How to Keep a Pair of Shoes?

The time to change the shoe season, dear friends, is now here. Our beloved shoes are ready to be properly cleaned and stored for the coming months, then to be taken out and worn like new next winter. So, how do you properly clean and store winter shoes?

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Here are some tips on how to clean and store winter shoes during the seasonal change.

Seasonal change shoes: how to repair them

Especially for those who have little space in the house, but also for those who have so much and do not want to waste it, there are ways to store winter shoes properly and prevent them from getting damaged.

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First, insert a shoe tree into winter shoes to maintain their shape and prevent creases from forming.

If you have issues with calluses on your feet, then stretching the shoes is recommended. By the time you retrieve them, your shoes will have stretched, and you won’t feel any pain while polishing them.

If it’s boots, insert very practical inflatable boot shapers made of PVC inside to maintain their shape and keep the leather taut to avoid creating creases.

If you have stored them, it would be appropriate to put the winter shoes or boots back in their cardboard box, perhaps wrapped in tissue paper or a cloth.

If, instead, you have thrown it away, Ikea has designed very practical shoe boxes available in different colors (light blue, white, black, and light green). You can’t write about it, but you can see the shoes you have stored through the transparent mesh.

Next, carefully arrange the boxes by color, model, material, in short, according to the criteria you think is easiest; the important thing is that you take care to write on the outside what shoes are contained.

To prevent mold formation, it is best to insert silica gel packets into the boxes (that’s the white or transparent packet with small beads you find inside shoes when you buy them). Another way to avoid mold formation is to place a baking soda inside the shoe rack and/or ventilate it often.

If you don’t like boxes or if you don’t have enough space, you can still protect your shoes by storing them in comfortable and hygienic shoe bags. (Ps. You can reuse them even on the road; they are very practical to prevent shoes and clothes from coming into contact 😉)

Of course, before making the final seasonal change of shoes, it is advisable to clean them.

Changing season shoes: how to clean them based on the material

When we have worn a pair of shoes all winter, it is inevitable that when storing them for the seasonal change, they will be dirty. We can’t just repair them like that, so we need to clean them.

Let’s see how to quickly clean shoes, save time, and deal with a rapid seasonal change.

First, it is necessary to distinguish and recognize the material from which they are made (suede, leather, canvas) in order to act correctly, and on the other hand, you need to use the right products. Yes to DIY, but beware of advice found on the web; always rely on the advice of an expert, or you risk ruining your shoes forever.

How to clean suede shoes

To clean suede and nubuck shoes, you can use a suede eraser, a crumbly rubber suitable for removing dull and shiny stains from nubuck and suede without damaging the fibers. Just gently rub it on the stains; it will absorb the dirt and release it in granules.

To clean them, you can also brush the nap of suede shoes with a soft natural rubber brush, suitable for removing dirt and dust.

Washing suede shoes in a washing machine is prohibited! Instead, use a dry cleaner that is low in acid and very gentle on suede and nubuck. After spraying it on the shoe (read the very easy-to-use instructions on the packaging), scrub it with a semi-rigid hairbrush to remove dirt deeply, without risking scratching the shoes.

After washing and spot cleaning them, we can also renew the color of our suede shoes by using a shoe spray specifically designed to enhance the color of suede and nubuck shoes.

To brush the nap, use a para and brass brush before and after applying the product or even just to brush them.

If you also want them to smell nice, then you need to do nothing more than spray a menthol antibacterial spray inside them to keep them fresh and disinfected.

How to clean leather and fabric shoes

To clean smooth leather shoes, we can use a simple double-layer cloth very useful for polishing and cleaning, or if the dirt is stubborn, a dry cleaner to wash them with a special cleaning formula that removes dirt and makes the leather shiny and vigorous (just follow the simple instructions found on the packaging). The low-acid dry cleaner can also be used on canvas shoes because it does not attack the fabrics and does not discolor the colors.

For leather shoes, there is also a self-cleaning sponge, neutral, black, and brown in different colors based on beeswax, which instantly protects and cleans while simultaneously reviving the color of leather shoes. If you also want to brighten the color, you just need to use a special dye for leather shoes, and you can choose from a concentrated pigment cream that restores color where it is too faded and fills in all scratches, cuts, or defects in the leather, and a polishing cream with sponge stretches based on beeswax (and not chrome), which in addition to giving shine to the color, also promotes the elasticity of the leather, preventing cracks and splits.

If the shoes are white leather, you can use the ultra-opaque paint that restores the white of shoes that have yellowed or been ruined by abrasions.

The menthol antibacterial spray, in this case too, will scent and disinfect the inside of your shoes.

How to clean sneakers

Sneakers are perhaps the ones we have used the most during winter. That’s why they will certainly be more worn and dirty. To wash your sneakers, you need the low-acid dry cleaner that removes dirt, does not assault the fabrics, and keeps the colors bright and vivid (just follow the simple instructions found on the packaging). If the sneakers are white and there are small abrasions, you can use the ultra-covering paint.

The most common problem with white-soled sneakers is the yellowing of the rubber. For stain and shine storage during the seasonal change, it is necessary to use a paraffin oil that cleans and protects the white of the rubber from yellowing that the rubber suffers over time and prevents the formation of cracks and splits.

It is inevitable for sneakers to use the menthol antibacterial spray, which, especially in this case, will scent and disinfect the inside of your shoes.

In short, we hope this guide will be useful for your seasonal shoe change, and if you have suggestions, doubts, or questions, feel free to leave us a comment!