I have this fabulous, sexy leather strap-on harness. Or, I should say, my girlfriend has it. I have orgasms. Sometimes it stays pretty clean and we can, as recommended by Good Vibrations and its packaging, just wipe it down with a damp cloth. However, sometimes it gets some pretty heavy contact and the damp-cloth method is just not cutting it. Plus, germs!
Since we don’t want to get the leather too wet due to concerns about stretching and the like, our options seem to be leather cleaner and leather oil. Neither of which disinfect, methinks, nor do they feel especially safe to rub all around my ladyparts. Which, of course, is the fun.
Also, it has nice rivets and snaps to hold the ring that holds the dildo in place. Little crevices of metal on leather. It’s driving me so nuts about how hard/weird it is to clean that it’s affecting the frequency that we use it! Also it’s bothering me that I can’t find this answer anywhere. Are there seriously no dykes on the internet who are meticulous about cleaning their things? ‘Tis a puzzlement.
It’s a shame I didn’t have a camera filming me as I skipped into a leather daddy shop in Chelsea in my green Lilly puffer vest with Phish blaring out of the earbuds I’d wrapped around my neck while I chatted up the checkout guy to get the answer to your question, because it was really something else again. Despite my totally inappropriate getup, we had a lovely and highly informative discussion that yielded the following suggestions and tips:
(1) For day-to-day cleaning, use baby wipes. The low-moisture content will keep the leather from getting water damage, but will provide just enough by way of suds to clean off any fluids left behind after a quality romp.
(2) For maintenance, use saddle soap and/or mink oil. The suggestion here is to use saddle soap and/or mink oil before you store it, which means those products will have time to set into the leather so that they won’t end up on your parts.
(3) For deep cleaning, take the items to the dry cleaner. Yes really. Quoth the fellow with whom I spoke, “They’ve seen everything, they’re used to it.”
Now then, a quick note about that last statement: it’s true that dry cleaners have likely seen most everything. But still remember to be respectful of them and their place of business and wipe off any egregious stains before you bring the harness in for cleaning.