Every man needs a great pair of leather boots. After all, it's been a great way to show off style, class, and practicality since their creation in 12,000 BCE, when boots were worn by emperors and military leaders to show off power and wealth.
If you're a fashion-savvy man who wants to be a part of this longstanding tradition of strength and masculinity, you're going to want or have a great pair of leather boots. But just going out and buying a pair isn't enough. You need to know the basics of how to care for them, or they just aren't going to last very long.
Lots of people make mistakes in caring for their leather boots, causing them to become damaged or worn-in too quickly. Because this footwear is an investment, it can be a costly problem when they become water-stained or when the leather gets hard and inflexible.
Here, we're going to help you avoid the most common mistakes that ruin leather boots. Read on to learn about leather boot care, treatment, washing, and storage so you can maximize their use and effectiveness.
Storing Your Leather Boots
Storing footwear sounds like a pretty straightforward task. After all, what can be so hard about shoving your boots into a closet when you're done with them?
This thought process can become extremely harmful if you don't do your research and nip it in the bud. While throwing your sneakers in the closet when you take them off is A-OK, your leather boots are a much more fickle animal. Just chucking them in a closet or at the bottom of the stairs is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
First of all, when storing leather boots, you need to put something inside them to maintain the shape of the leather. If you don't do this, your boots may crack and break down. Try slipping a piece of cardboard or even a rolled-up newspaper inside when storing.
You also need to watch out to make sure you don't store your boots somewhere that's too humid. If you store them in a place where they gather too much moisture, they can actually start to grow mold, which is unsanitary and can also smell.
Finally, it's important to take them to a repair shop occasionally. If you're storing them for a season or another long stretch of time, take them in for repairs. Otherwise, you may find them cracked next season.
Leather Boot Care
Speaking of repair shops, it's important to care for your leather boots by taking them in periodically as well as know the signs when something is wrong with them. If you aren't clear on this and don't take them in for repairs, they won't last long.
One thing that you're going to need to do is to get your boots resoled every once in a while. If you don't do this, you're going to have really uncomfortable, broken-in boots that can actually cause serious damage to your feet. So for the sake of not just your footwear's health, but also your own, resole them every once in a while.
Another thing you're going to want to do occasionally is to take your leather boots in to just get them checked out. While you can buff and clean them at home, it's a good idea to get them professionally done every once in a while to make sure that the dust and dirt particles are really gone.
Since repairing your boots is a great way to ensure that the best soaps are used and the boots are thoroughly checked out, it's not a bad idea to take them in every once in a while just because.
Cleaning Your Leather Boots
To avoid needing to take your leather boots into a repair shop more than you otherwise would, it's important to clean them properly before storing them or after a few uses. To do this, there are a few things that you're going to need.
You're going to need a piece of (hopefully clean) cloth that you'll use to wipe them down. You'll need a horsehair brush for scrubbing, saddle soap, and a damp rag that you'll use additionally to your cloth. Instead of you searching far and wide for these supplies, we've put together convenient kits for home and on the go!
In any case, you need to clean the laces first. Take them off the boot and scrub them down with your damp cloth to get rid of whatever dirt they might have picked up since the last time they were cleaned.
After that, it's time to lay your cloth on the table and whip out the horsehair brush that you're going to use for buffing the leather. Scrub the shoes down gently with the brush to make sure that the boots don't have any dust or dirt trapped in them that will eventually cause damage.
After that, take out your damp cloth again and wipe down the shoes with your saddle soap. This will make sure that your boots don't stain or retain any extra grime.
As a side note, you should do this once a week or so if you want to keep your boots in tip-top condition. Failure to do this could result in a lot of damage, so keep that in the back of your mind.
Treating Your Leather Boots
Cleaning your leather boots is only the first step. In fact, it's a pretty simple step compared to conditioning them, which is much more essential. It's the part of boot care that tends to trip people up the most (or that they tend to forget,) so read this section carefully to become a master.
Most leather boots meet their demise because they weren't conditioned. Not making sure that the leather is in good shape means that boots will dry out, leading to cracks and the destruction of leather.
There are a few materials you'll need before you get to buffing your boots. First, you'll need your trusty old piece of cloth again, which you'll lay your boots over like you did before. You'll also want a leather balm and applicator. Having two dry, clean rags are also essential.
Use your first dry rag to give the boots an initial rub-down. You don't want to further push dust particles into the leather, after all.
Now it's time to grab the applicator and balm. Apply the balm to the applicator and get to work on conditioning your leather!
IMPORTANT NOTE: try using the balm on a small spot of leather first, preferably one that isn't seen by passers-by. If you don't make sure that the balm is working correctly before rubbing it all over the boot, you run the risk of discoloration.
A balm can darken the leather slightly- that's normal! It will go away after a few days. But drastic amounts of darkening- or any lightening- could be bad for the material and cause it to become uneven and discolored. Testing the balm on a small spot will ensure that this doesn't happen to the entire boot.
After that, pour a little more balm onto the second clean rag and start buffing! Use small circular motions to clean the boot to the best of your ability. This will make sure it all gets on evenly and no harm comes to the material.
After applying the balm, let your boots sit and dry for 15-20 minutes before doing anything with them, including putting them away into storage. Then let them sit there for about 12 hours and check them out again. After that time frame, another quick wipe-down might be in order, and then you're done!
Get Leather Boots!
We aren't going to lie: leather boot care is difficult. The thing is, though, that the care and keeping of them is a well-worthy investment if it lets you have the style, class, and comfort that goes along with wearing this durable footwear.
Basically, the bottom line is that you want to prevent dust from settling in, making cleaning necessary at least once a week. But since you don't want them to get dry and crack in the humidity, you need to store them away from moisture and condition them as often as necessary, too.
Now that you know how to store, wash, and treat leather boots to make sure they last as long as possible, it's time to get a pair if you don't have one already! Shop now for the best deals and variety on men's boots.
Stay classy!