Can you wash a leather jacket? Machine, hand wash, dry cleaning and ironing

Short answer: no, you shouldn’t put a real leather jacket in the washing machine, and you shouldn’t hand-wash it in a tub either. The exception is a jacket whose label clearly says the leather is washable, which is rare. Faux (PU) leather is different: some can be machine-washed cold if the label allows it.

Washing doesn’t usually destroy a leather jacket in one go. What it does is wash out the oils that keep leather soft, so the jacket dries stiff, a little smaller and sometimes blotchy. Below is what to do for each kind of jacket, what the care label really tells you, how to rescue one that’s already been through the machine, and how to get creases out without damaging it.

Can it go in the wash? Quick answer by jacket type

Jacket	Machine wash	Hand wash	What to do instead
Smooth leather (cowhide, lambskin, goatskin)	No	No	Wipe, condition; specialist leather cleaner for a full clean
Suede or nubuck	No	No	Brush, suede eraser; specialist cleaner
Shearling (sheepskin with the wool on)	No	No	Spot-clean the wool; specialist that handles sheepskin
Label says “washable leather”	Only as the label says	Only as the label says	Follow the label exactly: usually a cool wool cycle
Faux leather / PU	Sometimes, if the label allows: cold, gentle, inside out	Often safer than the machine	Wipe with a damp cloth; air dry
Mixed (leather sleeves, wool or fabric body)	No	No	Treat it as leather; specialist cleaner

Not sure whether your jacket is real leather or PU? Check the tag and the backing first with our real vs faux leather guide.

Why water and detergent are hard on leather

Leather on its own doesn’t mind getting wet; you can wear most jackets in a shower of rain (see can you wear a leather jacket in the rain?). A wash is a different thing: the jacket is soaked right through, tumbled, and rinsed in detergent for half an hour or more.

During tanning, oils called fatliquors are worked into the leather so its fibres can slide past each other. That’s what makes a jacket soft and drape well. Laundry detergent is designed to remove oils, and the Leather Dictionary (a reference run by a German leather-care company) notes that ordinary textile detergents contain no oils and dry leather out more with every wash. Once those oils are gone, the fibres stick together as the leather dries, and the jacket comes out hard and board-like.

Heat makes it worse. Leather has a shrinkage temperature: the point at which wet leather suddenly contracts.

Leather type	Shrinkage temperature (wet)	What it means for washing
Chrome-tanned (most jackets)	About 85–100°C (185–212°F), up to about 120°C (248°F)	A 30–40°C (86–104°F) wash won’t reach it, but damage still comes from lost oils and drying
Vegetable-tanned	About 70–85°C (158–185°F)	A hot wash or a radiator can get close

Figures from SATRA (the footwear and leather testing body) and the Leather Dictionary. The Leather Dictionary adds that wet leather can shrink with even a little heat, which is why a tumble dryer or a radiator after a wash causes more harm than the wash itself.

Two more problems are hard to predict. Different panels of a jacket come from different parts of a hide and can react differently, so one sleeve may come out darker than the other. And dyes can bleed, especially on lighter or aniline (unfinished) leathers. Even professional cleaners call leather unpredictable: a 2024 piece in the trade magazine Laundry & Cleaning News describes it as “renowned for producing unpredictable results”, even for experienced cleaners.

Reading the care label

Labels on leather jackets are often vague or missing, and there’s a reason for that.

• United States: the FTC’s Care Labeling Rule applies to garments made from textiles. In 1995 the FTC rejected a proposal to extend it to garments made entirely of leather, so an all-leather jacket may legally have no care instructions at all. Where a label exists, the FTC glossary term “Leather clean” means: have it cleaned only by a professional who uses special leather or suede methods.
• Europe, UK and most other markets: care symbols follow the international standard ISO 3758, which is written for textiles and has no leather-specific symbol. A label on a leather jacket will often show a crossed-out washtub and a circle for professional cleaning.

