Magic eraser (also known as melamine foam) is an excellent cleaner, without any doubt. It can easily clean really hard and persistent stains from different surfaces like walls or dishes. But can you use a magic eraser on leather?
Using a magic eraser for cleaning or removing stains from leather is not recommended. Magic eraser is as abrasive as fine sandpaper. It can not differentiate between the stain and the surface of the stain. Also, it is a little bit harsh of a cleaning solution for leather.
In the remainder of this article, I’ll discuss more magic erasers, what happens if you use them on leather. Also, I will discuss the proper way of cleaning leather and removing persistent stains without using the abrasive magic eraser from Mr. clean.
What is a Magic Eraser?
Magic Eraser is actually a foam composed of a melamine-based chemical compound named Melamine-Formaldehyde-Sodium bisulfite copolymer.
The main ingredient of a magic eraser is melamine. It is the same organic compound that is used to make your dinner set.
Melamine foam was previously used as insulation of temperature and sound. It was used for decades.
In 2004, Procter & Gamble renovated this melamine foam as Mr. Clean magic eraser due to its cleaning abilities and abrasive nature.
From then, magic erasers are used on different staffs to remove stubborn stains on them. Each magic eraser cost around 1.18 dollars.
However, the lifespan of a magic eraser is low. You can only use them once. This makes magic erasers more expensive than other cleaners.
According to cNet, you can use generic melamine foam as a magic cleaner by mixing water borax powder and baking soda with it. This will cost you only a few cents for each pop instead of a dollar.
How Does Magic Erasers Work?
Unlike the name suggests, there is actually no magic behind the working procedure of a magic eraser.
The secret behind the magic of the magic eraser is that it is just abrasive in nature. It’s as abrasive as any fine sandpaper would be.
When you clean any staff with a typical cleaner other than a magic eraser, the cleaner actually dissolves the dirt and stains when applied.
But Magic erasers do not work like that. When you are cleaning any hard stain on any surface, you are not actually dissolving the stain like the other cleaners would do. Instead, the magic eraser just exfoliates the stain.
That’s why I don’t recommend it to use on any leather-made products.
Will Magic Eraser Ruin Leather?
Using or cleaning any leather product gently with a magic eraser might not totally ruin leather, but there are some risks to it.
If you try to clean a leather product like leather seats, you can spray some water on the leather and gently rub it with Mr. Clean’s magic eraser. You will notice that some of the dirt is coming off on the eraser.
However, some stains will remain within the texture of the leather. So, when you apply more force to reach those remaining dirt or stains, you will end up harming the surface of the leather because of the abrasive nature of magic cleaner.
In simple words, if your leather is textured, you will not be able to pull off all the grimes from your leather with the magic eraser, and to remove them, you might start rubbing the leather aggressively, which might ruin the leather surface.
So, What’s the Best Way of Cleaning Leather?
For somebody who takes care of his leather products properly and cleans them at least twice every month, it would be better to clean leather with any typical cleaner like griot’s garage interior cleaner (Amazon Link). It is very gentle and safe on leather.
You can just spray some of this on a microfiber cloth and pick up any dirt and grime settled on leather.
They don’t need any harsh cleaner if you clean leather products routinely once every two weeks or twice every month.
But if you neglect your leather products, have not cleaned them for a while, and notice pretty gunky buildup on them, you can use something like Lexol (Amazon link), a balanced pH product, and it works well for cleaning any leather material.Â
If the stain buildup is very persistent, then you can use a brush like the one from chemical guys, which I have found on amazon. It costs less than ten bucks. Check it out on Amazon here.
With the help of this brush, you can remove any grease or grime from leather that remains within the texture and any other places which is usually difficult to reach very easily.
Things you Can Clean with Magic Erasers:
You can confidently clean the following things with a magic eraser:
- Laptop or mobile phone screen and case
- Jewelry
- Walls
- Stains on the Shower Curtains
- Hard stains from Coffee cups and dishes
- Permanent marker ink from hard plastic surfaces
- Scuff marks from kick plates by the door entry etc.
What Can you not Use Magic Erasers on?
You can not use magic erasers on the following things:
- Premium leather products
- Delicate painted surfaces
- Stainless Steel
- Non-Stick Pans
- Your Car
Final Thoughts:
There you go! You can not use the magic eraser on leather. Magic erasers can be too harsh for leather because of their abrasive nature, and you might end up damaging the surface of leather while cleaning it.
That’s why I don’t recommend anyone to use magic erasers on leather. I hope you found this article helpful.
Thanks for reading!
