5 Steps to Care for Your Leather Shoes
Leather shoes are a stylish and reliable option when it comes to footwear. After all, leather is a tough material, but it still needs to be dealt with care. Whether you own a pair of leather brogues, boots, or slippers, they need some care to keep them in good condition.
Here are a few tips that can help you take care of leather shoes.
1.Do Not Wear Them Every Single Day
Like your skin, leather needs to breathe, too. You should own at least two pairs of shoes so that you can wear them in rotation. Your feet are prone to sweat throughout the day, and leather tends to absorb moisture.
Due to its absorption tendencies, leather becomes susceptible to stretching, staining, and scuffing. When you switch your shoes, your provide them some time to dry out and increase the longevity of your leather shoes.
2.Use a Dust Bag to Store Your Shoes
Dust can find its way to leather shoes with time, and this can cause degradation and staining. If you wear leather shoes occasionally, it is best to keep them in a fabric dust bag, allowing them to breathe while protecting from dust.
3.Polish Them Every Six Wears
Like you have to prevent tyour leather shoes from getting wet, you also have to save them from over-drying. The way to keep a balance is to polish the shoes every six wears.
Shoe polish is adept at moisturizing leather shoes and adding a protective layer to it. Other than that, it helps hide blemishes and scuffs.
You have to decide whether you want to choose a wax polish or a cream one.
Cream polish has a greater moisturizing effect as compared to wax polish and gives a natural finish to leather shoes. On the other hand, wax polish gives comparatively better protection but is drying.
4.Clean Them After Every Wear
You can use a microfiber cloth or a shoe brush to clean the shoes after every wear. This will allow you to keep the grime and dirt from making their place in your leather shoes.
5.Avoid Wearing Them In Rainy Seasons
You should avoid wearing leather shoes when it is raining and also on salt-and-snow-covered sidewalks. Water can end up staining the shoes, even if they are waterproof. In case the shoes get wet, make sure that you do not dry them near the window or the radiator, as the ultraviolet lights and heat can crack leather and damage it. Allow yourleather shoes to air dry on their own.
6.Store The Leather Shoes With A Shoe Tree
A poplar or cedar shoe tree is one of the most important steps to take care of your leather shoes. As you know, leather is porous, and it can absorb odor and moisture, which would cause it to break down.
The shoe tree can help in the absorption of odor and moisture, which would help in keeping the shoe in a proper shape.
Final Thoughts
With these five tips, you can ensure that the leather shoes are in top condition.