0 How to Care for Wet Leather Shoes

However you take care of your leather shoes, they will wear off once they are wet. With the monsoon already in, if you get caught in the rain without an umbrella, here are some ways you can undo the trouble provided you act quickly. Here are a few instructions on how to take care of wet leather shoes and prevent them from getting spoilt.

• As soon as you get home, remove the shoes and dry them in room temperature.

• Use a damp rag and gently wipe dirt and excess oil from the shoes. Doing so will keep your shoes from getting stained.

• Rub in a leather conditioner with your fingertips. Focus on areas that have got wet. Start by using a tiny amount of conditioner and follow up by adding more conditioner. Leather conditioner can easily be purchased from a local sewing or fabric store.

• Put your leather shoes out to dry. If the weather outside is wet, place the shoes inside a room and dry it in room temperature. Do not use heat to dry the leather in the hope that heat will dry the leather faster. The leather may take several days to dry.

• If you feel the leather shoes are dry in some areas, condition those areas. Do not condition it in excess as that might give a greasy effect to the leather. Make sure that you only use your fingertips to rub leather conditioner into the dry areas. Using a tool on the leather may cause more damage than help.

Tips and Warnings

• Make sure that you do not expose your shoes to harsh chemicals when trying to cleaning it as that can damage the leather. Only use natural products to wipe the dirt and oil from the leather shoes.

• Always condition or polish in a circular motion.

• Do not wear the shoes once you have put them aside to dry. Also, avoid wearing them in monsoon as much as you can.

• When shopping for leather shoes, try picking those that are coated with a waterproofing agent that helps seal the shoes from water. 

• Once your leather shoes have got wet, the best bet is to act on the damage as soon as possible. The more you delay in conditioning and polishing it, the less likely it is to be durable.

• Never expose your leather shoes to a blow dryer.

• You can not wear leather shoes and still have fun with gumboots in monsoon as they are safer and easy to keep clean.