How to Clean a Leather Harness

A leather harness performs the important task of helping you control an animal, such as a horse, when it is hooked up to a carriage or cart. With regular use, the harness will become dirty and oily from exposure to the animal and the elements. You should clean the harness routinely as part of maintaining it. For example, if you use the harness daily, clean it weekly.

Things You'll Need

  • Rubber gloves
  • Bucket of hot water
  • Sponge
  • Murphy's Oil Soap
  • Leather conditioner
  • Outside drying area
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put on a pair of rubber gloves, fill a bucket halfway full of hot water and dip a sponge in the water. Squeeze the excess water out of the sponge.

    • 2

      Squeeze a dime-sized amount of Murphy's Oil Soap onto the sponge and distribute it over the sponge with your gloved fingers. Squeeze the sponge once more to remove any remaining water.

    • 3

      Rub the leather harness with the sponge. Work in sections, and rinse the sponge out when it becomes dirty. Squeeze excess water out of the sponge, apply a dime-sized amount of Murphy's Oil Soap to the sponge and squeeze it again before continuing to clean the harness. Repeat until you have cleaned the entire harness.

    • 4

      Wet a clean sponge, squeeze out the excess water and apply a quarter-sized amount of leather conditioner to the sponge. Distribute it over the surface with gloved fingers, and squeeze the sponge once more to get rid of water.

    • 5

      Wipe down the leather parts of the harness with the leather conditioner. This will help keep the leather from drying out and cracking.

    • 6

      Place your harness outside to dry, checking it every 30 minutes, then hang it back up indoors.