Properly clean and store winter shoes

The first rays of sunshine already let the first spring bloomers sprout from the earth in many places. Hopefully, the winter weather will soon be over and we can start thinking about which sneakers and low shoes should accompany us through next spring. But before that, the good winter shoes need to be cleaned and stored, so that they survive the summer well and can be taken out of the closet again next fall and winter. Without mold stains and ready to wear immediately.

Proper cleaning of leather shoes after winter

• If available, you should make the laces from the shoes.
• Remove dirt: Depending on the degree of dirt, shoes can be cleaned dry or wet. If cloth, brush and water are not enough, then you can also resort to shoe cleaning products. These are available in any well-stocked shoe store.
• Impregnation: If the shoe is well dried at room temperature, then it should be thoroughly impregnated before further care measures. There are countless products on the market. The fact is that you should use all of them outdoors. The best result is achieved when you spray the shoes from a distance of about 30 cm and the spray mist is evenly distributed on the shoe.
• Care: Also now the shoe must first dry properly, then the shoe polish can be used. To be sure that your shoes are sufficiently maintained, only high-quality products from the specialized trade should be used. You can choose between colorless or colored shoe polish. The shoe cream is massaged into the leather with a dry and clean cloth. When the cream has dried briefly, then polish the shoe with a fine-haired brush. This will not only remove excess shoe polish, but will also make the leather shine again. Shoes should actually be cleaned every 6 weeks, but since these shoes are now to be stored, this is not necessary over the summer.

The traces of winter on your favorite shoes

Salt stains and water marks probably everyone has had on his shoes, should your shoes are "decorated" with it, then there are a few simple tricks, as these legacies of mud, moisture and road salt disappear quite quickly.

• Salt stains on leather shoes should be removed as soon as possible, they can permanently attack the leather. Distilled water with a drop of washing-up liquid is the remedy of choice here. So take a cloth, soak it with the mixture and carefully wipe away the salt stains. If the shoe is dry, then the shoes should be maintained with shoe polish, so that the leather is again supplied with nutrients.
• If you have water stains on your shoes, it is clear that the last impregnation was too long ago. But here, too, a cloth soaked in a mixture of distilled water and washing-up liquid can help. After drying, please impregnate the shoes thoroughly. With colored shoe polish, you can even out any color irregularities.

Storing shoes - but how?

Stacking shoes in the closet? No way! Our winter shoes should now be stored over the summer, so that they are still wearable next fall. The shoe closet is quite a useful invention in this regard. But also a dust-free place in the basement or the attic are suitable for "oversummering" the winter shoes.

• Soaked shoes should be stuffed with newspaper so that it can absorb the moisture. Be sure to remove the wet newspaper before storing.
• To maintain the shape of the shoes, it is recommended to use shoe trees or, in the case of boots, boot trees. If these are not at hand, dry newspaper can also help out here.
• Never stack shoes on top of each other. If there is a space problem in the shoe closet, then you can store the shoes in shoe boxes or felt bags on top of each other.
• Sometimes it makes sense to air out a shoe closet from time to time.

We would like to give you one more tip: shoes do not like to stand in the blazing sun or on the heating, as this will cause the upper material to crack.

So now spring and summer can come...