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How To | March 29, 2015

How to Fix a Water Stain on Leather

How to fix your leather purse(Before with Stain)

What does one do when they get a huge water stain on their favorite leather purse?!?! Let’s rewind to many years ago when the same thing happened to my dad’s briefcase.  I remembered that he was able to save it by dipping it in water, so I decided to try something similar. I wasn’t sure if dipping just the outside would get the even look I was going for, so this is what I did:

How to Fix your leather purse

I decided to mimic how I got the water stain in the first place. I had spilled a liquid on the inside, and then the water oozed out and caused the stain.  So, I filled my tote to the brim with water and…

How to Fix your leather purse

…let the water ooze out!

How to Fix your leather purse

Viola! Good as new! I hung it (to keep it’s original shape) in the shade to keep the leather from drying out. I’m so happy I could salvage one of my favorite purses! And I learned something new. So, of course, I had to share it with you! Here’s to saving money and salvaging our leather goods. #leathergoods #worththeinvestment

Screen Shot 2015-03-30 at 3.07.05 PM

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Comments

  1. Angela Lee says

    March 30, 2015 at 6:43 AM

    Seriously brilliant! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      March 31, 2015 at 9:58 AM

      Muah!

      Reply
  2. Sheaffer Sims says

    March 30, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    GENIUS!!!!!!

    Reply
  3. Yolonda says

    March 30, 2015 at 12:53 PM

    I need to do this…my same Madewell bag got a bit damaged with water too.

    Thanks for the tip Carly!

    Reply
  4. Cathy Henry says

    March 30, 2015 at 3:19 PM

    I just did this to my made well leather tote!!!! My niece spilled her ENTIRE gatorade bottle into my purse!!! SO….my mom suggested i soak the entire purse in warm water for about 5 min to kinda get the gatorade sticky out… and then roll up some towels to the purse wld keep its form while it dried!!! Worked perfectly and now i have my favorite bag back in working order!!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      March 31, 2015 at 9:59 AM

      The towel tip is genius! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  5. Jeanie says

    March 30, 2015 at 5:37 PM

    You were so brave to try this! It looks perfect. I always carry a bottle of water in my bags and am so afraid one of these days it’s going to leak all over. I must remember this miracle.

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      March 31, 2015 at 10:00 AM

      Thanks for your comment, Jeanie!

      Reply
  6. Samantha says

    March 30, 2015 at 10:32 PM

    I have the exact same bag and this literally happened to me a week and a half ago. Thank you for sharing!!! I will be trying this weekend!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      March 31, 2015 at 9:57 AM

      What are the chances?!?!? Thanks for your comment, Samantha.

      Reply
  7. elizabeth says

    June 29, 2015 at 11:23 AM

    I have the jcrew version of this bag and mine got water stained from the outside, not from the inside. Also the stain has lightened the leather after it dried. Do you think this would still work?

    Reply
  8. Alyssa says

    July 2, 2015 at 11:01 PM

    Did you need to oil treat the bag?

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      July 6, 2015 at 9:29 PM

      I have not had to oil treat it. I hope this helps.

      Reply
  9. Maggie says

    February 5, 2016 at 3:19 PM

    This literally just happened to me and I have the exact same bag. I just did th trick and filled it all up so now I’m just waiting! Thank you SO much!! About how long did it take your bag to dry?

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      February 8, 2016 at 3:30 PM

      The result is amazing! It took about a day to dry.

      Reply
  10. Meghan says

    May 2, 2016 at 12:52 PM

    I just noticed that my water bottle spilled in my same exact Madewell bag. I couldn’t believe the odds that I found a blog that was referring to this same bad. My bag is black, do you think it will have the same results?

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      May 3, 2016 at 1:14 PM

      It’s such a bummer isn’t it?!?! I’d try it, because you have nothing to loose!

      Reply
  11. Lynne says

    May 18, 2016 at 12:49 PM

    I just got my lovely Madewell bag in the mail yesterday (yes, one day of use) before my a normally tight and secure water bottle leaked inside (I’m pretty sure it never leaked like this before…it must have known it was in my new bag!). Desperate to fix the stain on my new bag, I tried this. Fingers crossed and hopefully this is a ‘Thank You’ in advance!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      May 18, 2016 at 1:59 PM

      Oh, that’s the pits! I’m crossing my finger for you!

      Reply
  12. Michelle says

    July 19, 2016 at 8:34 AM

    I just did this! Waiting for my bag to dry. Does the leather become slightly darker? Should I leave it out in the sun? Very nervous and hoping that it doesn’t permanently stain!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      July 19, 2016 at 10:09 AM

      It made my bag slightly darker, but I liked it. Good luck!

