Methods for cleaning winter shoes from reagents and salt

During a warm, snowy winter, the city's roadways and sidewalks are covered with a thick crust of ice, making it difficult for both pedestrians and cars to move. To make traffic safer, utility services treat roads with a special compound, so it’s simply impossible to do without protecting shoes from reagents. Leather and suede products are especially affected.

There are several known techniques that allow you to easily remove white stains from the surface of your favorite boots and protect your skin from the destructive effects of chemicals.

Winter shoe protection

A mixture of sodium chloride and sand is the most common and cheapest means of combating ice. Once you sprinkle the road with this mixture, the ice and snowdrifts begin to melt before your eyes. The only pity is that the reagent has a destructive effect not only on snow, but also on pedestrians' shoes, car wheels, building facades, communications, and the entire environment.

Leather and suede shoes quickly lose their original attractiveness when in contact with salt. The skin shrinks, loses elasticity, and a white coating that is difficult to wash off appears on the surface. In addition, salt negatively affects the strength of the seams, as a result of which the boots “beg for porridge.”

To protect your shoes from salt and reagents, you must follow the following recommendations:

• Before going outside for the first time, a new leather pair must be treated with water-repellent impregnation two or three times.This will create a layer that protects against moisture and gives the skin additional elasticity.
• After each walk in dirty snow, you need to wash your shoes until they are dry and the salt is absorbed. After this, the boots or boots are dried at room temperature and treated with a cream based on animal oils or natural wax.
• To protect shoes in winter, you can use various vegetable oils - olive, sunflower or linseed. It is better if the oil is odorless. The treatment must be carried out in advance, several hours before leaving the house or at night, so that the oil is absorbed deeply into the fibers of the material. This will prevent the reagent from penetrating into the leather coating and at the same time make the leather more elastic and shiny.
• It is better not to wear shoes made of suede or nubuck in snowy weather. However, if there is no choice, you can treat the pair with a special spray containing oil.

The maximum concentration of salt is in the snowdrifts on the side of the road. Therefore, when crossing the road, you should try to walk along the pedestrian crossing, avoiding places where melted snow accumulates.

You can prevent the appearance of salt deposits on the surface of products made of smooth leather, suede, velor, nubuck, textiles and membrane materials using the following means:

• Salton Professional spray;
• cream-balm Leather Balsam SALAMANDER Professional;
• Silver Spray.

How to remove salt stains from leather shoes?

Winter shoes made of smooth leather perfectly retain heat, do not get wet, and do not require complex care. However, not every model will adequately withstand the onslaught of salt and chemicals.

If, after a walk along the snowy streets, whitish stains appear on your shoes, you must immediately begin “resuscitation”:

1. The leather surface is wiped with a cloth soaked in soapy water. This is necessary in order to remove dirt, sand and visible traces of salt.
2. Treat the surface of the pair with vinegar solution. To prepare this cleaning product, mix 50 ml of 9% vinegar and 100 ml of water. A cotton cloth soaked in the solution is passed over the entire surface of the boots.
3. The shoes are wiped dry, not forgetting the joints and seams.
4. The boots are left to dry completely.

It is not recommended to dry leather shoes on radiators or near other heat sources.

In addition to the vinegar solution, there are several other home remedies that can be used to remove traces of salt and reagents from the surface of leather shoes.

• Ammonia. A cotton pad is moistened with ammonia and wiped over the leather of the shoes, after which the shoes are dried and lubricated with a special cream.
• Castor oil and fish oil. To prepare the cleaning product: 1 tbsp. l. oils are mixed with 3 tbsp. l. fish oil and heat in a water bath until completely dissolved. The mixture is cooled and used to clean shoes from salt deposits.
• Vegetable oil. Castor, sunflower or burdock oil is applied to the dry surface of the shoes and left until the morning.
• Water and alcohol. Prepare a water-alcohol solution from equal parts of alcohol and water and use it to clean the surface of the leather product.

Among professional cleaners, the most effective are the products of Salamander and Salton.

Whatever cleaning agent is used, after treatment the shoes must be thoroughly dried, lubricated with cream and polished with a soft cloth.

How to remove salt from suede and nubuck?

Shoes made of suede and nubuck are less suitable for use in snowy weather than products made of smooth leather. However, elegant suede boots and boots have not yet been canceled, although caring for them is associated with some difficulties.

Returning home in dirty, snow-soaked suede shoes, you need to do the following:

1. Prepare a cleaning solution by adding a little shampoo and 5-7 drops of ammonia to 0.5 liters of water. Stir the mixture until foam forms.
2. Apply foam cleaner to the suede surface with a soft sponge and after a few minutes remove any remaining dirt and salt with a clean, dry cloth.
3. Smooth the pile using a soft brush or fine comb.
4. Leave the pair to dry.
5. Before going outside, treat the surface of suede boots or boots with a special water-repellent agent.

If this treatment does not give the desired result, you can hold the boots over steam, periodically turning from one side to the other. After this, you need to lift the pile using a suede brush and clean the surface of the product with a mixture of water and ammonia.

In order to remove reagents and salt stains from suede or nubuck, you can use regular semolina. Places of contamination are sprinkled thickly with semolina and after 5-10 minutes they are cleaned with a soft dry brush. Instead of semolina, you can take tooth powder. Even a slice of raw potato or lemon, which is used to wipe shoes to remove salt traces, is useful for these purposes.

Before cleaning suede with home remedies, you need to test the material for durability in an inconspicuous area.

If traces of deposits and reagents remain, they can be painted over with a special paint for suede surfaces, choosing a suitable shade.

Proper and regular treatment with improvised or professional means will allow your favorite boots to adequately withstand the “charms” of urban winter, maintaining their strength and attractive appearance for a long time.