Symbol on the label	What it means
Washtub with a cross	Do not wash (machine or hand)
Washtub with a hand	Hand wash only (rare on real leather; common on PU)
Circle with P or F	Professional dry cleaning with that solvent; bars underneath mean a gentler process
Circle with W	Professional wet cleaning
Circle with a cross	Do not dry clean
Square with a circle and a cross	Do not tumble dry

Some British labels also use a leather mark from the British Standard BS 7269 with a letter inside, telling the cleaner which solvent is safe. Either way, a circle on the label is aimed at a cleaner, not at your home machine.

Washable leather does exist. Some tanneries make leathers treated to survive a domestic wool cycle, using extra pre-tanning and dye and oil systems fixed so they don’t wash out. If your label explicitly says the leather is washable, follow its temperature and cycle exactly. If it doesn’t say so, assume it isn’t.

How to clean a leather jacket without washing it

For everyday dirt, you don’t need water beyond a damp cloth:

1. Brush or wipe off dust with a soft dry cloth, paying attention to seams.
2. Wipe the collar, cuffs and front with a cloth that’s barely damp. These are where skin oil and grime build up.
3. Use a pH-balanced leather cleaner for anything more stubborn. Test it inside the hem first.
4. Let it dry at room temperature, then condition lightly to replace lost oils.
5. Air the lining: hang it inside out for a few hours if it smells stale.

Our cleaning and conditioning routine covers each step in detail. For smoke, musty or thrift-store smells, see how to get the smell out of a leather jacket; washing won’t remove those reliably anyway.

Already washed it? How to rescue it

If the jacket has already been through the machine, don’t panic and don’t reach for the dryer.

1. Take it out straight away. Don’t let it sit wet in the drum.
2. Press out water; never wring it. Lay it on a large towel, roll the towel up and press.
3. Reshape it while it’s damp: straighten the shoulders, collar and sleeves, and close the zip.
4. Hang it on a wide, padded hanger at room temperature, away from radiators, heaters, hair dryers and direct sun. A fan on a low setting is fine.
5. Be patient. Leather-craft suppliers put drying at roughly 12–24 hours for chrome-tanned leather and 24–48 hours for vegetable-tanned leather in good conditions; a thick jacket with a lining can take longer.
6. Flex it gently every few hours as it dries (bend the elbows, roll the collar) so the fibres don’t set stiff.
7. Condition once it’s dry, a thin coat at a time, until it feels supple again.

If it’s still stiff, patchy or noticeably shrunk after that, take it to a leather specialist. They can sometimes restore oils and even out colour, though they can’t always reverse shrinkage.

Dry cleaning: when it’s worth it, and how to choose a cleaner

A full professional clean makes sense for heavy soiling, a stain you can’t identify, ink or grease, or a jacket that has gone stiff or patchy.

• Use a leather specialist, not an ordinary dry cleaner. Leather needs different solvents, added oils and re-finishing; many high-street cleaners send leather out to a specialist anyway.
• Ask what they’ll do about oils and colour. The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) notes that leather cleaners use special additives to keep colour and texture, and sometimes re-dye to replace lost colour, but exact colour matching isn’t always possible.
• Clean matching pieces together. If you have trousers, a skirt or a waistcoat from the same leather, the DLI advises cleaning them at the same time so the colours change together.
• Don’t treat stains yourself first. Home remedies can set a stain or spread a dye.
• Expect small changes. Slight shrinkage and panel-to-panel colour differences are normal risks, even with good cleaners.
• Collect it in a breathable bag, not the plastic film; leather shouldn’t be stored in plastic.

How often? For a jacket you wear all winter, once a year at most is plenty. The DLI’s consumer guide suggests a yearly clean; many owners go longer if they wipe and condition regularly.

Can you iron a leather jacket?

You can, carefully, but most creases drop out if you hang the jacket on a wide hanger for a day or two. If they don’t:

1. Set the iron to the low end of its range with the steam turned off.
2. Lay a thin cotton or muslin press cloth over the leather. Threads magazine’s leatherwork Q&A advises against brown paper, which is too thick for the heat to pass through.
3. Press briefly and keep the iron moving. Never let it sit in one spot or touch the leather directly.
4. Let the area cool flat before you move the jacket.

Don’t iron suede, shearling, patent leather or faux leather. Faux leather can melt or go shiny; let creases fall out by hanging instead.

