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Top Tips For Hiking Boot Care

By Barry Jones


Just what is the ideal way to clean and protect your walking boots? Washing and caring for your walking footwear is a sure-fire method to extend the life of the hiking footwear. But with lots of different advice and varied products available on the market, just what is the best way to clean and protect your current walking footwear?

First of all, take out the shoelaces and insole from your shoes. A lot of boots feature a completely removable insole for this function. Doing this will help to thoroughly air the shoe, get rid of odour, and replacing these shoe inserts is yet another important factor for stretching out the lifespan of your walking boots. Removing the shoelaces can help you get to parts of the leather which are normally folded within the tongue of the boot. This lets you achieve a more in-depth clean. Additionally, removing the laces will let you spot any kind of deterioration and then determine whether or not they need to be replaced.

After removing the laces and the insoles, use a brush and lukewarm running water to remove dirt from the walking boots. If they are very heavily soiled it may be necessary to use special boot cleaning products. These will help lift the dirt and clean the boot more effectively. Once the boots are clean, the leather will be in a state which means it is able to soak up water. Adding a water repellent spray whilst the shoe is still damp will help defend the leather from water. This is sprayed onto the shoe and, after being left to dry thoroughly, water will bead off. It is advised that shoes are left for 24 hours to dry.

Adding a water based creme to your footwear can assist the leather in maintaining its normal soft qualities. Without it, the leather within the walking footwear may become weak and break. This may damage the walking shoe which can't be repaired. Creme is preferable to natural oils or even greases which can block the pores within the leather's surface and alter the breathability. Leather which has been clogged with oil or grease performs much more like rubber.

After applying these products, allow your shoes plenty of time to dry out. Leaving these on a radiator, in the car, beside the fireplace or even just on the back step in sunlight should be avoided. These can all affect the walking boot. Keeping them enclosed or even in some sort of humid area, the boot of one's vehicle or maybe your shed for example, makes it possible for your shoes to become mouldy. Nobody likes to find they have mouldy boots. Let your Walking Boots breathe and they will continue working hard for you.

There have been many cases where I've heard people moan that their boots are disintegrating or the leather has become stiff and unpleasant to walk in. In each of those cases, this could have been prevented. If they had simply looked after their boots properly it would not have happened. It does not take a lot of effort or time, and the results are always positive. And it is so easy to extend the life of the boots and delay having to but a replacement.




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