up making your leather lose its color and become faded. Also, the components in saddle soap can remove the pigments used to dye your leather over time.

It’s important not to use too much of the soap and make sure that you’ve completely rinsed it after. Saddle soap can alter the pH level of leather by causing it to be more alkaline after some time.

When the pH level changes, the leather will become more sensitive to many elements which result in discoloration or drying out. To prevent the leather from becoming stiff and dry, the soap solution’s pH level has to be as neutral as possible.

Now you know the risks of using saddle soap to clean leather. But, you have to keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that using saddle soap is a bad idea. You just have to be careful so that you can enjoy the benefits of this soap. That means not using this soap too much on your leather products and using a good conditioner after. Remember the drawbacks above so that you won’t cause serious and irreversible damage to your beloved leather items.