Modern Vespa

I've a Joe Rocket mesh leather/textile jacket. I was going have it dry-cleaned. But the jacket is designed to survive in the rain so wondered why I shouldn't toss it in my front-loading washer and let it airdrop on a hanger. Thoughts?

Thanks! Miguel

I just wipe mine down with a damp cloth to get rid of the squished bugs. I also let it air after every ride before I put it in the closet.

Wipe it down with saddle soap, possibly with a bit of water. Make sure to lubricate the snaps with a bit of oil.

Thanks Kevin and Bobo. But how do clean off the dirt/sweat debris inside the jacket? That's my biggest dilemma. It's just feeling a bit grimy after years of riding with it. Miguel

I've never cleaned inside of mine mine but it isn't manky at all. I have washed the removable winter liner. I definitely wouldn't put the jacket in a washing machine. Maybe just a gentle hand was in a tub and I would apply some sort of leather treatment afterwards.

Not a direct answer, but mayby a point of reference

I have textile jackets and trousers (coretex, outlast... etc.) that also have pieces of leather reinforcements. They are claimed to survive machine wash, with the remark of possible discoloration of the leather parts.

I typically wash these twice - three times a year in a machine. Hang dry. Then apply a bit of leather wax to the leather parts. Leather does seem to change color and definitely does not look like new after a few years (black leather in my case), but survives.

I don't clean my leathers or my textile jackets.

I just let them absorb everything.

I let fresh air - Mother Natures Dry Cleaning - refresh my riding gear after a trip.
If I get mud on my pants riding off-road, I hose them down when I get home.
I hang them out to dry and air before I brush them down and hang them up in the cupboard.
Even during my 11-day 6 700km ride around South Africa, I didn't wash my gear, despite wearing them every day.

(PS - I did wear clean underwear every day though!)

After a day's dirt riding, a friend of mine will hose down his boots outside and take them off to dry upside down on two wooden sticks.
Then he goes into the shower and gets under the spray.
He rinses off each layer before he takes them off and puts them in a bucket.
Then he hangs the lot out to dry under the lean-to where his bike is parked.

But he is able to do that.
He's not married.

I'd remove all the armor, turn it inside out, put it in the washer set to a cold temp, in regular wash mode. You can wash without detergent or use a minimum of something for delicates. Distilled white vinegar/water mix will remove smells from the inside of the jacket if you wish to spot-treat some areas first. Once washed, hang it out to dry, keeping it inside out. When the inside is no longer damp, turn right-side out, check for dampness, and insert the armor.

Hanger, Peg, Done

Febreeze it! 😊

I did try having one of my leather jackets dry cleaned and was not satisfied, as the process dried out the leather. Saddle soap seems to work better. That of course does nothing for the liner.

I have a textile jacket with leather parts that I have carefully hand washed and the result is ok, though the leather appears to take somewhat of a beating nonetheless.

The trick I've tried this year is to order a custom-fitted jacket, have it not fit, go through several slow rounds of emailing before sending it back to be fixed, get half-ghosted, eventually get a reply, have it get stuck at the Canadian border, and celebrate the 6-month anniversary of ordering it by being very salty about it online while still not knowing where it is or when I might get it back. Jacket's perfectly clean!

Lemon Pledge on out side---Windex on liner

Occasionally I get caught in the rain, job done riding gear washed.

Actually, thinking about it... I take better care of the bikes than I do myself.

Could that be why Frau Fritz has been avoiding me all these years???

Damp cloth, Meguire's leather dressing, wash removable liner and forget it for a year.
I mostly wear mesh that gets tossed in the washer and hung outside to dry.

Clean it?

On my leather jacket, just wipe it down. On my textile jacket, which gets 10 times more use, I run some water in the tub, add a little Woolite detergent, throw it in, let it soak. Occasional, if it's fairly dirty (and stinky), I'll stomp around on it while in the tub. Rinse with cold water, air dry. Done

Clean the inside with upholstery cleaner as needed
Treat the outside with neatsfoot oil or leather stuff of your choice
Shoe polish makes the color pop

This was a really good, informative answer

Brought to my mind a tiny addition: I use a washing mode intended for outdoor sports clothes with wind/rain proof protection layers.

This brings in the main reason I wash my textile riding gear regularly - to keep the breath/waterproof layers functional. Even a small amount of dirt harms especially the breathing part, this is just something you'll get used to as the dirt accumulates gradually.

The quickest and easiest way for me has always being to use the Gerni (from a safe distance of about a metre) and CT18 with hot water...

Then let it dry in the shade...

It will look like brand new...

This is what I was thinking of doing but thought I'd post the question here first to see if there are any better ideas. Thx GG. Miguel

My jacket is mostly textile with suedes elbows. It's handwash only (and my family suggested I heed it because leather), so I wait until I know I won't need it for a couple days, take it into the shower, rub it down with laundry detergent, rinse it, and wring it out. It's a massive pain the the ass and it makes a mess. I keep telling myself that next time I buy a jacket, I'm checking the care instructions first.

(It's actually a pain in the everywhere, because it gets really heavy when it's wet, and there's no good way to support the weight and wash it at the same time.)

I forgot to add, after it's dry condition the leather bits. Stay away from products with petroleum distillates as they only work short term, and can do damage in the long run. I've been told Skidmors.com is good stuff from a man that makes his living making leather moto seats.

I would do the same as I do with my underpants and reverse them.

I tend to agree with Guzzi Gal. Really, even silks, wool can be handwashed -- and leather, but normally that does need conditioning after.

There is a wool wash on the market on Amazon that you can find that is very gentle in terms of Ph. However, all that said, agree with Gentle (better if washer has no agitator) and lay out to dry. Condition the leather afterward. That is how I treat my waxed canvas jackets and other. That said, your jacket is synthetic for the most part so high Ph is not an issue. So, you could use detergent or Oxi in my mind.

I spin wool, make sweaters and clothes and generally are into fibers - and I think you will feel so much cleaner afterwards. But I would not dry it in the dryer. Lay on clothes rack or similar.

Also if you want to post a picture that might be helpful to see how much leather is involved.

Thanks Pam and GG!! I have a front-loading washer so no agitator and I'd put it on delicate. I'd likely use wool soap which I have for other clothing items.

The jacket has synthetic mesh materials and perforated leather. It's about 40% leather, generally around crash points: elbows, shoulders, upper back, wrists, chest. I'll post a picture tmw.

Thanks!! Miguel