How To Clean,Condition and Shine Your Boots

[Goddess]

Here is the step-by-step boot care tutorial by my huf (husband under foot) that I posted on my Only High Heels blog in the past.


How To Clean,Condition and Shine Your Boots


2010-11 winter has been a very snowy one thus far. New York City typically gets 21 inches of snow a winter. Alone in January 2011,we have seen 36 inches of snow making it the snowiest January since the city started keeping records. Adding this to the 20-inch blizzard in late December and all other snowy days,we have seen over 65 inches of snow in total so far. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service noted that this was already the sixth-snowiest winter on record –the snowiest was 1995-96 (75.6 inches) –and we have all of February and all of March to look forward to more snow.

I love snow in its powdery form. When it starts melting and turns into a nasty and slushy brew,there is not much fun about it.

When snow melts in the city,it becomes a horrible blend of water;rock salt;calcium chloride (this is another type of salt found in deicer products with the ability to absorb a great deal of liquid and therefore works much more efficiently than rock salt when it comes to clearing snow and ice from sidewalks,streets,and roadways);dissolved oil,grease,and heavy metals (roadways and motor vehicles are considered to be one of the largest sources of heavy metals. Zinc,copper,and lead are three of the most common heavy metals released from road travel. On the road surface,most heavy metals become bound to the surfaces of road dust and during precipitation,the bound metals will either become soluble [dissolved] or be swept off the roadway with the water/snow/ice);dirt;all other possible impurities found on the city roads and sidewalks.

If these materials are left on your footwear for extended periods of time,they will damage your shoes and boots permanently.

When I watch fellow New Yorkers to see how they navigate the sidewalk slush and slush puddles the size their studio apartments,I see many different techniques that are more or less efficient. But one thing is for sure:You’re not going anywhere in the city with dry shoes or boots as there are so many invisible puddles everywhere! You may think that it’s just going to be an inch or two,and it goes all the way up to your knees. There are no snow boots that can save you from such deep ponds – not even your designer over-the-knee boots!

All salts will cause damage to leather and suede footwear through their corrosive properties if left untreated. The leather,suede,and shearling (as found in most UGGs boots) surfaces will be damaged,shrink,crack,and become hard to the touch.

The easiest way to protect your leather footwear from permanent damage is to clean any items that have salt on them as soon as possible and condition them to replenish the softness of the leather. I am not even getting into suede or shearling as they should not be worn in slush anyways even though I see way too many UGG-whores trying to walk in the slushy streets with their UGGs soaked up to their ankles looking like wet loaves of bread!

Each day,when I come home,huf is tasked with cleaning,conditioning,and polishing of my leather boots. They look great (and sometimes better than when they were new) after an hour or so of TLC and are ready for me. I always wear a different pair of boots each day and never wear the same pair on two consecutive days as to preserve the leather and let them breathe.

I asked huf to take pictures when he was cleaning my Elie Tahari leather knee-high boots so that I can prepare a tutorial on how he cleans,conditions,and polishes my boots and also share with you,which products he uses. Below is the step-by-step tutorial on how to clean off the salt from your boots and make them shine like the very first day you wore them.

With the winter of 2011 becoming one the snowiest in decades,it would be a good idea to clean your leather footwear to avoid permanent and costly damage.

Goddess Tasha


Follow this link to the step-by-step boot care tutorial with pictures: http://goddesstasha.com/onlyhighheelsblog/2011/01/30/how-to-clean-condition-and-shine-your-boots/