How to protect shoes from the effects of salt / reagent and what to do if the reagent has already hit the shoes - practical tips.
To save the city sidewalks from snow and ice, in the winter they are treated with various means, liquid and dry reagents. These reagents usually contain sodium chloride, solutions of sodium and calcium salts and other chemical compounds. In different cases and cities, the composition of the reagents may be different, but the effect they have on leather shoes is about the same: white stains, and in the worst case, a change in the quality of the skin and the shape of the shoes themselves. How to protect shoes from salt and avoid skin damage?
Tips for protecting new shoes:
1. Soak new shoes properly with a spray
Before the first use, soak the shoes with a water-repellent spray several times. Handle the shoes properly, wait until the product is absorbed and the skin dries, treat again. Usually enough 3-4 times exposure. If the product is no longer absorbed, the effect is achieved: wipe the shoes with a paper towel and allow to dry properly. Such a deep impregnation is best done at least once a season during the entire operation of the shoe.
2. Then cream the shoes
After spraying and drying the skin, apply cream to the shoes - it is better if beeswax is in its composition. Shoe cream can be colored or colorless.When the cream is absorbed, polish the skin with a brush or soft cloth.
How to Care for Suede Shoes
Tips for shoes already exposed to the reagent:
1. Remove the salt
* Wash shoes as soon as possible (dried reagent is more difficult to remove from the skin). Wash not with hot, but with warm water. Pay special attention to places where the reagent has been absorbed, as well as to the seams and joints of the skin. It is good to use a special shampoo for shoes. Immediately after washing, absorb water with paper towels or towels and let the steam dry.
* If salt stains appear again upon drying, you can wash your shoes with water again or use vinegar. Dilute water with 9% vinegar 1: 1 and wash leather shoes with this solution with a rag or sponge. Then wash off the vinegar solution with water, wipe and dry the shoes.
* Castor or linseed oil can also help eliminate white stains from leather shoes. Warning: do not use this method for suede and nubuck shoes! Wipe the washed leather shoes with a cloth moistened with oil until the stains disappear.
* Another option, suitable including for shoes made of nubuck and suede, is a solution of ammonia (1: 1 with water, use a cloth and act precisely, washing out specific stains and stains).
* If at hand there is a special foam for cleaning shoes, use it according to the instructions.
2. Dry the shoes
As you know, drying is better not on the battery or near it. If the shoes are wet through, you will have to abandon their use untiluntil it dries completely. Fill shoes with paper towels or newspapers and dry at room temperature. If there are special pads, it’s good to finish shoes on them. If the insoles are removable, dry them separately.
3. Spray soak
When the shoe is completely dry, soak it with a water-repellent spray 1-2 times.
4. For leather shoes use cream
Apply cream to leather shoes after the spray dries. When the cream is absorbed, polish the skin with a brush. For shoes made of suede, nubuck, patent leather, use special (non-home) products.
5. For suede shoes, use a brush.
For shoes made of suede, velor, nubuck, use a special brush to even out the pile.
How to just peel your skin and suede
Tips for protecting shoes from reagents:
1. Use a spray
Once a season, deeply soak your shoes with a water-repellent spray. Also apply a spray when you plan to go out in shoes in wet weather: a reagent mixed with water eats into the skin faster. For suede shoes and nubuck shoes, special impregnations are practically the only means of protection against salt. You can use a universal spray or buy a special one for suede.
2. For leather shoes, use cream and / or oil
A shoe polish applied in advance can also help protect shoes from salt. It is better to use the cream paired with a spray-impregnation, so protection will be better. Helps protect against reagent and moisture and oil (castor, linseed). Vaseline may also help.
3. Carry wet wipes with you.
After walking on city sidewalks sprinkled with reagents, there is not always the opportunity to wash shoes. In this case, it is the absorbed and dried solution of the reagent that causes the skin the greatest damage. Therefore, it is better to carry ordinary wet wipes (or special wet wipes for shoes) with you, in order to wipe off dirt and reagent before drying.
Photo: Fashionista, bustle.com, pxhere.com
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