Tack Cleaner -- have I been doing it wrong all these years?

[Curly_Feather]

I very rarely use saddle soap.

Bridles are fully rinsed under a running tap after every ride, where I quickly rub off gunk and sweat. Then they are just shaken off and hung up.

I only really deep-clean them about twice a year. Whole thing is taken apart and soaked in hot water for a while, then I scrub them with a nail-brush and whatever saddle soap I have on hand, rinse and dry with a towel, hang up and leave to dry for a while. Then I condition them with my favourite leather conditioner of the moment.

I’ve got ten-year-old bridles that still look like new, so it must be working

Disclaimer - Climate where I am is dry, no ice/snow. Don’t know if that makes a difference?

[NotGrandPrixYet]

I wipe my tack of with a slightly damp cloth after use. Once every two-three weeks I do a quick once-over with my steam cleaner and a dry cloth wipe. Every fifth steam cleaning, I break the tack down into pieces and use a soft toothbrush, scrubbing softly, to get into hard to reach areas. Then I use saddle soap on it. I rub the saddle soap on and clean with the first clean cloth, polish and soak up any extra with a second clean cloth, and then polish hard with a third clean cloth until all of the saddle soap is absorbed.

I have tack from the 70s that still looks new. When I’m in Florida, I skip the steam cleaning steps because of the humidity.

[Somantu]

Does anyone use linseed soap to clean tack?
I’ve given up everything else and just use this. Don’t know about matching ph level to the leather. If it feels dry, I apply that German beeswax oil in the orange bottle. But I find linseed soap moisturizes as well as cleans.

[lorilu]

@NotGrandPrixYet

I wipe my tack of with a slightly damp cloth after use. Once every two-three weeks I do a quick once-over with my steam cleaner and a dry cloth wipe. Every fifth steam cleaning, I take break the taking down into pieces and use a soft toothbrush, scrubbing softly, to get into hard to reach areas. Then I use saddle soap on it. I rub the saddle soap on and clean with the first clean cloth, polish and soak up any extra with a second clean cloth, and then polish hard with a third clean cloth until all of the saddle soap is absorbed.

I have tack from the 70s that still looks new. When I’m in Florida, I skip the steam cleaning steps because of the humidity.

steam cleaner… hmmm While I am in florida and it is humid, its pretty dry here right now…

[Willesdon]

To answer OP: no, not doing it “wrong” since it is apparent that there are a very large number of ways to do it “right”!