In the course of a school year, the school satchel or backpack is heavily used. Therefore, use the holidays to clean school satchels and backpacks.
A good satchel usually lasts for several years if it receives the right care. Correctly read, you also have to clean a satchel from time to time so that it stays beautiful and, above all, continues to serve well. Because during a school year he is not only confronted with clean books and notebooks, but also with dirt and dust inside, as well as rain and possibly snow outside. There are also leaked bottles, the musty smell of forgotten sandwiches and ink stains. But how do you get a satchel clean again without damaging or even destroying it?
Clean school satchels and backpacks: methods
First thought – washing machine or dishwasher?
The washing machine is certainly a suitable helper in the household to get dirty laundry clean as quickly as possible. However, the washing machine and the dishwasher are less suitable to clean school satchels and backpacks. Both devices run too hot even with mild cleaning cycles and could destroy the structure of the school folder. In the worst case, the satchel bleaches due to the mostly aggressive cleaning agents and the result is a howling child because the dinosaur or unicorn motif is no longer recognizable on the satchel.
Therefore: Neither the washing machine nor the dishwasher are suitable to clean school satchels and backpacks — you are better to clean by hand!
A look at the material
While the school bag used to be made of leather , you rarely see it nowadays. Polyester models are generally much lighter and therefore a welcome alternative for schoolchildren. Unfortunately, they have one disadvantage: cleaning is a little more complex.
Nevertheless, there are still students who prefer a leather backpack. Maybe just because they think it’s chic. The fact is that there is basically no easy-care version of the satchel.
Clean by hand – step by step
Depending on the material, cleaning is also a little different. First of all, however, it is important to properly prepare the satchel for the cleaning action:
- The satchel is first completely emptied. Often there are still individual ink cartridges or other forgotten things.
- Don’t forget the smallest compartments, which can often contain coins or other small things.
- Then grab a brush with coarse bristles and treat the satchel both inside and outside. This way, the coarse dirt can be easily removed.
- The satchel is now emptied again over the trash can to remove crumbs and residual dirt.
From this point on, the material of the school bag plays a role. Leather bags are cleaned differently than those made of polyester.
Pretreatment for stubborn stains
A satchel usually shows different stains at the end of a school year . Some are easier to remove, others have to use a nail brush. It is important to use a suitable cleaning agent and to remove the stains as gently as possible. Especially with leather, the use of too much water is rather harmful for the satchel.
Pretreatment with gall soap
A pretreatment with gall soap is recommended for most stains. It is applied to the moistened stain and worked in with a brush. After about ten minutes, the area is rinsed with water. As an alternative, a so-called dirt eraser is recommended, especially if the satchel is made of leather.
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