Shoe Care

How to care for your leather boots:

Leather boots are an investment and proper care is essential to increase the lifespan of your footwear. Even the highest quality leather requires regular maintenance to put off natural deterioration. In an ideal world, you should clean your boots after every instance of wear. Wipe down your boots with a cloth whenever you take them off for the night. Store in a cool location away from a direct source of heat such as a heater or open fire. Force drying boots will crack the leather. If your boots are wet, allow them to dry completely before wearing them again. Apply protective treatment regularly using the methods we will go into further here.

Next, you will need to determine the type of leather on the boot.
You can find this on the product page on this website, or by using the guide below:
•  Full grain: fully preserved natural marks and strongest type of leather
•  Nubuck: finer grain, velvet-like, sanded or buffed strong but soft material
•  Suede: soft, flexible and absorbent inner side of a hide


Leather can be greatly affected by both moisture and temperature levels. High temperature and low moisture will dry out and crack leather. Saturated leather will permanently warp the shape no matter how tough the type of leather. To maintain a good level of moisture, invest in a conditioning cream. Conditioners seal in a little bit of moisture to prevent cracking and increase flexibility. When applying conditioner pay special attention to areas that crease most such as the flex point of the toes. Then seal with waterproofing spray or wax. We advise using leather conditioner at least twice a year. There are many products available for waterproofing leather boots. We recommend chemical sprays as they are easy to apply and retain the colour of the leather. Oils and waxes are also effective as long as you don’t mind how they darken the leather. Always read the instructions on whichever product you choose.

If your boots are muddy or dusty:

For full grain leather

• Use a shoe brush to remove cakes of dirt
• Remove the laces (can be washed separately eg in washing machine)
• Use moisturizing soap (eg Saddle Soap) to wash any remaining dirt
• Wipe any remaining soap with a damp cloth
• Allow the boot to dry naturally, preferably for at least 24 hours
• Re-apply oil or polish to protect from future dirt- avoid stitching or laces which can be discoloured by polish. Apply polish in circular movements and remove any excess.

For suede or nubuck

• Use a multi-purpose suede brush to remove loose dirt
• Blot, never rub suede
• For any stains use a suede/nubuck specific cleaner 
• Leave to dry and then brush with a clean suede brush
• Spray with specific Nubuck & Suede Proof to waterproof the boot

 

If your boots get completely saturated in water:

• Don’t take them off with the opposite foot as this can cause damage
• Remove laces and insoles
• Stuff the boots with newspaper and replace saturated newspaper until footwear is dry
• Dry boots in front of a none-heated fan or hang them upside down
• Do not dry the boots near a heat source as this will crack the leather
• When the boots have dried completely, apply treatment
 

General Advice

• Use a shoe horn to assist with putting on your boots as this helps to keep the heel from losing shape.
• Use a boot bag when you travel, to protect your boots
• Never use normal soap on leather boots - it will dry out the leather

NOTE: This is a help guide only and any products used to care for boots are at the owners own risk. We cannot be held responsible for any problems that may arise from the application of individual shoe care products. Please take care to read the instructions on each shoe care product that you use.