Faux leather jackets: can they go in the machine?

Sometimes. PU and other faux leathers are plastic coatings on a fabric backing, so water doesn’t strip oils the way it does from leather. Advice from cleaning brands is split, though, so the label decides:

• If the label allows washing: turn the jacket inside out, put it in a mesh laundry bag, use a delicates cycle in cold water with a gentle detergent and a low spin, then air dry.
• If the label shows a crossed-out washtub: wipe it with a damp cloth and mild soap instead.
• Never tumble dry and never iron it. Heat and humidity speed up hydrolysis, the breakdown that makes PU crack and peel; industry tests age PU at 70°C (158°F) and 95% humidity to simulate years of wear.

Suede and shearling

Suede marks easily with water. Brush it with a suede brush, lift marks with a suede eraser, and leave anything larger to a specialist.

Shearling is sheepskin tanned with the wool on, so a wash soaks the thickest part of the jacket. Australian sheepskin maker Mortels advises spot-cleaning the wool side of coats with a sheepskin shampoo without soaking through to the skin, and using a cleaner who specialises in leather, suede or sheepskin for anything more. UK maker Lakeland Leather goes further and advises against an ordinary dry cleaner for sheepskin altogether. Sheepskin rugs are sometimes machine-washable; jackets are not. For rain, snow and salt, see is shearling waterproof?

Checklist

• Real leather, suede or shearling: no washing machine, no tub, no tumble dryer.
• Read the label: a circle means a professional; “washable leather” means follow it exactly.
• Everyday clean: dry cloth, barely damp cloth, leather cleaner, condition.
• Already washed: press water out in a towel, reshape, dry at room temperature, flex, condition.
• Heavy soiling or stains: leather specialist, matching pieces together.
• Creases: hang first; iron only smooth leather, low heat, no steam, through a cloth.
• Faux leather: cold, gentle, inside out, only if the label allows; never dryer or iron.

Frequently asked questions

Can you put a leather jacket in the washing machine?

Not a real leather one, unless the label explicitly says the leather is washable. A machine wash removes the oils that keep leather soft, so it usually comes out stiff, slightly smaller and sometimes patchy. Faux leather can sometimes go in on a cold, gentle cycle if its label allows it.

What happens if you wash a leather jacket?

Most jackets survive one wash but come out stiffer, with a rougher feel, possible shrinkage and uneven colour between panels. Drying it slowly, flexing it as it dries and conditioning it afterwards can recover much of the softness.

Can you hand wash a leather jacket?

Not by soaking it. Hand washing in a tub soaks the leather the same way a machine does. Clean the surface with a barely damp cloth and a leather cleaner instead.

Can you dry clean a leather jacket?

Yes, but use a cleaner who specialises in leather. Ordinary dry cleaning without leather-specific oils and finishes can strip colour and leave the leather stiff.

Can you put a leather jacket in the dryer?

No. Heat on wet leather is the most common cause of shrinkage and cracking. Always dry leather at room temperature on a wide hanger.

How do you get wrinkles out of a leather jacket?

Hang it on a wide hanger for a day or two first. If creases remain, iron smooth leather on a low setting with the steam off, through a thin cotton cloth, keeping the iron moving.

Sources checked October 2026: Leather Dictionary (washing and dry cleaning leather; pre-shrunk leather and shrinkage temperatures); SATRA bulletin on determining leather shrinkage temperature (March 2015); Laundry & Cleaning News, “Cleaning leather and suede: essential knowledge” (June 2024); FTC Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR 423 and Appendix A, and Federal Register notice of 6 February 1997 on the rule’s scope; ISO 3758:2023 scope and GINETEX care-symbol guide; Leather International on washable leathers (2004); Drycleaning & Laundry Institute consumer guide “Leather & Suede” and “Inspecting leathers at the counter” (2020); Threads magazine Q&A on removing creases from leather (December 2019); Cleanipedia on cleaning faux leather (updated September 2024); Mitchell Faux Leathers on hydrolysis testing (2017); Tanner Bates on leather drying times (September 2024); Mortels Sheepskin Factory product care; Lakeland Leather sheepskin jacket care.