How to Clean Suede Shoes
Wearing suede shoes does tend to change your body language. It makes for a strong fashion statement besides looking very stylish. You can't help, but show off these lovely, warm, comfortable, shiny and (of course) expensive shoes, and end up wearing them a lot. The beauty being hard to go unnoticed, suede shoes have a tendency to get dirty easily.
Cleaning Suede Shoes at Home
Suede, obtained from the hides of various animals like deer, pig, lamb and calf, is a type of leather. As suede is made from the under-skin of the animals, it is soft and more porous than leather. Also, the shiny surface and velvety texture makes it vulnerable to stains and watermarks. The synthetic suede shoes available, though are easy to clean than the pure ones.
Gather cleaning Material
To clean your suede shoes, you need to gather some stuff first. While purchasing, you would have come across a suede shoe cleaning kit. In case you haven't got that, purchase it, as it is better to clean your shoes using standard material. The kit contains a suede brush and a suede eraser. Apart from this, you will also require a nail brush, sponge, a sharp blade and a towel.
Cleaning Water Stains
Water stains discolor suede. To remove the water stains from your shoes, you need to apply water, evenly on the whole outer surface of the shoes, using a nail brush or a water spray. Then soak up all the excess water form the shoes with a sponge or a dry cloth. Allow the shoes to dry overnight keeping them stuffed with paper. Once dried, you can brush the shoes over with a suede brush leaving them slightly darker, but evenly colored.
Removing the Dirt
To remove dirt, use the suede brush. In case you don't have one, a nail brush would also do. Brush away the dirt form the shoes by making short, gentle strokes with the brush. Make sure you make these strokes in one direction only. As the dirt starts coming off the surface, you will notice the original color of your shoes reappear!
Removing Oil and Other Stains
The dried stain needs to be first brushed off vigorously with a suede brush. Now either use a wet cloth or a nail brush and scrub the stained surface with warm water. In case of very bad stains like grease, you might need a suede cleaner.
Removing Mud
To clean muddy suede shoes, first remove whatever extra mud there is on the surface. Then let the mud left on the surface dry. Now using your suede brush or nail brush, break the mud particles from the shoes and then simply wipe them off with a piece of damp cloth.
Cleaning Suede Shoes with a Suede Eraser
A suede eraser is useful for cleaning small stains and spots. It works exactly like your pencil eraser. Start rubbing softly at places where the stains and spots are present and you will notice the dirt settling on the suede eraser. Increase your intensity, until the spot finally disappears. If you do not have your suede eraser, a pencil eraser will also do the trick.
Cleaning Suede Shoes using Household Products
Vinegar
Vinegar can be used to clean stubborn stains from your suede shoes. You will have to apply vinegar on to a dry cloth and rub it on the stains. After it has dried, use the suede brush or a nail brush to brush it off from the surface. This method is effective, even though not recommended by professionals.
Refrigerator
To remove wax, or may be a chewing gum stuck to your suede shoes, you can leave it in your freezer! It makes the wax or the stuck gum on the shoes hard so that you can just chip it off the surface. Clear the residue with a suede brush.
Steam
You can use steam from an iron or a kettle on your suede shoes. By applying heat through steam on the surface, the pores on the surface of the suede open up, making it easier to clean the shoes.
Tips to Maintain Suede Shoes
- When you are cleaning your shoes, take off your shoe lace, as it can cause hindrance in your cleaning process, and as you would also not want to spoil your lace.
- Use the suede protection sprays to prevent watermarks or stains on your shoes. Apply this spray on your shoes for about 4 to 6 times a year, to ensure that your suede shoes last long.
- Kindly avoid using any dry solvents or suede dyes at home as they do not guarantee you clean or damage free shoes.
- In case you use vinegar to get rid of the oil stains from suede shoes, it will lead to a mild odor from your shoes.
- If you have to keep your shoes away for a long time, make sure that they are wrapped in paper, put them in a box and store in a dry, dark place.
- You can also visit certain professional suede cleaners in the market to get your shoes cleaned once in a while.
