(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:
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…
…let the water ooze out!
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
Pin now for reference later!
Seriously brilliant! Thanks for the tip!
Muah!
GENIUS!!!!!!
I need to do this…my same Madewell bag got a bit damaged with water too.
Thanks for the tip Carly!
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!!! 🙂
The towel tip is genius! Thanks for sharing!
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.
Thanks for your comment, Jeanie!
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!
What are the chances?!?!? Thanks for your comment, Samantha.
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?
Did you need to oil treat the bag?
I have not had to oil treat it. I hope this helps.
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?
The result is amazing! It took about a day to dry.
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?
It’s such a bummer isn’t it?!?! I’d try it, because you have nothing to loose!
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!
Oh, that’s the pits! I’m crossing my finger for you!
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!
It made my bag slightly darker, but I liked it. Good luck!
I just tried this with my oxblood Madewell bag and it totally worked! Thanks!
I’m so glad!??
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! 😃
I’m so glad! I hope it works for you! You have nothing to lose, right?
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.
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!
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!
I’m so glad!
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?
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.
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.
Hi, I used tap water and it was room temperature. $475- yikes!
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!
Dina, I’m so glad to hear you got to keep your purse! Thanks for sharing! It makes my day!
Oh I’m glad I came across this just in case. Do you think this might work for leather sandals?
Hi. I’m definitely going try this trick. You did not wet the exterior of your bag – is that correct?
That’s correct.
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!
Absolutely, HTH!
This is great information to know! Thank you.