How to Clean a Shearling Jacket: The Complete Care Guide

Cleaning a shearling jacket properly is simpler than most owners fear, and the payoff is a garment that lasts decades.

For routine care: brush both the suede exterior and wool interior with soft-bristle brushes after wearing to prevent buildup. For stains: cornstarch absorbs grease and oil (leave it overnight), while a barely-damp cloth with diluted mild detergent handles dirt marks. Always air dry away from any heat source—patience here prevents permanent damage. Condition the suede once per season to maintain suppleness.

For significant stains, persistent odors, or annual shearling maintenance, a professional cleaner specializing in leather and shearling is worth the investment.

That's the foundation. What follows is everything else you need to know to care for your jacket with confidence, from understanding why these methods work to handling specific situations as they arise.

Key Takeaways

• Gentle intervention is paramount: Shearling responds best to minimal, careful treatment—overcleaning causes more damage than minor marks.

• Dual-material care: Genuine shearling is one continuous piece (wool interior, suede exterior), requiring techniques that address both materials' opposite needs.

• Heat is irreversible damage: Never use hair dryers, radiators, or direct sunlight. Collagen proteins in leather begin denaturing around 150°F.

• Cornstarch for grease: Apply generously, wait 4–8 hours (overnight for heavy stains), then brush away. The powder draws oil out of suede fibers.

• Storage conditions matter: Breathable garment bags (never plastic), 50–60°F, 45–55% relative humidity. Cedar blocks deter pests.

• Professional cleaning every 1–2 years: Even with excellent home maintenance, professional attention preserves structure in ways home methods cannot.

• Lanolin is your ally: The natural wool substance provides mild antibacterial properties, helping shearling resist odor better than synthetics.

Before You Begin: Understanding Your Shearling Jacket

What Makes Shearling Different

Before reaching for any cleaning supplies, check your jacket's care label. Manufacturer-specific instructions take precedence—different tanneries and finishing processes affect how a particular hide responds to cleaning agents.

Genuine shearling is one continuous material: the wool interior is the natural fleece of the sheep's skin, the suede exterior is the leather side of that same hide. This isn't wool attached to leather. It's a single piece. You can identify genuine shearling by natural variation in wool density, a supple (never plasticky) feel to the leather, and wool fibers rooted directly into the hide rather than glued.

This dual nature explains why shearling demands specialized care. The wool side tolerates gentle moisture but suffers under heat. The suede side needs its natural oils maintained but can water-stain permanently if saturated. You're managing two materials with opposite needs—precisely why generic leather advice or wool advice falls short.

This guide addresses genuine shearling exclusively. Synthetic alternatives require entirely different protocols.

For focused guidance on the leather side, see our resource on caring for shearling leather.

Essential Tools and Supplies

Gather everything before you start. Interrupting the process to hunt for supplies can compromise your results.

Tools:

 

Safe Cleaning Agents:

 

What to Avoid:

Harsh chemicals—bleach, acetone, ammonia—will damage shearling irreparably. So will alcohol-based cleaners, excessive water, and any heat source: hair dryers, radiators, direct sunlight. The governing principle is restraint. Shearling responds best to gentle, minimal intervention. A small mark you can live with beats damage from overcleaning every time.

Preparing Your Jacket

Proper preparation prevents accidents and ensures cleaning agents work as intended.

1. Lay the jacket flat on a clean, dry surface.

2. Empty every pocket.

3. Take it outside and shake gently to release loose debris.

4. Brush the suede exterior in one direction with your suede brush.

5. Brush the wool interior with your soft brush to lift trapped particles.

6. Spot-test any cleaning solution on a hidden area—inside hem or under the collar.

The spot test isn't optional. Watch for three responses: color change (darkening or lightening), texture change (stiffening or softening), and drying behavior (does the area return to normal within thirty minutes?). Any of these signals that the solution is too aggressive for your particular hide. Wait ten full minutes before judging.

With preparation complete, you're ready to address specific cleaning needs.

