My purse spent all winter outside on a roof! What to do?

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Seriously people are telling you to throw out a $300+ purse?! I would be thrilled it was recovered and returned in such good shape! Take it to the dry cleaners if you're worried about germs
 
I went through a similar situation. I had my wallet stolen at the end of August and the police recovered it in January(was it January?.... several months later anyway). When i retrieved it from the police station i was a little horrified as it looked like a dog or animal had gotten to it and then dropped in mud and stepped all over. Thankfully my wallet was only a fossil wallet so wasn't nearly as expensive as many other wallets or bags on this forum and given that it was pretty badly massacred i just took my losses and continued to use the wallet i had replaced it with.

However your bag doesn't look to bad to be honest. I think a little bit of mink oil and applying a damp cloth with a little soap should clean it up pretty well. Only do it in a small area that's not overly visible to start with just in case it doesn't react nicely and then if it works well do the whole bag. You don't need much at all. The mink oil may also make it a bit darker. As for the interior... i would maybe just use a sponge or rag and little soap and water.

Good luck.
 
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Be careful with saddle soap. It's too harsh for leather that has been colored or dyed. It might be OK on this bag bc it's brown though

Source : used saddle soap on a Gucci bag with white trim & ruined it, husband used saddle soap on green Cole Haan loafers & ruined them [emoji30]

Those soaps and oils generally aren't supposed to be used on suedes or nubucks. It will change the texture of the leather to a smoother finish.. In other words if you have suede it will change it to a nubuck/smooth type leather. For suede and nubuck i recommend a nubuck brush(you can also use an old tooth brush) and nubuck block(it looks like an eraser but it has detergent in it). ALWAYS try products on a small area(preferrably somewhere that isn't overly visible) before using it on the whole product incase it doesn't turn out the way you want.

Source: i work in a shoe store and deal with different leathers all day.
 
See... this is exactly how I would feel about the gross factor. Just... ew... get rid of it!


ETA: If you want me to get more graphic and tell you a story about what my friend found in his stolen & recovered car, I will. A bit harder to throw away the car.


Lol. I'll bite. curious now lol.
 
What I THINK happened here: the purse was stolen, wallet and other valuables were removed and the evidence (=bag) was thrown onto the roof to get rid of it. Thieves rarely are brand savvy or realize that a bag might be worth more than its contents put together. If the thief was interested in keeping the bag and using it it wouldn't have been left like that.
 
What I THINK happened here: the purse was stolen, wallet and other valuables were removed and the evidence (=bag) was thrown onto the roof to get rid of it. Thieves rarely are brand savvy or realize that a bag might be worth more than its contents put together. If the thief was interested in keeping the bag and using it it wouldn't have been left like that.


I totally agree,Amazona!
 
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