Leather comes from animal skin which is moldable. That said, when the belt embraces your body snugly, it becomes curled. Even if you store a leather belt in a wardrobe, it’s likely to be bent and cracked after a long time.
A curled leather belt causes difficulties for you applying leather care products as the liquid can get stuck in bent points affecting its suppleness, shine, and color. Besides, a warped belt may bring you uncomfortable feelings.
Understanding those, we’ll walk you through how to straighten a leather belt to extend its life and fit your body perfectly.
Table of Contents
The Reason the Leather Belt is Curled
- Improper storage – As mentioned, leather is a moldable material; hence, exposing excess moisture and direct sunlight can lead to the leather belt warping when you fasten the strap. We’d recommend you keep your belt in cool, dry, and dark places.
- Climate – Porousness is an impervious feature of leather, allowing it to absorb moisture in the air. The appropriate humidity keeps the material supple and soft. However, humid climates usually have a higher moisture level rather than dry ones, and the belt is likely to curve if you live there.
- Frequent use – A leather belt has to suffer a lot of tension when you wear it daily. So, the belt becomes warped rather quickly under abuse. Aside from that, fastening the belt tight or loose also contributes to this situation.
- Body heat and sweat – Leather will be more pliable when exposing moisture. The more sweat your body produces in hot weather, the higher chance the leather belt curves as your body shape.
Furthermore, your body heat prevents moisture in leather from vaporizing. If you wear it for a long time, the belt shape can bend permanently.
- Embrace body curves – Each person has different torso curves and the belt can reflect your body shape due to its malleable features. A belt bends in the back or any degree of curves depending on the habits of wearing the belt, body weight, and size.
- Leather quality – A thin and low-quality leather belt features higher flexibility and a chance of warping. Additionally, the belt with a narrow width is easy to curl compared to other popular belts on the market.
Ways to Straighten a Leather Belt
1. Use a steamer
What to prepare:
- A steamer
- Leather conditioner
- A heavy thing
- Boiling water (optional)
- Hangers
- Clip binder
Step 1: Hang the belt
Attach the belt buckle to a hanger or a door hook as long as the belt position is vertical.
Step 2: Add more weights to the belt
Insert clip binders into one end of the belt firmly
Then, you can pick something that can straighten curled leather strap such as a bunch of hangers.
Step 3: Apply a steamer
The combination of the steamer and extra weight can flatten leather effectively. Based on your preferences, you can try one of the 3 following options.
- Steam the belt thoroughly with a steamer for a few minutes. Having physical contact with heat makes leather pores open ups, then moisture can penetrate them well.
- You can also hang the belt in the closed bathroom. Turn on hot water to create steam which can soften the leather. Note that don’t let water expose the leather belt which can add stains to the belt.
- Another way to save electricity bills is to boil a pot of water, then keep the leather belt some distance from the pot for several minutes.
Step 4: Air-dry leather belt
- After your leather belt soaks up moisture, move it to a dry place sheltered from direct sunlight overnight.
- Detach the clip to check if the process can straighten bent leather well. If not, you can repeat the process until you can get a crease out of leather.
Step 5: Use leather conditioner
The heat from the steam cleaner can get rid of natural oils on the leather. We’d recommend using leather conditioner to add oils to the belt and maintain its suppleness.
2. Add more weight
What to prepare:
- Leather conditioner
- Table or ironing board
- Heavy objects: books, plates, and more
- Towel
Step 1: Cover with leather conditioner
Oils and waxes in leather conditioners help nourish the leather, maintain its softness, and prevent it from drying or cracking.
- Apply leather conditioner to the belt and wait until the liquid penetrates it entirely. Once the material is soft, it’s simple for leather belt repair tasks.
- Remove excess conditioner on the leather surface with a cloth
Step 2: Unwrinkle leather belt
Prepare an even surface to avoid adding more curves to the leather belt. We’d suggest using a table or an ironing board since its flat top and sturdy design can withstand heavy weight.
- Spread the leather belt on the table and put a towel on the entire leather belt. Then, place some hefty plates or books on them to stop belt from creasing.
- In case you are in a hurry, you can let them sit for 2 hours before removing weight from the belt. For those who have more time, you can wait overnight or 6-12 hours to make the belt straight again.
You can repeat the process if needed.
3. Use an iron
Using an iron not only tackles a warped belt but also fix bent leather purse.
What to prepare:
- An ironing board
- An iron
- Towel/thick paper bag
- Heavy books
- Leather conditioner
Step 1: Arrange the leather belt and towel properly
Lay out the belt on the ironing board, then spread a cotton, linen towel, or a thick paper bag on top to protect the belt from overheating and melting while ironing.
Step 2: Iron the belt
First, set the iron at the lowest temperature. As the iron gets warm, push it down gently and move it over the cloth slowly and constantly. Don’t leave it in a spot for over 1 second, otherwise, this area will be burned.
You need to iron the belt back and forth for 15-20 seconds and repeat the process 4 times to preserve the result for a long time.
Step 3: Place more weight
After ironing the belt, flatten it uniformly by arranging several heavy books on the belt. Wait for several hours to see the result and repeat. For a hard or old leather belt, you need to make more effort but the outcome is excellent as well.
After some days, your belt can bend a bit. Don’t worry, you just need to re-iron it.
Step 4: Add leather conditioners
You can apply a leather conditioner to your belt to maintain its good condition.
4. Dry the belt naturally
What to prepare:
- Warm water
- Cloth
- Leather conditioner
- A steamer (optional)
Step 1: Dampen the bent spots on the belt
Dip a clean towel into warm water and dab it onto wrinkle areas for a few minutes.
Step 2: Uncurl the belt
Once the belt gets damp, you can change its curl direction to the opposite one and keep it in this shape with a belt loop or other tools.
If it’s hard to bend the strap, you can use the steamer for this task.
Step 3: Air dry
The belt shape is restored well. You should air-dry the strap completely to avoid warping it.
Do not forget to apply a leather conditioner to keep its pliability.
5. Change the direction you wear the belt
This way doesn’t require any tool, you just need to swap directions when you wear the belt every day. If you put the belt on clockwise today, you can wear it counterclockwise tomorrow.
When Should You Straighten Your Leather Belt?
As explained in the previous sections, there are many reasons resulting in a leather belt being curled over time. It isn’t compulsory to flatten the belt after each use. You can consider straightening it if you are in the following situations.
- The belt doesn’t mold your waist comfortably
- The belt isn’t soft and flexible as before
- You want to pass the belt to other ones
Can the Straightening Process Adversely Affect Leather Belts?
The above straightening processes cannot damage your leather belts as long as you do not apply too much heat or soak the belt in water. Moreover, it would help if you chose leather conditioners with gentle formulas to avoid drawing out natural oils from leather.
Conclusion
How to straighten a leather belt is a piece of cake now. You can get rid of creases from leather belts with some available tools at home or even with nothing if you choose the 5th way. We suggest you purchase 2 belts and swap them to let the other rest.
This is Edward Manning, the editor in chief of Construction Informer. Quite a bit of my time is spent researching the market and interviewing experts in the field so that I can give you reliable information.