one question, WHY?

they are work gloves and should be used for work, not for looks. to me the dirt gives them character!

I'm terrible about getting dirt inside my gloves and grinding it into my finger tips. So once in awhile I put them on my hands, wash the outside with mild soap, turn them inside out and put them back on and do it again. Then I rinse well and leave them wrong side out till about half dry. Turn again and knead a little and they are just fine. They seem to last longer by doing this, probably because the dirt doesn't wear away the finger tips as quickly.

Thanks for all the great tips!

I found a great way to clean suede work gloves. I threw them into the washer with the jeans. They came out fairly clean. I hung them to dry with clothes pins with a hook on the top. I squeezed them gently ever few hours so they wouldn't get stiff.

davidandkasie ~ the softer leathers such as suede or goatskin become very stiff as the dirt grinds in, which makes them uncomfortable to wear. Also, I wash my gloves everytime I pull up poison ivy -- I know, I know, use the plastic bags -- but sometimes, I just forget and yank, which puts the PI sap on the gloves. A quick wash and then I can slap skeeters without getting a PI rash.

Does anyone have a measurement idea of how much salt to use in the salt solution previously listed? Also would saddle cleaner work on swede gloves? Please let me know- I have sveral gloves to clean! thanks! FYI- It reached into the 90 mothers'day in minnesota! Go figure- we seem to be missing out on springs and falls now!

i have never had a problem with them getting stiff. i agree with washing them after handling PI, but i use mine so much that they never get stiff.

if you really want to keep them soft, use baseball glove conditioner.

I never had a problem with my gloves getting stiff either. At least not when I lived in a clay soil area. When I moved to sandy loam soil it was a totally different story. Darn gloves set like cement overnight! Doesn't matter if you use them every day it depends on your soil.
Thanks for the tip on washing I was thinking about using them as a garden sculpture but now I can get my favorite gloves back!