Using Woolite To Clean Automotive Leather

Leyland

Leyland

I'll bet I can wax that.
Not me! I leave the Dawn in the kitchen and the Woolite in the laundy room. Give me a cleaner that was designed to clean automotive leather.

Why do people use Woolite when there are so many nice leather cleaners out there?
 
I don't know why they do it.

Personally, it's Z-9 and Z-10 for me. I won't use anything else.
 
Leyland said:
Not me! I leave the Dawn in the kitchen and the Woolite in the laundy room. Give me a cleaner that was designed to clean automotive leather.

Why do people use Woolite when there are so many nice leather cleaners out there?
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Good question.
Here's my answers.

1. It was recommended by a very respected member of anothe detailing site.
Since it is a fairly mild soap, it made sense.

2. It is recommended for cleaning the California Car Duster so it evidently doesn't remove the oil from the CCD and isn't likely to remove the oil from the leather.

3. The leather in my wife's 2000 Pontiac GTP, (which is a daily driver), still looks like new. It must not have been too hard on the leather given the high quality stuff that comes in the Pontiac.

Recently I have purchased 4 Star Leather Cleaner because all of you people bad mouthing the Woolite solution got me worried. I haven't started using it just yet and really don't think I would have any reservations about continuing to use the Woolite solution based on my experience for the past 4 years. The first year I used Eagle One.

Just as an aside. How do you know what's in those leather cleaners that you are trusting? The fact that a manufacturer tells you it is the greatest thing you could use for your leather doesn't make it the truth. I think you have to base your opinion on actual use and if it has worked for you/me, maybe it isn't all bad.

Another aside. Isn't Zaino the company that suggests cleaning your paint with the Dawn from your kitchen prior to using their products?

So who is to say what is right? If you read Ron Ketchum's or Bud Abraham's information we are all foolish for using any Boutique product and should use only those supplied by their respective companies. Why? Because they said so.

Mike Phillips used to post a saying, (made by someone else), that pretty much sums up detailing products for me. "Find something you like and use it often."

Charles
 
Yeah I never got this one either. It's big on Autopia but I think it's foolish. Personally I use Lexol Leather Cleaner and really like it.
 
People, particularly those who detail more frequently, use Woolite because of the cost it saves. Leather cleaner is simply a very mild soap, which is what diluted Woolite is, too.
 
What can I say? It works well on mildly dirty leather with no side effects. Someone needs to ( has already?) reverse engineer the 6:1 water:Woolite solution and slap their label on it as an official leather cleaner.
 
I use it because:

1. It works. I clean leather and anything else in the interior with it. Never had any adverse reactions. It's rare that I use anything else to clean interior leather, vinyl, rubber, plastic.
2. It's cheap. By time I dillute it and pick it up at Sams Club it cost me about 40 cent a 32 bottle.

I started using it about 6 months ago based on recommendations here. I've used it on hundreds of vehicles and just love it. I've used a number of other cleaners that work at best as good as Woolite. Yet to use one that worked better or that I'd use instead of Woolite even if price wasn't an issue.
 
FWIW, (pretty close to nothing:)), I did a search on google and came up with recommendations for using Woolite to clean leather from quite a few different sources. Not the recommendations of people posting on a detailing message board, but the comments on a variety of leather products.
It ranged from automotive, shoes, jackets, furniture, and even handball gloves.
There were numerous references to using Woolite & water from lots of message boards. Honda, Lexus, BMW, several that were not brand specific such as Edmunds. Those I ignored since most of those people probably don't know anymore about it than we do. :)

Anyway, I now have a dedicated leather cleaner, but don't have any regrets from having used the Woolite & water for years.

Charles
 
because it works. i ran out of lexol and just used woolite prior to MANY positive feedback post. it worked.

it was easier to just go to town on the whole section of my car and just clean EVERYTHING. then just follow with their respected conditioner/dressing.

u cant just be narrowminded until it says "for leather cleaning". u gotta experiment and see what results u get. with this u get the same results. in some cases, even better.
 
joyriide1113 said:
because it works. i ran out of lexol and just used woolite prior to MANY positive feedback post. it worked.

it was easier to just go to town on the whole section of my car and just clean EVERYTHING. then just follow with their respected conditioner/dressing.

u cant just be narrowminded until it says "for leather cleaning". u gotta experiment and see what results u get. with this u get the same results. in some cases, even better.
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Joride1113 i used the woolite diluted with water with good results, the only reserve's i have is using water on leather. do you think if when used long term it may cause problems. i don't know i am only asking.
 
well u're not supposed to let it dwell into the leather or absorb, so as long as u wipe the leather dry, as u should with anything as everything is made of water, u should have no different results.
 
joyriide1113 said:
well u're not supposed to let it dwell into the leather or absorb, so as long as u wipe the leather dry, as u should with anything as everything is made of water, u should have no different results.
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although you don't let it dwell into leather and whatever application used we still caress the woolite/water mix into the leather and although most contain water this solutions is 50% water and is absorbed by the leather now that the leather is wet will the leather be able to absorb enough of the conditioner to properly condition.
 
Sherman8r44 said:
People, particularly those who detail more frequently, use Woolite because of the cost it saves. Leather cleaner is simply a very mild soap, which is what diluted Woolite is, too.
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Partly true Sherman , I also use it because of the results . Woolite and water with 0000 Steel Wool or even a scrub brush work the best for me.

And I'm talking about door panels , dashes , consoles and leather . I'm mobile and time is money so I need siomething that works good and is cost effective.

I've used W & W for 2 yrs and have had no side effects on clients or personal cars..
 
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