Step-by-Step Cleaning Techniques

Treating Stains and Spills

The window for easy stain removal is measured in minutes. Fresh marks yield to simple treatment; set-in stains often require professional intervention. Keep your supplies accessible during wearing season.

Water Stains:

1. Blot immediately with a clean microfiber cloth. Never rub—rubbing spreads moisture and abrades fibers.

2. Let the jacket air dry completely, away from heat, then brush gently to restore texture.

3. For water rings that have already formed, dampen the entire panel lightly and allow it to dry evenly.

Suede staining occurs at moisture boundaries, where wet meets dry. Uniform dampness eliminates the edge where minerals deposit and create visible rings. Professional cleaners use this same principle on larger water damage.

Grease and Oil:

1. Don't wipe. Wiping drives the stain deeper. Instead, cover the spot immediately with a generous layer of cornstarch or baking soda.

2. Leave it for four to eight hours—overnight for heavier stains, then brush away the powder.

3. Repeat if residue remains.

The wait time matters. Cornstarch absorbs grease effectively—the fine particles draw oil out of suede fibers rather than spreading it. This absorption process takes time. Brush too early and you simply redistribute the grease.

Dirt and Mud:

1. Let mud dry completely before touching it. Attempting removal while wet spreads the stain.

2. Once dry, brush away the residue.

3. For stubborn marks, use a suede eraser with light pressure, then apply minimal soap solution (one drop mild detergent in one cup water) with a barely-damp cloth. Blot only, never saturate.

Cleaning the Wool Interior

The interior needs less attention than the exterior. Light brushing after each wear and deeper cleaning once or twice per season is typically sufficient.

After Each Wear:

1. Hang the jacket and let the interior air out.

2. Use a soft brush or wide-tooth comb to gently detangle wool fibers, brushing with the natural nap.

Genuine shearling resists odor better than synthetic materials thanks to lanolin—the waxy substance inherent in sheep's wool. Lanolin possesses anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that discourage odor-causing bacteria. Simple airing is often enough. Persistent odors despite regular airing usually indicate absorbed environmental smells (smoke, cooking) or moisture issues worth professional evaluation.

Deeper Cleaning:

1. Mix one teaspoon mild detergent in two cups lukewarm water.

2. Dampen—don't soak—a microfiber cloth with the solution.

3. Blot affected areas gently, working in small sections.

4. Follow immediately with a cloth dampened in plain water to remove soap residue.

5. Air dry completely before wearing or storing.

Never saturate the wool interior. Excess moisture damages the leather backing, causing shrinkage and warping that cannot be reversed.

Machine washing is never appropriate for shearling. The agitation destroys the hide structure; temperature fluctuations cause permanent shrinkage. Spot cleaning remains the only safe approach.

Caring for the Suede Exterior

Suede's distinctive texture comes from raised leather fibers—the nap. These fibers naturally lean in one direction based on how the hide was processed. Brush against that direction and you lift and damage fibers. Brush with it and you maintain the uniform texture that gives quality suede its visual depth.

To find the natural direction: run your hand across the suede. The direction that feels smooth and looks darker is the way the nap lies.

Weekly During Wearing Season:

Brush the entire exterior with short, gentle strokes, always in one direction. Pay particular attention to high-contact zones: cuffs, collar, pocket edges.

Scuffs and Marks:

Work a suede eraser over the mark with light pressure, moving in one direction. Brush afterward to blend the texture.

Stubborn Marks:

1. Prepare a solution of one drop mild detergent in one cup water.

2. Dampen only the corner of a microfiber cloth—barely moist, not wet.

3. Blot the affected area without rubbing. Blot with a dry cloth to absorb moisture.

4. Air dry fully, then brush to restore the nap.

Suede's texture is part of its beauty. Aggressive cleaning flattens the nap and diminishes the jacket's character. A light patina and subtle variation signal a well-loved luxury piece, not defects requiring correction.

Drying and Conditioning

Proper drying is where patience pays dividends. This step is most commonly rushed, and most commonly regretted.

