So that the cold does not take you by surprise: how to prepare winter shoes for summer storage

Storing winter shoes must be approached with all responsibility. The insulation layer is susceptible to insect attacks. It absorbs odors well. If you prepare your shoes poorly, they will be in poor condition next season. There are 5 rules that must be strictly followed.

General cleaning

It is not enough to simply wipe your shoes with a cloth and put them in the closet. There are 5-7 long months of heat and active insect life ahead. To prevent your favorite boots from deteriorating during this period, you must first clean them well.

Dirt on boots and traces of sweat on insulation are food for bacteria and fungus. In addition, “odorous” pollution attracts insects.

Therefore, you need to carefully clean your favorite pair before storing:

1. It is necessary to wash the inside of the boots. To do this, use liquid detergents for wool. They rinse well and do not clog the material like powders and soaps.
   
2. The insole should be properly removed before the procedure. It is replaced with a new one or washed separately.
   
3. The detergent is diluted according to the instructions. The temperature of the soap solution should not exceed 30 degrees.
4. Next, the solution is poured into the shoes and left for 5 minutes.
5. They go through the inside of the boots with a brush.
   
6. Rinse with clean water and dry.
7. The outside of the shoes is cleaned with soft brushes, and suede and nubuck are cleaned with special cleaning foam.

Winter shoes, especially leather and suede, should not be in contact with water for too long.You need to wash them in 15-30 minutes.

Advice. If the inside of the boots is relatively clean, you can not wash them inside, but vacuum them and treat them with an antiseptic shoe spray.

Treatment with protective compounds

In summer, the shoe material can dry out, become hard, rough, and crack. Natural insulation is often attacked by moths.

To keep shoes looking fresh after seasonal storage, you need to:

1. Treat the outside with a care product. Genuine leather and leatherette are rubbed with shoe polish. For suede and nubuck, aerosol products are used. Treatment prevents moisture loss and roughening.
   
2. Use a moth repellent: special balls, sochettes, sprays. Modern drugs are odorless. For example, “Anti moth” or “Armol Expert” aerosols have virtually no odor, and at the same time repel moths for 5 months. You can process the boxes in which shoes will be stored.
   

Advice. If your shoes have lost their color, it's time to touch them up. You can use the services of a repair shop or purchase a can of shoe paint and perform the procedure yourself; small scratches can be painted over with a felt-tip pen.

Complete drying

After general cleaning, the shoes should be dried thoroughly, preferably with an electric dryer. The sole must also be dry and clean.

Before summer storage, shoes are dried for at least 8 hours in a dryer and another 24 hours in a ventilated room. People often rush to pack their winter boots. Such a mistake is fraught with the appearance of an unpleasant smell of dampness and mold.
It should be taken into account that the last thing to dry is not the insulation, but the area between the sole and the insole. You cannot judge the dryness of boots by appearance or even by touch. Droplets of moisture may remain inside.It’s better to play it safe and let your shoes dry for an extra day.

Advice. If you plan to store your winter boots in a damp place (which is not recommended), put 2-3 packets of silica gel inside.

You can replace the silica gel with socks filled with coarse rock salt or plain rice.

Anti-deformation

Proper preparation of winter shoes for storage includes the use of shoe lasts. They come in plastic and foam. In general, the material is not very important. If there are no special lasts, you can stuff your shoes with newspapers or office paper. The main thing is that they are not stored flattened.

It is recommended to insert inserts into the tops of boots:

Storage conditions

If in winter the main enemy of stored shoes is dampness, then in summer, on the contrary, you need to beware of heat, bright sun and excessive dry air.

Putting winter shoes away for storage:

1. We choose a place. It is recommended to store winter shoes in a closet, pantry, or on a rack in a living room away from household chemicals. A sofa niche, space under the bed, mezzanine, equipped veranda, loggia are also suitable for storage. It is better not to use the basement, garage and barn for these purposes.
2. Checking the temperature. It should be within +8+20 degrees.
3. Humidity. Products made from leather, suede and substitutes are best preserved at a relative air humidity of 50%.
4. Light. Storage in the dark is recommended. Sunlight ages shoes. It dries out quickly and loses color (fades).
5. Box. Must contain ventilation holes and be made of dense material: cardboard, plastic. If soft organizers are used, it is important that nothing is placed on top of them.

Advice. Once you buy winter boots, don’t rush to throw away the box.Most shoes are sold in special shoe boxes with ventilation holes, foam lasts and silica gel packets. All this will be useful for proper storage.

Questions and answers
How can you not store winter shoes?
On the balcony, kitchen, in hot, damp rooms, in crowds. Boots should not be squeezed. If they have decorative elements, foam pads should be placed between pairs to protect them from scratches.

Why can't winter shoes be stored in a plastic bag?
It’s simple – in the bag the shoes are not ventilated and “suffocate.” An unpleasant odor appears inside and the fungus multiplies rapidly.

People complain that modern shoes are of low quality and last 1-2 seasons. At the same time, many forget about the main thing. Any, even cheap winter shoes need proper care. To prevent it from warping and drying out over the summer, you need to properly prepare it: wash it well inside and out, change the insoles, tint it, soak it with softening agents, insert pads. If you follow these 5 rules, the cold will not take you by surprise - your boots will wait their time and keep their best appearance.