A few simple tips can help you maintain your leather coat. First, always hang leather coats on wide, padded hangers to ensure that you don't stretch or puncture corners or shoulders. When storing your leather coat over the summer months, avoid storing leather goods in plastic bags or other non-porous covers, because leather is best preserved if it can "breathe." If clothing must be stored in a garment bag, keep it open for ventilation or choose a natural fabric garment bag. Place in a cool, dry closet to store, not in any area with excess moisture.

There are ways to clean leather, but knowing a few basics about your leather coat helps make sure you don't do more harm than good when you try to clean a spot or stain on your coat.

Otherwise, in a dry environment like the western states, regularly condition your leather coat to prevent drying and cracking. Apply a little leather conditioner when the leather is nearly dry to restore flexibility to your leather coat. Follow this first treatment with a full conditioning treatment after the leather has completely air dried.

Avoid using waxes, silicone, or other leather preparations on your leather coat which will impair the natural ability for the leather to breathe. Also, don't use caustic household cleaners, which can dry out or stain leather coats.

In addition, it is best to avoid products like mink oil, shoe polish, and waxes when cleaning leather coats, as they can leave both a residue on the coat and an odor that you will not be able to get rid of after you have used the product.

For unfinished leather, saddle soap worked into the leather with a damp cloth or sponge works well to clean stains and spots. Wipe away any lather and allow the leather to air dry. Oil leather with a leather preservative after you have finished cleaning and the leather is completely dry.

If you have an unfortunate accident and spill something on your leather coat, you are best served to avoid rubbing the stain in to the grain of the leather. Always blot dry any stains. You can remove dry stains and marks by softly rubbing a pencil eraser on affected areas. There are also dry cleaners that specialize in spot treatments for stains on leather, though few will guarantee their results as stains on leather are quite difficult to remove. Bottom line - be as careful as you can to avoid the stains in the first place!