Drying:

1. Hang the jacket on a padded or wide wooden hanger. (Wire hangers distort shoulders.)

2. Place it in a well-ventilated room at room temperature, away from radiators, heating vents, fireplaces, and direct sunlight. (UV exposure causes photochemical degradation to the collagen skin structure, resulting in physical weakening and embrittlement.)

3. Allow 24 to 48 hours for complete drying after any wet cleaning.

Heat damage to shearling is permanent and irreversible. Denaturation temperatures vary within a range of 50–70°C (122–158°F), with significant structural changes occurring rapidly at these thresholds. The hide shrinks, stiffens, and cracks. No conditioning reverses this damage. A single session with a hair dryer, one afternoon draped over a radiator, can require professional restoration or panel replacement. The two-day air-dry window is prevention, not inconvenience.

Conditioning:

1. Apply shearling or suede conditioner once per season, or after any cleaning involving moisture. Test on a hidden area first.

2. Work in hand-sized sections using circular motions with light pressure.

3. Let each section absorb for ten to fifteen minutes before moving on.

The goal is leather that feels supple and slightly waxy—not wet, not greasy. Over-application creates sticky residue that attracts dirt. Under-application leaves the leather vulnerable.

Never:

• Use heat to speed drying

• Tumble dry

• Hang in direct sunlight

• Store while any dampness remains

Light moisture is manageable with proper technique. Thorough saturation warrants professional care.

When to Call a Professional

Even with excellent home maintenance, professional cleaning every one to two years preserves the jacket's structure and appearance in ways home methods cannot match.

Seek Professional Care When:

• Stains persist after your best home treatment

• Large areas are affected—major spills, widespread soiling

• Two or more years have passed since the last professional cleaning

• Structural issues appear: torn seams, damaged closures

• You're preparing the jacket for long-term storage

• Odors persist despite home remediation

• The leather feels stiff or has lost its suppleness

Choosing the Right Cleaner:

Look for specialists in leather, fur, and shearling—not general dry cleaners, whose standard processes can damage these materials. Ask whether they process shearling in-house or send it out; on-site capability means direct quality control.

Storing Your Shearling Jacket

Seasonal Storage

How you put the jacket away determines what you'll find next season. Storage is preservation.

Before Storing:

Clean the jacket first. Even minor residue can set over months or attract pests.

The Right Environment:

Use a breathable garment bag—cotton or canvas, never plastic. Plastic traps moisture and prevents the leather from breathing, creating conditions for mold and mildew.

Store in a cool, dark, dry location. Use a padded or wide wooden hanger to maintain shoulder shape without stress points. Allow space around the jacket; compression crushes wool and creates permanent leather creases.

Cedar blocks placed near (not touching) the garment deter pests. The volatile oils in aromatic cedar—particularly cedrol and cedrene—disrupt the life cycle of clothes moths, especially during the destructive larval stage. Avoid mothballs—the chemical odor absorbs into leather and wool and proves difficult to remove.

Ideal Conditions:

50–60°F with 45–55% relative humidity. Higher humidity invites mold; an RH above 65% is favorable for mold growth on leather, skins, and furs. Lower humidity below 25% can cause embrittlement of hygroscopic materials such as leather. Most home closets won't hit these numbers precisely. The priority is avoiding extremes: attics run too hot and dry, basements too humid, exterior-wall closets fluctuate with outdoor temperature. A climate-controlled interior closet works well for typical home storage.

Preserving Your Investment

The fundamentals of shearling jacket care reduce to four principles: gentle intervention, prompt attention to stains, patient drying away from heat, and thoughtful storage. Master these and your jacket rewards you for decades.

Quality shearling improves with age. The leather develops subtle patina. The wool softens. The jacket molds to your body. This is the signature of genuine luxury—a garment that becomes more distinctively yours with time rather than degrading toward replacement.

For additional guidance, explore our resources on how to clean shearling and leather-specific care techniques.

A beautifully maintained shearling jacket stands as testament to both craftsmanship and stewardship. Explore the Pologeorgis shearling collection—jackets built with the quality and expertise that rewards proper care for generations.