Leather boots need proper care to enhance their lifespan. On the contrary, they lose the shiny look over time if you don’t clean and take care of them properly. Moreover, cleaning your leather shoes professionally is a costly option.
So what would you do in such a situation? Good news is, you don’t have to go for costly professional cleaning services. You can clean them with your household items just fine.
To clean your leather work boots with household items, you’ll need easy things like toothpaste, white vinegar, olive oil, baking soda. Besides, you can shine them up at home using talcum powder, hair conditioner!
Sounds interesting? Let’s help you understand how to clean leather work boots with household items and avoid spending extra bucks on that.
How Often Should You Clean Your Leather Work Boots?
Leather work boots don’t usually require much maintenance. But you need to wipe down the boot at least once a week. For the thorough cleaning, the best practice is doing it every two or three months. By following this cleaning cycle, you can increase the lifespan of your leather work boot.
What You’ll Need to Clean Your Leather Work Boots
You won’t need a lot of things if you know the process of cleaning boots with regular household items. The first thing this processs requires is a soft brush, to remove the dirt and grime. Then you’ll require a paper towel or soft cloth for scrubbing the boot.
If the manufacturer recommends any specialized cleaner, you should use that. While using the recommended cleaner is a costly option, you can use your regular household items to clean your boot, such as dish soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc., also.
Steps to Clean Your Leather Work Boots With Household Items
Cleaning your leather boots becomes so easy and simple when you know how to clean leather work boots with household items effectively and effortlessly. Right below this section, we’re going to show you some of these household items that we can use for cleaning our leather boots.
Toothbrush
A toothbrush is one of the best household equipment to clean your leather work boots. It helps to remove the buff and debris that is attached to the tight places of your leather shoe.
First, loosen the dirt with small unsharp stick-like lighter strokes. Once the dirt gets loose, scrub them tightly with the toothbrush. For better results and to give them a thorough clean-up, you can apply some cleaning solutions that suit the leather material.
Dish Soap
Dish soap is one of the most commonly available items in our home, and it’s a very powerful cleaning agent for cleaning leather boots. You can apply soap solution without any tension, especially if the boots are waterproof.
With a soapy solution, you can effectively clean your muddy boots. First, you need to remove the laces. Then scrub the boot with a soapy solution along with a towel. Then dip it into clean water to eliminate the stubborn dirt from your boot.
Vaseline or Toothpaste
There is nothing more embarrassing than having scuff marks on your leather boots. You can fix that problem effortlessly using a simple cleaning trick. To remove the scuff mark from your shoe, you just need Vaseline or toothpaste.
First, take Vaseline or toothpaste and gently spread the paste over the spot. Take a clean towel and rub off the spot to remove it. The scuff mark will quickly fade away as you apply the treatment. You won’t even notice when it happens.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is a commonly used and also loved item in our kitchen. And, I can bet you that you don’t know, you can use it to clean your leather boot. To clean your leather work boots with olive oil, pour some olive oil on a paper towel.
Then start polishing the boot with the towel and rub it until the oil is absorbed completely. Once the rubbing process is done, you’ll enjoy wearing super shiny shoes.
Baking Soda
You can easily clean the mud and stubborn grime from your leather boots with baking soda. As a handy cleaning agent, it will remove all the stains and marks from your leather boot.
You can sprinkle some baking soda on the spots and let them sit for a few minutes for better results. Then take a piece of damp cloth and smoothly rub the cloth on the boot to clean it properly.
Vinegar (for salt stains)
Salt strains are one of the most common problems with their leather boots. This irritating thing is also one of the toughest types of dirt to clean. But, you’ll be surprised to know that with one of the most common household items, you can easily fix this problem.
We’re talking about the mighty cleaning agent, vinegar. First, take about 250 ml of clean water and mix a spoonful of vinegar into it. Now dip a paper towel or damp cloth in the mixture and gently rub on the salt stain in circular motions. Then soak the excess vinegar from your leather boot with dry paper.
Hair Conditioners
Hair conditioner is a vastly common item that we all have in our house. You can also make it to clean and shine your leather boots. The conditioner has wax properties that provide the perfect moisturizer and increase the glaze of your boot.
To clean your leather boot with a hair conditioner, first, you need to take a portion of the conditioner and apply it to your boot. Then take a piece of clean and dry cloth and rub the surface of the boot to get a bright and shiny look.
Talcum Powder
Removing grease from your leather boot is one of the toughest things, and talcum powder can help you do that. To remove grease stains from your boot with talcum powder, first, you need to pour some powder on the grease spots.
Then let it stay in that condition for a couple of hours. The talcum powder will eat the grease with its natural absorbent power. After keeping the boots like that for an hour or more, you need to clean the grease mark with a soft brush.
Caring Tips for Leather Work Boots
It is essential to properly take care of your work Boots for Flat Feet to enhance its durability for a longer period of time. Regular cleaning and maintenance of your leather work boot protect them from tough stains, cracks, wrap, etc.
Let’s show you some of the easiest tricks to properly take care of your leather work boots:
Clean the Dirt and Grime from Your Boots
Rinse the dirt and mud from your boot regularly with a dedicated brush so that no grime builds up. If you let the grimes and dirt build up, your leather boot will start to rot quickly.
Brush Your Boot Everyday
You can use a medium, stiff brush to remove all kinds of dirt from your boot. Then take a bowl, fill it with warm water, and boot cleaner. Now dip your boot into the cleaning solutions and firmly scrub the boot with the brush to eliminate all the dirt from your boot.
Let the Air Out
Once all the dirt is removed, rinse the boot with cool water to remove all the excess soap. Then soak the water from your boot with a clean white soft cloth and leave your boot in an open, dry place. You can also deploy a hair dryer to dry the boots fast.
Apply Water Guard
Once the boot dries out, you need to apply waterproofing cream, spray, or wax to protect your boot from potential water damage. And, you need to complete this process before you wear the boots again.
Condition Your Boot
After a certain period of washing and drying your boots, they may start cracking. In such times, you need to apply a leather conditioner onto your boot to condition it. Banana peel also helps your boots get back the natural texture of your boot.
Conclusion
When it’s about cleaning your leather boots regularly, the cost is a considerable factor. It costs a good amount of money to use the cleaner recommended by thew manufacturer. You can save a lot of money and time if you know how to clean leather work boots with household items?
Once you know how dishwashing soap becomes your boot cleaner, and how hair conditioner can also condition boots, things get easier.
So, to wrap things up, make sure you’re giving your boots a mild cleaning every week, and a thorough cleaning every 2 to 3 months. Use only household items that are compatible with leather and have no harm in the long run.
