7 Tips to Maintain and Clean Your Travel Wallet
A travel wallet is essential for travellers. It's where you keep your passport, tickets, and other documents needed for your journey. As much as a travel wallet is important, it's also prone to wear and tear the more you use it. Knowing how to clean and maintain your wallet will keep it functional for years.
Follow these tips for caring for your travel wallet:
Take Note of the Material
Travel wallets are made with different materials, such as leather, fabric, and synthetic materials. A leather wallet needs gentle cleaning and conditioning to keep its look. Fabric wallets are washable by hand or machine and can be spot-cleaned. Wallets made of synthetic materials only need mild soap and water to clean them.
Have a Regular Cleaning Schedule
Set a schedule for cleaning your travel wallet. You can dust it weekly using a dry, soft cloth to remove debris and dust. You can also wipe it monthly with a slightly damp cloth dipped in mild soap. Depending on how often you use it, deep clean your travel wallet every few months.
Cleaning Leather Travel Wallets
Leather wallets need special care to keep them shiny and new. Get your wallet looking all sleek with these care tips:
- Dust Off: Use a dry cloth or a soft brush to wipe dust from the wallet's surface.
- Spot Clean: Gently rub a damp cloth with mild soap or a leather cleaner on spots that need to be cleaned. Don't soak the leather in the water.
- Condition the Leather: After cleaning your wallet, use a leather conditioner. You can apply it every three to six months for preventive maintenance or when you see visible cracks.
- Air Dry: Let your wallet dry through air exposure after cleaning it. Excess moisture may allow moulds to grow on the leather.
Clean leather wallets are pleasing to the eye. Apply the same process to your leather bags, accessories, and even your leather purse.
Cleaning Fabric and Synthetic Travel Wallets
It's pretty simple to clean fabric wallets, but you need to use the proper methods to minimise damage to the fabric. This is how to do it:
- Empty the wallet of all its contents—money, receipts, cards, tickets, and other items.
- Shake the wallet gently to remove accumulated debris.
- Mix warm water with mild detergent for a gentle cleaning solution. Don't use harsh chemicals to avoid damaging the fabric.
- Test the solution on a small area of the wallet.
- If the solution works, begin spot-cleaning the soiled or stained areas in a circular motion.
- Clean the wallet thoroughly. Toss a clean cloth in your cleaning solution and wipe the wallet's interiors and exteriors.
- Dampen another clean cloth in water with zero detergent and use it to wipe the wallet. This removes all soap residue. Remove all detergent if you don't want to end up with a stiff fabric travel wallet.
- Blot the wallet's excess moisture with a towel.
- Leave the wallet to dry in the air. Place in an area away from the direct sunlight with proper ventilation.
- Put the wallet in a bag with activated charcoal or baking soda if lingering odours remain.
Cleaning synthetic wallets follows the same procedure as cleaning fabric ones. The only difference is if the stain can't be removed in the initial spot cleaning, you must use a cleaner formulated for synthetic materials.
Maintain the Interior
Remove crumbs and dust from fabric wallets with a lint roller. Ensure every corner of the wallet's interior is dry before returning the items.
Store and Protect Your Wallet
It's common to store almost any receipt or other loose items in your travel wallets. Pro tip: Avoid overstuffing your wallet.
Get rid of every item that's weighing down your wallet. Keep the essentials—your cards, IDs, passport, and cash.
When you're not traveling, store your wallet inside a dust bag to keep it looking nice. If you use the wallet again after a long time, brush it well, even if it wasn't too exposed when you stored it.
Dealing with Wear and Tear
Fix any loose threads in the seams of your wallet with a needle and thread. Dab a leather protector to clean a leather bag and make it look brand new. Don't dab rubbing alcohol, baby wipes, or olive oil on your leather bag or wallet to preserve its quality. Make sure to do regular inspections to fix any damages to the wallet.
Get a New Travel Wallet from Online Stores
Cleaning and maintaining your travel wallet is crucial for your future travels. You don't have to replace wallets whenever you go abroad for downtime. Proper maintenance preserves the material of your wallet so you can use it for a long time.
If you need a travel wallet for passport and tickets, online retailers such as Zoomlite have a wide selection. View and pick different designs, sizes, and materials that suit your taste. Some even sell passport sleeves with compartments for your cards and cash for easy access.
