The best car leather cleaner is an important item to have as part of your cleaning arsenal. However, finding one that can both clean and extend the lifespan of your car's interior can be tricky.
This is because, generally speaking, a top leather cleaner is designed to moisturise and nourish the material in order to help it maintain its unique shine and supple texture.
This separates leather cleaners from some of the best car upholstery cleaners, for example, as they contain ingredients like beeswax and vitamin E to waterproof and hydrate to help the leather last longer.
Neglecting your leather interior tends to result in the material drying out, cracking, and often looking older than it actually is.
Therefore, owning a good leather cleaner is incredibly important for vehicle maintenance, and should be considered one of the best car cleaning products around, providing you find the right one.
So, with all this in mind, we've decided to put together a list of our top picks based on price, reviews, ingredients, and any other features which we feel make these products worth considering.
Whether you're searching for something sprayable, like this Weiman formula, or you're after something for an even quicker clean, like Meguiar's Gold Class Wipes, then we've got you covered right here. Let's get into it...
Best car leather cleaner
- Leather Honey Leather Cleaner
- Weiman Leather Cleaner and Conditioner
- Meguiar's Gold Class Wipes
- Armor All Leather Care
- Chemical Guys Leather Cleaner and Conditioner
click to enlarge1. Leather Honey Leather Cleaner
Best car leather cleaner
We're kicking things off with this pre-mixed leather cleaner, which Leather Honey boasts, differentiates itself from harsher cleaning products as it contains non-toxic, natural ingredients that can be used on leather, vinyl, faux leather, plastic, and rubber.
The formula is described by Leather Honey as easy-to-apply and quick and effective at removing dirt, oil, tough stains, and grime from car seats, interiors, plus other leather items like sneakers and handbags.
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Once applied, you should find it provides up to six months of protection as it soaks into the pores of the material, then creates a water-repellent
layer to prolong the life of your interior.
Ultimately, if you're looking for something something that's free from chemicals, then we'd recommend checking out Leather Honey's Leather Cleaner.
click to enlarge2. Weiman Leather Cleaner and Conditioner
Best car leather cleaner spray
Cleaning the interior of your car can be quite time-consuming, but opting for a spray-on solution should help speed up the process thanks to the ease with which it can be applied.
This Weiman Leather Cleaner and Conditioner, in particular, stands out to us as one of the best sprays as it's designed to deliver both a comprehensive clean whilst also restoring some of the shine to your leather interior.
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Moreover, the formula contains UVX-15 sunscreen to protect against sun damage like fading, cracking, and the general drying out of leather if exposed to intense heat.
Each pack contains two 12 fl oz. bottles as well which, for its price, we feel is great value for money.
click to enlarge3. Meguiar's Gold Class Wipes
Best car leather cleaner wipes
To really speed up the cleaning process though, opting for a pack of wipes is definitely one way to save time as it removes steps like buffing out the cleaning solution to keep things quick and simple.
Wipes are perhaps at their best when removing significant dirt or debris from any kind of material before it starts setting in.
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So, if you're looking to give wipes a try, we'd recommend checking out Meguiar's Gold Class Wipes which contain aloe-enriched moisturisers to clean, condition, and protect your leather in one easy step.
Meguiar's also boasts its wipes are non-greasy and non-whitening, and adds UV protection to your leather to help fight aging, cracking, and drying out for healthier, long-lasting leather.
click to enlarge4. Armor All Leather Care
Best budget car leather cleaner
If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive leather cleaner, then Armor All's Leather Care spray-on formula might be your answer.
Its fairly low price tag is, in our opinion, pretty impressive considering you get 16 fl oz. per bottle. This should be more than enough to maintain your car's leather interior through several rounds of cleaning.
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The formula itself contains beeswax to help nourish the material and waterproof it to help it stay silky and clean for longer, even if drinks are spilled or wet mud is brought in from outside.
It also comes in a spray-application bottle which should make applying just the right amount of the formula quick and easy, thus saving you time to work on your car's exterior or simply relax after ticking this job off your to-do list.
click to enlarge5. Chemical Guys Leather Cleaner & Conditioner
Best car leather cleaner and conditioner
We're rounding things off with this cleaning and conditioning combo from Chemical Guys which, if you're looking to clean and nourish your leather interior at the same time, could be worth considering.
The formula is pH balanced, colourless, and odourless, so should be suitable to use on any shade of leather inside your vehicle.
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Interestingly, one of the ingredients in the cleaner and conditioner is vitamin E which is often used in dermatology and, according to the NHS, is linked to maintaining healthy skin.
Chemical Guys argue treating leather is like treating your skin, so providing it with the nutrients to stay nourished and hydrated should help it stay shiny and supple for longer.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Finding the best leather cleaner can often lead to a ton of questions. Don't worry though because we've answered some of the most common queries right here.
How often should you clean car leather?
This will depend on how regularly you drive your car and how many passengers you typically have with you on each journey as the more full your vehicle is, the more dirt will likely get brought in.
Generally speaking, you should find you need to clean your leather interior once every few months.
We'd recommend checking out our list of the best car vacuums to start off with to remove any loose dirt before cleaning and conditioning the leather to restore moisture.
To minimise how often you need to clean the leather in your car, we'd advise cleaning any significant debris as soon as possible to avoid it digging into the leather and causing more damage.
This may include dried dirt, for example, which you can simply use a dustpan and brush to remove before it's stepped on and left to stain your leather interior.
Do you need to use a separate cleaner and conditioner for car leather?
Typically speaking, leather cleaners and conditioners will come separately; however, you can sometimes find them in one package.
As touched on above, we believe it's important to own both or something that does the two jobs in one as conditioning leather helps to reinvigorate the material with the necessary natural oils and, in turn, refresh its appearance.
Be wary that you can overdo it with the conditioner as applying too much can prevent the leather from breathing and may even result in rot forming.
So, our main advice would be to only condition the material when you notice the leather starting to dry out.
Can you use household leather cleaning products on car leather?
Generally speaking, most leather cleaning products should be safe to use on the interior of your car. Anything approved for automotive use especially should be perfectly okay for the job.
If you're unsure, you can always patch-test the product.
Simply apply a small amount of the leather cleaner to an unnoticeable area. If it cleans the material without staining, then it will likely be safe to use to clean your car's interior.