How To Clean & Protect Your Cork Purse
Our Cork Purses
Laflore’s vegan purses and cork material accessories are made from 100% all natural cork. Our cork material is organic, vegan, sustainable, and non-toxic. It’s also 100% waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about applying waterproof treatments like you would with traditional animal leather. Additionally, cork is naturally antimicrobial, which helps keep germs away from your handbags even without cleaning.
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You can expect cork leather to naturally change and age over time, but not like other types of leather. You won’t notice any cracking or peeling because our cork leather is extremely durable. Instead, your cork handbag may slightly change colors over time. The colors can become lighter in certain areas, especially in high-use areas like the straps.
Cork Cleaning Process
Cleaning your cork purse and cork accessories is easy! Follow the instructions below on how to clean your cork purse with materials you already have at home as well as how to moisturize and protect your cork handbag with Laflore's line of cork care and protection products.
For General Cleaning →
Dampen a reusable soft cloth with warm water and a couple drops of saddle soap. Saddle soap is ideal, but any regular soap you have at home will do just fine. Once you have a damp cloth with soap ready, gently scrub your purse in small circles all over, paying special attention to any areas that are visibly dirty.
All Laflore products are made of waterproof cork material, but too much water will make the cork material unable to absorb the leather cream properly. It’s best to use a conservative amount of water and soap (ideally saddle soap). Make sure to dry your bag with a clean cloth instead of rinsing it, just like regular leather. If there is any residual moisture after cleaning, allow your cork purse to completely air dry and don’t place it close to any sources of heat such as hair dryers or electric heaters.
You can also use baby wipes that are biodegradable and free of harsh chemicals to clean your cork purse. Look for baby wipes that contain at least 99% water and a mild cleaning agent.
For Stains →
Prevention is the name of the game when it comes to stains. Whenever you spill something on your cork fabric products, your best bet is to wipe up any spills promptly so they don’t have time to set in.
If possible, clean your purse right away with soap and warm water. If that’s not an option, give your bag a good deep clean when you get home. Instead of using a soft cloth like you would use for general cleaning, use a soft bristled brush to massage out the stain with warm water and soap. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times for stubborn stains. You can use any soft bristled brush you have at home, such as extra toothbrushes or extra makeup brushes.
Care For & Protect Your Cork Bag
Your cork handbag from Laflore will last for years to come without cracking, splitting, peeling, or warping if you take care of it properly. You can help keep your purse looking new by following a few simple maintenance care routines.
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Apply Cork Moisturizer
Applying a moisturizing agent is essential for prolonging the lifespan of your cork purse. That's why we've created a special cork conditioner to moisturize and preserve the supple feel of any Laflore handbag.
As a general rule of thumb, you should moisturize a cork skin (or "cork leather") bag every 3 to 4 months, or whenever needed. If you use your purse every day, you’ll need to moisturize it more often. If it’s been dry and hot outside, you’ll need to apply cork cream more often to keep it moisturized. On other types of leather, you would apply a leather cream to protect it from cracking and to add waterproof qualities. While the cork leather used for Laflore handbags is naturally water resistant, cork cream will moisturize the bag to make it more supple and helps the bag last longer in good condition.
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Trim Bag Straps
With convertible backpack purses, it’s important to take special care of the straps. The straps on your purses from Laflore come with natural cotton ends that extend past the sides of the straps. Many people love this look and feel it adds to the charm of their bag. However, over time, the strings on the bag straps can fray or become too long.
To trim the extra strings on your bag straps, simply take some scissors and trim the sides of the straps. Avoid pulling or tugging on the strings while doing this.
After you’ve trimmed the strings, take some clear nail polish and coat the sides of the straps in a thin layer of polish. This helps protect the straps from wear and tear.
If you notice the nail polish has worn off over time, you can apply another thin coat.
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Apply Coloring Cream
If you’ve noticed any areas of your purse that have become lighter with wear and tear, you can apply our cork coloring cream. We recommend applying the recoloring agent once in a while to preserve the color of your purse and to enhance the overall look of the bag. For our black convertible handbags, you can also use a black shoe polish, but make sure to let it dry for 24 hours afterwards. After it’s dry, wipe your bobobark or bebebark with a clean dry cloth before wearing it again to make sure it’s free of any leftover residue.
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Store Your Purse Upright
After a long day, it can be tempting to throw your purse by the door and forget about it. However, it’s important to always store your bobobark upright with the clamshell clasp closed. The good news is that it only takes a second to make sure your bobobark is sitting upright and closed. This will help preserve the integrity and shape of your purse over time.
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Stick to a Maintenance Schedule
Ensure you clean and moisturize your cork purse regularly to keep it supple and free of stains. If you use your cork handbag every day, we recommend cleaning your handbag around twice per month. Clean your cork purse more frequently if it becomes visibly dirty.
It’s extremely important to keep the cork material moisturized, especially after cleaning it. So if you’ve noticed your bobobark is drying out, apply more moisturizing cork conditioner.
We recommend always cleaning your cork handbag with soap and warm water after spilling something on it, even if it seems like you were able to clean up the mess with a dry cloth or baby wipe. This will help keep stains at bay and preserve the color of your bag.
Cork Care FAQs
Q: Can you wash a cork purse in a washing machine?
A: We don’t recommend washing your cork purse in a washing machine. Although our cork purses are 100% waterproof, the tumbling motion of the washing machine can be rough on your handbag.
Q: Can cork products be dry cleaned?
A: No. Due to the harsh chemicals used when dry cleaning, we don’t recommend dry cleaning your cork products. Any stains can almost always be removed with warm water, soap, and a soft-bristled brush.
Q: Can cork be immersed in water/get wet?
A: It’s not recommended to completely immerse our cork material products in water. It can damage the brass fittings and stitching. There’s usually no need to immerse cork in water since most stains can be removed with a damp cloth and soap.
Q: What do I do if I have a stain that won’t come out?
A: Use a soft brush to massage the stain with warm water and saddle soap for at least 5 minutes. Repeat this process a few times. Give your cork handbag time to dry, and then repeat the process. Cork is stain resistant, but permanent stains such as bleach stains may be difficult to remove.
Q: Can I blow dry cork fabric?
A: No, always wipe your cork products dry with a clean cloth and allow cork fabric to air dry.
Q: Is vinegar safe to use to clean cork?
A: Vinegar is technically safe to use to clean cork, but we only recommend using soap and water to clean our products.
If you have any further questions on cleaning your cork purse, please contact us. We’d love to hear from you.