Taking good care of suede shoes

Suede shoes are something that the wardrobe of modern dandies and fashionistas cannot do without. After all, suede products are always luxurious, stylish and comfortable. But shoes made of this material, which have a beautiful appearance and comfort, easily get dirty. Therefore, suede shoes need special and careful care.

Owners of suede shoes have to face some troubles while wearing them. All this leads to a deterioration in the appearance and rapid deterioration of shoes.

The most common enemies for shoes are dirt and dust. But getting rid of dirt, as well as dust at home, is not at all difficult, unlike other, more complex types of pollution. Let's consider them in more detail:

• Grease stain. Anyone can accidentally drip or drop something oily on their shoes. Also, frequent contact of hands with suede shoes leaves greasy marks on it. As a rule, removing these stains is not easy.
• Salt marks. In addition to the fact that salt stains shoes, it is also extremely harmful to them. In the cold season, roads are sprinkled with salt, and therefore shoes inevitably come into contact with it. Especially such stains in the form of stains are noticeable on dark shoes.
• Water marks.If you accidentally get caught in the rain or step into a puddle, you can get a hard-to-remove stain that spoils the look of your favorite suede shoes.
• Red wine or ink stains. They need to be eliminated at the same minute, otherwise it will be almost impossible to get rid of these spots.

When choosing shoes made of suede, it is recommended to buy special care products for it. To clean products made of this material, double-sided brushes are sold, which have rubber teeth on one side and metal pile on the other.

Sponges and rubberized erasers are another important accessory for suede, some use white rubber bands as an analogue. To eliminate dust, you can also purchase special rollers with a sticky surface.

There are many cleaning products in the form of creams, sprays or shampoos. Consider the most popular professional tools:

• Salamander Professional. German manufacturer of coloring creams that restore the original color of the material.
• Kiwi. They produce colorless sprays, which allows them to be used for light products.
• Silver. The products of this manufacturer cope with most of the pollution.
• Saphir. They make a wide range of suede care products, from budget to premium.
• Twist. They produce a line of cleaning sponges and cleaning foams for suede.

Before putting on new suede shoes or boots for the first time, they must be treated three times with a protective agent. Before you start cleaning with the purchased product, you need to test it on an inconspicuous part of the product in order to avoid damage.

Professional products are quite expensive, so many resort to folk methods of care.

There are quite a few folk methods for restoring the appearance of suede shoes using funds present in almost every home:

• In winter, white salt spots appear on the surface of the shoes. Acetic acid helps to rinse it from salt stains. After drying, the shoes are cleaned with a brush, then acetic acid is applied with the same brush. After that, the cleaned areas are wiped with a cloth dipped in water. If possible, it is recommended to treat the dried surface with a spray.

• The steam cleaning method is also popular. The product is kept for a couple of minutes over steam. After this procedure, the villi are lifted with a brush.
• Milk is also used to clean suede material. Baking soda is mixed with ammonia and 200 grams of milk. The material is treated with this solution. If traces of milk remain on the product, then they are removed with tooth powder.
• Also, sandpaper and a crust of black bread are used to clean suede.
• Traces of ink, felt-tip pens or shoe polish can be removed using turpentine oil. Blood or chocolate stains can be removed by using ammonia diluted with water.They wipe the dirt, then walk over it with a soapy sponge, and then wipe it with a dry cloth.
• A solution of 5 tablespoons of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of peroxide will help get rid of red wine stains. Soak a cotton pad in the solution and gently remove the stain. Carry out the procedure until the complete elimination of contaminants.

Despite careful and regular care at home, suede products can become scuffed over time. To get rid of scuffs, you need to use various dyes. If the shoes become greasy, wipe them with a swab moistened with a solution of water and alcohol. After that, it is treated with water and acetic solution.

You can remove a greasy stain from the surface using special products purchased at hardware stores or wipe it off with a cotton swab soaked in gasoline.

You can also remove greasy and dirty stains with talc and chalk. These substances are excellent adsorbents and absorb grease and dirt. They cover shoes for about an hour, and then brush them.

Also a common unpleasant problem is the appearance of mold. This occurs during long-term storage of suede products. It must be remembered that mold, in addition to spoiling the appearance of shoes, can be harmful to health. Therefore, it is important to get rid of it immediately with the help of products purchased in household chemical stores.

