Let’s face it – shoes get dirty! Their primary purpose, after being a fashion statement of course, is protecting your feet from the dirty ground! So it’s only natural that both adults and kids shoes will need some cleaning and special care. And if you take care of your shoes and your kids shoes they will last longer.
Caring for Leather Shoes
Conditioning leather shoes keeps the leather soft and prevents them cracking and drying out. Most supermarkets will sell a leather cleaning product. Perfect for cleaning kids leather shoes and also conditioning them, you can also use these types of products on your own leather shoes.
Leather Shoe Care Do’s and Don’ts
- Do protect your leather shoes with a waterproof protector for additional protection from moisture.
- For minor dirt on baby shoes, something mild like a baby wipe is often all that is needed to clean them up like new.
- For heavy soiling, do wipe shoes first with a soft cloth or use a soft brush to remove excess dirt prior to applying a shoe cleaner.
- After cleaning, apply a leather conditioning product. Simply apply once or twice to clean and condition, depending on how dirty the shoes are!
- Do a small test patch first in an inconspicuous area the first time you use a shoe cleaning product on a new pair of shoes.
- When using any cleaning product, use gloves and work in a well ventilated area, away from small children.
Here’s what NOT to do!
- Don’t WASH your leather shoes in the washing machine!
- Don’t spray them with a hose or direct flow of water.
- Don’t use other unsuitable chemicals to clean leather shoes e.g. kitchen surface sprays.
- Treat your kids leather shoes well and they will be outgrown before they are outworn!
How Do I Clean PU Leather?
To clean manmade or PU leather shoes, simply remove any excess dirt with a soft brush or dry cloth, then wipe down with a damp cloth. PU leather is more tolerant of moisture and doesn’t need conditioning.
