This is why you can't have nice things...
November 3, 2010 11:36 AM   Subscribe

I spilled an entire bottle of (clear) cough syrup into the bottom of my leather bag. How can I limit/ fix the damage?

I had a bottle of clear, sugar-free robitussin in my bag which spilled, seeping through both the fabric liner and the leather of the bottom of the bag. The bottle was inside a plastic shopping bag, and had been closed, but I guess jumbling around in my purse knocked it open, and at least some of it managed to escape the plastic bag it was in. I don't know when it happened, it probably would have been sometime between 2-4 hours ago.

I took everything out, and rinsed the lining as best I could, but the leather on the bag itself has turned a bit greenish on a 2" x 4" area near the bottom. This is similar to what happens if, say, it accidently gets a few raindrops on it, but those usually dry fine and the bag looks fine after. I suspect cough syrup might not dry as nicely. Unfortunately, the green is pretty noticeable, because the leather itself is pretty light orangeish in color.

The bag is a really nice leather Cole Haan bag that I visited in the store for months and saved up for and bought as a present to myself. I really like this purse, and it was pretty pricey, so any advice for how to deal with this (is it okay to rinse the leather itself?) or if this is something a professional could fix (who do you even go to for leather cleaning?), would be amazingly helpful. Also, is this time sensitive? Would it be better to drop it somewhere while the cough syrup is still wet, or should I wait and see if it dries okay?

Any specific advice as to potential places to go in the Boston area would be helpful, but any ideas in general would be very appreciated, too!
posted by CharlieSue to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (1 answer total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
How about calling a cobbler/shoe repair shop? My local shop has repaired my purses, so their services aren't necessarily limited to shoes. They might be able to give you some advice, or you could drop off the purse and let them clean it for you.
posted by lucysparrow at 12:44 PM on November 3, 2010


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