How to Care for Leather Boots and Shoes After Walking Through Snow and Salt!

Give your boots some tender loving care and they will stay beautiful longer!

This winter weather can hurt our skin but also can extend to our leather boots and shoes.  If you were wondering how to clean those white spots left behind on your boots and shoes after walking through the snow and salt, then here’s how to quickly clean them.

Take a soft, clean cloth and wipe your boots or shoes with white vinegar.  Within seconds, the white residue will be gone without harming the leather.

Black scuff marks, on the other hand, call for a different solution.  My suggestion is dunking a soft cloth in water, then some baking soda or you can make a paste.  As gently as possible, you rub the mark and it should lift.  Clean your work with another clean, damp cloth and dry.

Another thing I want to pass on to help wet boots keep their shape is by stuffing the inside with rolled up newspaper while you let them dry.  This helps minimize the leather wrinkling, especially for those buttery soft leathers.

Also, make sure never to dry those wet boots or shoes near the radiator or heating duct.  This can have damaging effects like causing the leather to crack or you might shrink the skin.  

Further protect the leather with a waterproofing product.  Some of the commercial ones that I tried, I wasn’t thrilled with the results.  What I recommend that does a wonderful job and is safe for leather is a bit of floor wax to waterproof or some petroleum jelly, which also is a great leather conditioner to keep the grain from drying out.  

Winter is long and brutal, but these few tips can safeguard your leather investment!