How to care for suede?

Suede shoes look luxurious. It is convenient, soft, comfortable, elastic, but rather capricious. Without proper care, it quickly loses its original appearance and looks old and worn. A presentable appearance requires careful and constant care. Read on to learn how to do this correctly.

Basic rules for caring for suede

The delicate, velvety surface of the natural material does not tolerate walking through mud and puddles, and the scorching sun is not for it either. And what does she favor?

Suede is responsive to constant care, which includes cleaning, drying, removing stains, salt stains, restoring color, raising the pile, polishing the surface and proper storage.

What means and tools are possible and what are not?

For proper care, purchase in the store a protective or water-repellent spray for suede and velor, aerosol paint, a rubber brush, a bristle brush, and an eraser. You will need all these tools from the first days of using your shoes.

Avoid using untested care products and methods, especially those used by our grandmothers. The fact is that tanning methods have changed, and what was good before may now not work or ruin the thing. These methods include the use of organic products (onions, milk) and some traditional methods (use of soda, hydrogen peroxide). Also, you cannot use care products produced for leather shoes; they will glue the fibers together, and then it is impossible to restore the original appearance.

How to care for natural material?

Regular, reasonable use of special tools and techniques, the use of brushes, napkins, erasers will help keep your shoes clean and preserve their original appearance for a long time. Start caring for your purchased pair from the first days after purchase, and it will reward you with ease of use and chic appearance.

Initial cleaning after purchase

This is a very important stage of care, which requires the use of special products. Buy a protective spray for suede and velor and treat it before you wear your shoes for the first time.. By spraying an aerosol on the surface of the pair, you will protect it from dirt, moisture, salt and other reagents penetrating and attaching to the new item. Spray particles form an invisible thin layer that prevents the unfavorable manifestations of an aggressive urban environment.

Important! Before starting work, carefully remove all dust from the surface of the shoe.Carry out the work with a soft brush or a clean flannel cloth.

The initial treatment of suede is carried out at least three times, but between each spray you need to give time for the product to absorb and dry the shoes.. Treatment must be carried out in advance, at least a day before the first use of the pair for its intended purpose. If shoes are worn frequently, treat with a protective agent every week.

Important! During any treatment, try not to wet the shoes too much.

How to clean it properly?

If you make it a rule to spend a few minutes each time on your favorite pair, then without much difficulty you will be able to keep your boots or ankle boots in excellent condition. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

• use a brush or flannel to remove dust from the surface of the shoe;
• Using a cloth soaked in a soapy solution (it is better to use liquid soap or detergent for washing delicate fabrics), wipe your ankle boots or shoes until the top layer is lightly moistened;
• Wipe everything again to avoid streaks with a sponge dipped in clean water;
• dry in natural conditions away from heating devices and direct sunlight;
• treat the dry surface with a rubber brush to raise the pile.

What to do if it gets wet?

Shoes left for a long time in an unfavorable humid environment will certainly absorb some of the moisture. It should be dried in natural conditions, away from heating devices and without heating inside or outside.. To do this, plastic pads or crumpled newspapers are placed in the boots. The wet paper is removed and dry paper is placed in its place. These manipulations are carried out until completely dry.

Then the shoes are carefully treated with any water-repellent compound intended for impregnation of suede or velor. Raising the pile is the final stage of the procedure.

How to raise the pile?

The luxurious appearance of suede shoes is ensured by the velvety structure. But the villi attract and hold dust and dirt near them, which seems to glue them together. The product loses its attractive appearance, so a pair of shoes must be cleaned after every trip outside.

To maintain the velvety quality of the material after cleaning, you need to lift the pile using a special rubber brush, and if you don’t have one, use a regular school eraser..

Important! A water bath will help the caked lint - in the few minutes that the shoes spend over the steam, the lint will receive additional cleaning, straighten out and rise. When finished, wipe the item with a dry flannel.

How to revive color?

This procedure should also be done from time to time, even if everything seems to be in order. The most the best remedy is spray paint for suede and velor products. In addition to color restoration, it has additional protective functions. Choose a shade that is as close as possible to the color of your shoes.

Black is easy to find, brown is more difficult, but with other shades, choosing paint to match is a very difficult task. To restore such a difficult color, try the purchased aerosol on a piece of material from the inside, for example, on suede covering a zipper. Only after making sure that the selected tone is correct, proceed to the color restoration procedure.

Home remedies are also sometimes used, although the effectiveness of such treatment is low:

• Coffee grounds are lightly rubbed into brown boots, which, after drying, are swept off the surface with a brush;
• the black pair is restored with carbon paper or a marker;
• white items are wiped with baby talc, which will simultaneously remove all greasy stains and refresh shiny areas.

Fighting salt and stains

There are many ways to clean shoes from white salt stains and stains. Some use purchased care products, others use traditional methods using improvised materials:

• shoe rubber or rubber eraser. The stains are wiped with its smooth side, and then the dirty areas are sanded with the soft part. As an alternative, a school eraser is used in combination with a water bath;
• universal care compositions for products made of suede or velor. These products have components that remove salt stains and provide protection to the outer velvety surface;
• rye crust. Use a piece of dried bread to treat the problem area, and remove the crumbs with a brush;
• vinegar. First, dust the surface, then wipe the dirty areas with a cloth soaked in table vinegar. Once again, wipe everything with a flannel soaked in clean water, dry it and lift the pile with a brush;
• ammonia. You can replace vinegar with an aqueous solution of ammonia in a ratio of 4 parts water and 1 part alcohol. The procedure is carried out in the same way as with vinegar;
• aerosol paint for shoes. Masks salt stains, smudges and some stains;
• petrol. Used for stubborn greasy stains. The smell is removed using a soap solution with a few drops of ammonia.

Subtleties of caring for light suede

Basic care rules apply to absolutely all suede shoes and boots, but for light-colored shoes, follow some additional tips:

• Have a separate brush for lint, do not clean a light and dark pair of ankle boots with the same brush;
• Remove greasy stains from the surface with talcum powder, starch or tooth powder. Cover the stain with the product, which you will sweep away after a while with a brush;
• For old and difficult stains, you can use laundry soap, which should be rubbed onto the stain for a quarter of an hour. Then treat the problem area with a brush.

Features of winter care

For ten years, winter weather has tested our strength. Frosts give way to thaws, snowstorms give way to rain. This happens several times a season. Suede shoes require dry, frosty or comfortable weather. It is better to avoid wearing velor boots in rain or wet snow, otherwise you will then need to dry them and restore the color and pile. Salt stains and other contaminants will also require additional effort.

Armed with knowledge of the basics of shoe care, you can successfully cope with unpleasant moments. By following our tips, you will look fashionable and elegant. The main thing is to take care of your shoes constantly and solve problems immediately, preventing stains from becoming fixed on the surface.

Storage rules

At the end of the season, dry boots or shoes made of brushed leather, treat them with a protective spray, tint them, dry them again and store them. Use plastic blocks to maintain shape. Boots “preserved” in this way until the next season will look like new for a long time. If there are no lasts, then stuff the inside of the shoes with rolled up newspapers.

It is recommended to store shoes and ankle boots in original packaging boxes, stacked on top of each other, or in special shoe cabinets. This way, the shoes do not wrinkle again, are kept in natural conditions with ventilation, and are not exposed to direct sunlight. It would be a good idea to place moth repellents next to it.

Important! Store boots with high tops flattened to avoid folds and creases.