Our Neely & Chloe canvas products were fabricated to last the test of time. We began with our needs—weekend travel, timeless cases for our bits and baubles—and sourced a beautiful yet durable canvas to carry us forward for years to come. We scotch guarded it for extra protection. But… spills happen. We get asked a lot, ‘how do I clean it’? Let’s find out…
On my last (and first in a while!!) airplane trip, I packed up my Traveler as usual. Outfits for ✌🏼 to attend a full wedding weekend of events safely nestled inside, we were Mexico bound. My goal was to dirty up the bag on our journey for our little experiment. We failed on our outbound. The Traveler and all its precious cargo popped out on the conveyer belt in mint condition. Upon arrival, I quickly (and easily) unpacked its contents, and bam! Fiesta time.
On our return, we took a few extra minutes at baggage claim. With some pressure applied (first by me, then by my stronger, manly counterpart), we successfully scuffed up the Traveler by holding it down on the black conveyor belt. I think Bill Nye would be proud of our forward-thinking experiment prep.
A few days later I took over our laundry room, rolled up my sleeves and selected several cleaning agents to bring our trusty travel companion back to her former glory.
- Shout
- Oxi Clean Max Force Spray
- The Laundress All Purpose Bleach Alternative
- Meyers Detergent ~Lavender~
- Oxi Clean Versatile Stain Remover Powder
Let’s see how they did, shall we? I identified a different section for each cleaning agent and with a toothbrush and some water, dove in. I have personally always been a “just shout it out” girl, so That’s where my money was.
In each section, I applied the cleaning agent and then scrubbed vigorously with a toothbrush. Don’t forget that the bag is coated in a clear plastic, so you can use wanted on the outside to your hearts content and it won’t leak through to the inside. Additionally, don’t be too precious about water getting on the leather, it should hold up just fine. For the two powdered options, I used a ramekin to mix them in with water before applying to create a little paste. One more *pro-tip* for you, a few coffee table books inside the exterior shoe pockets help to provide a flat surface.
It became clear early on that the Oxi Clean Stain Remover Powder was our weakest link, none of the tougher stains in its’ section budged. We grabbed a bowl of clean water and used a clean rag to rinse the bag. We would have to wait a few hours until it dried to gauge the winner of the other four section.
This is right about the time when I start to wonder—“sheesh this still looks very discolored, maybe this isn’t going to work at all” –bear with me and my anxious mind!!
Two hours (ish) later we return and oh baby do we have a winner!! The left shoe pocket was little a lil sparkling diamond! Anyone remember which one of our trusty companions was responsible for this magic?!
The Laundress it is!!
We brought The Traveler outside so you could see just how beautifully it turned out. There are still a few scuffs in our less successful test areas, those should come out nicely with a little Laundress once over.
Here’s our final ranking
- The Laundress All Purpose Bleach Alternative
- Shout
- Meyers Detergent ~Lavender~
- Oxi Clean Max Force Spray
- Oxi Clean Versatile Stain Remover Powder
