Leather or work boots can get wet very easily at work, playing sports or simply on a daily basis. It is very annoying to walk in wet boots. They can also cause many problems such as blisters, pain, bad odors or even infections such as athlete’s foot. In today’s text I’ll give you my tips on how to dry leather shoes and preserve footwear. Follow these tricks to recover your shoes after facing a rain and you can always go out carefree. It’s simple, look what you should do:

10 steps to dry your shoe and leave it brand new after the rain

1. f the shoe has removable insoles, remove them and let them dry separately
2. Take the laces
3. Wipe the upper to remove excess moisture and dirt
4. If the sole is leather, the cloth can be used for a first dry
5. Take the less colored sheets of a newspaper (to avoid staining). Crumple the pages into paper balls and fill the inside of the shoes. The paper will help absorb moisture
6. Place your boot or shoe to dry in a well-ventilated area in the shade. Do not place it in the sun or near another heat source to avoid drying the leather.
7. You can leave a fan on to help, but never any source of heat. No hair dryer or clothes dryer. Wet, in extreme heat it will “fry” and shrink. There is a torture that involved dressing the person in a wet leather vest and laying him on the beach to have his ribs crushed by the shrunk leather.
8. If the sole is leather, lay the shoe on its side, and after a while, turn to the other side. If you prefer, you can hang it on a clothesline or hanger
9. When the shoe gets a little drier, you can place wooden shapes inside. They continue to absorb moisture and help maintain the shape of the shoe while drying
10. Once dry, the leather can look matte and rough

The Ultimate Guide To Cleaning Leather Boots

What You Need To Clean Your Leather Boot

Before describing the walkthrough I will list everything you need to give your shoes a long life.

1. Brushes and Flannels

• A brush to remove dust from your boot
• A toothbrush to clean hard-to-reach places
• A brush that you will use to apply moisturizer to your boot
• An old t-shirt that you will use to apply the polishing cream / wax
• A flannel to polish and shine the boot (it can be another brush too

  Mistakes when drying leather or work boots

Excessive heat can damage boots

It is very easy to damage the leather of the boots. This can dry out from excessive heat causing it to become damaged and crack and fall apart.

Therefore, work boots should not be dried with direct heat sources such as heaters, dryers, stoves, fireplaces, or campfires. In addition, not only is the leather damaged, excessive heat can also affect the glues or adhesives that bind some parts of the boot.

Clean boots before letting dry

To dry leather boots correctly, it is best to clean them first. Drying with mud and dirt on the leather may leave stains that are difficult to remove.

Dry the inside of the boots

Dry the inside of the boots very well. The outside dries faster than the inside, which is why we often think that the boot is already dry but in fact it is still wet inside.

This is especially serious, because by drying the boots the evaporation of water facilitates the multiplication of fungi and bacteria inside.

How to dry leather and work boots properly and faster

Before drying the boots it is a good idea, if possible, to separate the insoles from the boots . The insoles of the boots can be dried in the dryer or by similar methods.

Boot drying fan

Put a focused fan over the boots with room for air to flow. These should be as close to the fan as possible, can be supported on the floor or a table or hung on a hook or hanger to hang clothes.

If you put the boots on a table or floor, then use a towel under the boots to absorb the water and speed up the process.

Newspaper to dry boots

If you have a pair of boots that you want to take good care of, a delicate but also slower method is to dry them using newspaper.

Put newspaper on the inside of the boots and around it. If you want to speed up the process, change the newspaper for a new one every 2-3 hours.

Rice to dry boots

Similar to the newspaper, rice is very useful for absorbing moisture from boots.

The best way to dry the boots with rice is to put a little rice, about 2 cm, in a plastic bag large enough to fit the boots. Then put the boots in and close the bag tightly.

In a few hours most of the moisture in the boots should be absorbed by the rice.

Towel drying towels

To start, make sure the towels are completely dry.

Put part of the towel inside the boots and the rest use it to wrap the boots. If necessary, after a while, replace the towel with one that is dry.

PVC pipes for drying boots

If you have some PVC pipes you can create structures to dry the work boots. The final shape does not matter much, the important thing is that the air flows through the tubes into the boots.

Boot dryers

The last option is to buy boot dryers. There are equipment specifically designed to dry and remove all kinds of odor from boots and footwear for personal use in a few hours.

Its use ensures the elimination of bacteria and fungi. They can also be used to dry gloves and other types of footwear.In Latin America they are not very common, but you can get them from Amazon or specialized stores. Remember: A good boot is made with work and care so that you can enjoy the product for many, many years. Just follow these simple steps and you will have the boot by your side for a long time!