Cleaners

The first and most important step to looking after your shoes is keeping them clean by using shoe cleaners. Avoiding a build-up of dirt and dust will keep your shoes in great condition for longer. How to clean shoes will depend on the material they are made from. Here’s our easy guide to cleaning shoes.

For cleaning leather shoes, remove all large spots of mud and dirt with the clean, dry toothbrush. After this, with a slightly damp cloth, buff the rest of any dirt off with your cloth, when this step is complete you’re ready to polish your shoes. Polish with a cream polish in the colour of your shoes. Apply it with a clean, soft cloth working across the whole shoe in a circular motion. Remove with another clean, soft cloth. Once dry, buff your leather shoes with a cloth or brush.

Cleaning suede shoes or boots by using different cleaners:

1 Get a suede brush and make sure your shoes are dry. Suede has a soft grain that is best cleaned with a special brush, which you can purchase with a suede cleaning kit. Suede is also very sensitive to water, so basic dirt and scuffs are best dealt with when the shoes are dry.

2 Brush gently to remove dirt. Use the suede cleaning brush to lightly brush away dust or dirt that has accumulated on your shoes. Don’t go back and forth: brush repeatedly towards the same direction. Once you get off this layer of grime, your shoes will already look newer.

3 Brush vigorously to remove scuff marks. When you scuff your shoes, the suede’s grain can get pressed down in one direction. Lift the grain by brushing scuffed areas vigorously back and forth. Again this is best done with a suede brush. For scuffs that are too matted down to respond to the brush, try scraping the area with a knife to lift the nap.

4 Use an eraser for stubborn marks. Scuffs and marks that won’t brush out can often be removed by rubbing with cleaners like pencil eraser or a piece of crepe rubber. You can also by a special suede eraser designed for just this task. Apply a moderate amount of pressure and increase as tougher marks require.

5 Protect your suede. Once they are clean, spray a coat of suede protector spray on your shoes. This will help prevent further stains and marks. Follow the manufacturer’s directions.