If it is not possible to buy a product, then you can use laundry soap or a solution of potassium permanganate, which is used to wipe areas with mold.If you decide to fix the problem with laundry soap, then the following procedure must be observed:

• Part of the laundry soap is rubbed with a grater and poured into a bowl of warm water at the rate of 30 grams of soap per 1 liter of water.
• The brush is dipped into the resulting solution and then the shoes are cleaned with it.
• Then wipe the product with a damp cloth and repeat the procedure.
• Rinse thoroughly and leave to dry in the room. Paper is placed inside the shoes to absorb excess liquid.

For suede boots, shoes and boots, there are two types of cleaning at home - dry and wet. Dry helps to remove light dirt, and wet can get rid of old stains.

When caring for boots, you need to follow some rules:

• Suede boots are stored away from sunlight and heating appliances.
• Heavy pollution must not be allowed. If the boots are dirty, they are immediately cleaned and treated with special means.
• Never wet your shoes completely.
• Before putting away your winter boots for the next season, you need to clean and dry them.

To clean sneakers and sneakers from traces of water, it is recommended to fill them with crumpled paper and evenly distribute water over the material. Remove the remaining water with a napkin and dry the shoes well.

Today, there are two types of suede shoes in stores - natural and artificial.Natural suede is made from the skin of cattle by tanning. Artificial suede is woven and non-woven. Woven is obtained by weaving special threads, and non-woven - by gluing the pile onto the material.

Products made of artificial suede are in no way inferior to natural analogues. Natural suede smells like leather, while artificial suede has a synthetic smell. Natural suede shoes are quite expensive.

If severe dirt appears on artificial suede shoes, then it can be washed at a temperature of 30-40 degrees, using detergents for washing delicate items. After that, the product is rinsed and blotted with a rag or towel.

If faux suede shoes are excessively soiled and cannot be cleaned, then they should be taken to a dry cleaner. If shoes made of natural and artificial suede are treated with care, then its attractive appearance will remain for more than one year.

Nowadays, you can buy shoes in completely different colors. But colored suede shoes fade very quickly in the sun, especially on summer days. Therefore, manufacturers of professional products have made sure that such products remain bright as long as possible and have produced a large palette of caring products for suede, ranging from red to unusual ultramarine.

As for light-colored shoes, to care for them you need to use a rubber brush and a spray that protects against moisture. Spots on light-colored shoes can be wiped with white bread, after which the pile is lifted with a brush.

White suede shoes are the hardest to care for. But without proper care, white products quickly turn gray, and sometimes shades of yellow appear on them. Given the characteristics of this color, when buying white shoes, it is important to purchase a white or cream coloring spray for it.

It is necessary to clean such shoes immediately after returning home, so as not to allow dirt to soak into the material. To do this, use a brush, removing dirt and dust in the direction of the pile. In addition, white suede shoes should be stored separately from other shoes so that the color does not change.

If the stain is not removed with a brush, you can try to remove it with a white stationery eraser. The easiest way to care for and, if necessary, dye gray and black suede products. Black shoes for color saturation can be rubbed with a regular carbon paper. It is more difficult to choose a pigment for brown shoes.

But brown suede shoes can be refreshed with coffee grounds. Apply it to the product and leave to dry. After drying, the remnants of the thick are removed with a dry brush.

By following the tips for caring for suede, you can extend the life of your shoes:

• When cleaning shoes, use only surface application of solutions containing water. Soak and wash only as a last resort.
• It must be remembered that even in dry and warm weather, dust collects on the villi of the material, which must be regularly cleaned when returning from the street.
• Always try a new product on an inconspicuous area of ​​the shoe.
• During the cleaning process, pressure on the material is not allowed, as there is a risk that the dirt will clog even more into the fabric.
• Drops of dirt that appear do not need to be removed immediately. It is better to wait until the product dries and then clean it with a brush.
• Always have a separate brush for each pair of colored suede shoes or you run the risk of transferring dirt from one shoe to another.
• Try to wear suede products only in dry weather.

When choosing a washing machine, you need to remember some recommendations:

• First, the shoes are carefully examined for cracks in the sole and torn sections of the fabric from the inside. If damaged areas are found, then it is better to clean such shoes manually. If the product is intact, then remove the insoles, laces.
• Eliminate all visible stains on the surface.
• It is recommended to put a towel or sheet in the washing machine to protect it from possible damage.
• Choose a temperature regime of no more than 30 degrees. Spinning and machine drying are prohibited. Liquid detergent is used to wash shoes.

If there is a pattern on suede shoes, then such a product cannot be washed. For him, use only a brush dipped in soapy water. After that, the remnants of the product are removed, the product is wiped with a dry cloth and dried.

For more tips on caring for suede shoes, see the following video.