Serving Hampstead
Leather & Suede Cleaning in Hampstead
Leather and suede cleaning in Hampstead tends to be a cold-weather subject: sheepskin and fur coming out of summer storage, suede boots after a wet lap of the Heath, leather that has spent years next to a radiator. Ace of Suedes cleans all of it by hand at our own workshop in Edmonton. NW3 sits inside our collection area, so a coat can be picked up at your door and returned there, free on orders of £50 or more. Below is what this part of London does to skins, and how to get a piece to us.
What the Heath does to suede and sheepskin
Hampstead stands on some of the highest ground in London, with several hundred acres of open heath on its doorstep. Coats and boots here get weather that a pavement-only wardrobe never meets.
Mud on suede boots. Most people reach for a cloth straight away, and that is the one move that makes the mark permanent, because wiping pushes fine soil down between the fibres. Leave the boots to dry naturally with paper packed inside to hold the shape, then knock the dried mud off and brush what is left. A dark outline that remains after brushing is soil carried in by water, and that part is a workshop job.
A sheepskin caught in a downpour. A proper soaking is not fatal, but the drying decides the outcome. Heat is the enemy: a skin dried against a radiator or in a boiler cupboard goes hard and can pull out of shape. Give it a shake, hang it on a wide hanger in a room you are living in, and let it take as long as it takes. If the outer face dries with rings or stiff patches, stop there and send it in.
Snags and scuffs from undergrowth. Brambles and fence wire lift small flaps on smooth leather and scratch the nap on suede. A lifted flap can often be laid back down and the colour blended. Picking at it makes the repair larger.
Waxed cotton. A jacket worn on wet paths every day loses its proofing at the shoulders and cuffs first, and a jacket put away damp develops a sour smell that fresh wax will only seal in. Cleaning comes before reproofing, which is how our waxed jacket cleaning and re-waxing is carried out.
Footwear of every kind, including tall boots and sheepskin-lined pairs, goes through our shoes, boots and designer trainers service.
Fur and shearling in older houses
Much of Hampstead's housing is Georgian and Victorian, and the features that make those houses attractive are hard on stored coats.
- Cellars and lower-ground rooms are cool, which fur likes, but they are often damp, which it does not. Damp brings mould to the lining first and the skin second.
- Lofts swing from cold in winter to very hot in summer. Heat pulls the natural oils out of a pelt, and a dried pelt becomes brittle.
- Fitted wardrobes on an outside wall look ideal and often are not. A solid external wall stays colder than the room, moisture condenses in the still air behind closed doors, and anything hanging against the back panel takes it up.
- Rooms that are rarely opened give clothes moths the two things they want, darkness and no disturbance.
The answer is not a special product. Fur and shearling keep best in a cool, dry, dark place with air moving around them, on shaped hangers, with space on both sides and nothing made of plastic over them. If a stored coat has come out with a musty smell, thin patches or a lining that feels clammy, our fur cleaning and moth infestation treatment and prevention services deal with the cause, not the symptom.
An inherited fur or sheepskin coat
A coat passed down through a family raises one question before any other: is the skin still sound? Three checks will tell you most of what you need to know at home.
- Bend a section gently between your hands. It should flex in silence. A dry rustle or a feeling of thin card means the pelt has lost its oils.
- Run a hand against the lie of the hair. It should spring back. Hair that stays down, or comes away on your palm, is a warning.
- Look at the lining seams. Old linings shred at the armholes and neck long before the fur gives out, and a lining can be replaced.
A coat that passes the first two is usually worth cleaning, and a tired lining or missing fastening can be put right through repair and alterations. A coat that fails the first is fragile, and the honest advice may be to wear it gently as it is and not to put it through a full clean. That judgement is made when the coat is examined, before any work is agreed.
Leather and suede cleaning in Hampstead: what we take in
Everything is cleaned at our own premises. The services most relevant to this area are:
- Suede, sheepskin and shearling garments: coats, jackets, gilets and gloves
- Leather garments: jackets, coats, trousers and skirts
- Fur cleaning: coats, jackets, fur-lined pieces, gilets and throws
- Garments with leather, suede or fur trim: wool coats and knitwear where the trim rules out an ordinary clean
- Handbags in leather and suede
- Sheepskin rugs and hides, which suffer the same damp and moth problems as coats
Current prices are listed on each of those pages.
Collection from NW3 and the streets around it
Our collection area takes in every NW and N postcode, which covers Hampstead and all of its neighbours:
| Postcode | Places |
|---|---|
| NW3 | Hampstead village, Frognal, South End Green, the Vale of Health and Belsize Park |
| NW6 | West Hampstead and Fortune Green |
| NW11 | Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb |
| N6 | Highgate, on the far side of the Heath |
| N2 | East Finchley and the Bishop's Avenue side |
The charge depends on the size of the order, not on the distance. An order of £50 or more is collected and delivered free. Below £50 there is a single £10 charge. You book online, choose collection, and enter the full address, including the house name if yours goes by a name instead of a number.
Bringing a coat to the workshop
Some people prefer to hand a valuable coat over in person and talk it through, and that is always possible. The address is Unit F23a, Hastingwood Trading Estate, 35 Harbet Road, London N18 3HU. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, with no weekend or bank holiday opening. The number is 0208 981 3232.
By car the simplest route from Hampstead is north to Golders Green, up the Finchley Road to Henlys Corner, then east on the North Circular as far as Angel Road in Edmonton, where Harbet Road turns off.
For the full picture of the area we serve and what happens to an item once it arrives, see our North London leather and suede cleaning page.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you collect from Hampstead?
- Yes. NW3 is within our collection area, along with West Hampstead in NW6, Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb in NW11, and Highgate in N6. Items are picked up from your address and delivered back to it once the work is finished.
- Is there a charge for collection in NW3?
- Not on an order worth £50 or more, where both the pick-up and the return are free. A smaller order has one £10 charge added. The figure is the same wherever you are inside the covered postcodes.
- My suede boots are plastered in mud from the Heath. What should I do first?
- Nothing while they are wet. Wiping drives the soil into the fibres. Pack them with paper, let them dry on their own away from any heat, then tap the dried mud off and brush. If a dark outline is left behind after that, the boots need professional cleaning.
- I have inherited an old fur coat. Is it worth having it cleaned?
- It depends on the skin under the hair. If a section bends quietly and the hair springs back when stroked the wrong way, the coat is usually a good candidate, and a worn lining can be replaced. If the skin feels papery or the hair comes away in your hand, it is fragile and may be better left as it is.
- My sheepskin coat got drenched. Have I ruined it?
- Probably not, provided it dries slowly. Hang it on a wide hanger in an ordinary heated room and keep it clear of radiators, boiler cupboards and dryers, which harden the skin. Rings or stiff areas left once it is dry are a sign it needs a specialist clean.
- Why do coats in my fitted wardrobe smell musty?
- Wardrobes built against an outside wall are a common cause in older houses. The wall stays colder than the room, moisture condenses in the closed space, and leather, suede and fur absorb it. Leaving a gap behind the clothes and opening the doors regularly helps. A smell that has already set in needs cleaning to remove.
- Can I bring a coat to you in person?
- Yes. Come to Unit F23a, Hastingwood Trading Estate, 35 Harbet Road, London N18 3HU, any weekday between 9am and 3pm. Dropping an item off costs nothing, and it gives you the chance to point out anything you are concerned about.