      Reply
  13. Jess says

    August 5, 2016 at 6:17 PM

    I just tried this with my oxblood Madewell bag and it totally worked! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      August 6, 2016 at 4:22 PM

      I’m so glad!??

      Reply
  14. Samantha says

    December 12, 2016 at 9:48 AM

    OMG – I have the exact same problem with the exact same Madewell bag. I didn’t screw on the lid of my water bottle correctly – and I have had this bag on the shelf for months now not knowing what to do. My mom had suggested this very method – but I was too nervous to try it! Thanks for being so brave – after seeing your post I think today is the day! 😃

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      December 12, 2016 at 1:59 PM

      I’m so glad! I hope it works for you! You have nothing to lose, right?

      Reply
    • Vanessa Daffron says

      September 15, 2020 at 3:58 PM

      It looks like we several of us on this blog had the same water stain problem with the exact same Madewell bag! Thanks again for the help. I am going to try it.

      Reply
  15. Jennifer says

    December 15, 2016 at 8:53 PM

    This just happened to my 2 week old transport tote. I was just about to bring it to the cleaners. I’m going to try it. Thanks!

    Reply
  16. Kim Hale says

    March 5, 2017 at 7:36 AM

    I just got a teal HOBO tote and had eyeglasses cleaner leak inside. It had a dark stain on it and I jut shelved it not knowing what to do. I came across this blog and decided to give it a whirl. I can say, although a bit nerve racking, I soaked it from the inside out and let it air dry and it made an amazing difference! I can still see the stain line if I look closely but only I would notice. It did make the entire bag darker but I actually like it better than the original. Thank you SO much for posting!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      March 6, 2017 at 12:59 PM

      I’m so glad!

      Reply
  17. Karen I says

    April 28, 2017 at 3:00 PM

    Thanks so much for the tip! How long do you recommend leaving it soaking? Also, do you think it would work if I dried it indoors?

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      May 2, 2017 at 10:48 AM

      Hi Karen, I let it soak until the water came through everywhere, then I poured the water out. Yes, I think you can dry it indoors.

      Reply
  18. Jeff says

    June 22, 2017 at 11:18 AM

    Did you use tap water or distilled water and should the water be warm or room temperature. My girlfriend has the same color Frye purse and the they want $475 to repair and cannot guarantee the stains will be completely removed.

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      June 28, 2017 at 2:53 PM

      Hi, I used tap water and it was room temperature. $475- yikes!

      Reply
  19. Dina Port says

    July 6, 2018 at 9:13 AM

    So I have the SAME exact Madwell purse. I love it so much I was thinking of getting a second one in black. Well, a few days ago I had a water bottle in my purse open. It created a terrible stain. I let it dry for a few days and then, to make matters worse, I placed in on a table which had olive oil on it. So on top of the water stain, my purse had an oil stain!!! I figured that was the end of the purse…I honestly thought I’d have to throw it out. But I tried your trick. Literally filled the whole thing up with water. Added a little dish soap to help break up the oil stain. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Dumped out the water and rinsed the purse out some more to get rid of any remaining soap. Let it dry on the patio for two full days. The purse looks brand new….actually a tiny bit darker, but it looks amazing. I am so happy! Thanks for your post…I might not have tried this if it weren’t for you!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      July 6, 2018 at 9:52 PM

      Dina, I’m so glad to hear you got to keep your purse! Thanks for sharing! It makes my day!

      Reply
  20. Stephanie says

    November 29, 2018 at 12:02 AM

    Oh I’m glad I came across this just in case. Do you think this might work for leather sandals?

    Reply
  21. Gwendelyn Ottun says

    December 30, 2019 at 2:34 PM

    Hi. I’m definitely going try this trick. You did not wet the exterior of your bag – is that correct?

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      January 24, 2020 at 12:50 PM

      That’s correct.

      Reply
  22. Vanessa Daffron says

    September 15, 2020 at 3:56 PM

    You’re not going to believe this, but I think I have the EXACT same bag that you do and just stained it with hand sanitizer and was looking for a way to repair it, and I’m AMAZED! My bag is a Madewell one, is that the same as yours? Thank you so much for this tip, it’s my very favorite bag right now, and I really hope your tip works to repair mine too. Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Carly Lee says

      September 17, 2020 at 4:46 PM

      Absolutely, HTH!

      Reply
  23. Denise Thornton says

    September 26, 2020 at 5:38 PM

    This is great information to know! Thank you.

    Reply

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