Household Hints by Rosemary ~ Winter Boot Clean Up

Here are some good tips to make those winter boots last from season to season.

It's at this time of the year our winter boots start to show the work they've been doing while tramping through parking lots and in and out of the stores while Christmas shopping. Thankfully the parking lots, and streets, are well salted to save us from accidents, but leather and suede don't take well to this treatment.
As usual, when they were needed we didn't have time to pre-treat the leather or suede, so that they would be more resistant to marking and now they need a good cleaning to look presentable again. The best method is to use commercially produced cleaners meant for this purpose, but the homemade methods are as follows.
First, stuff the foot and leg part with newspaper. It will help absorb any excess moisture and it's easier to work with a boot that doesn't flop over when you're cleaning it. Try all procedures in an unobtrusive spot to make sure it doesn't damage the colour, finish or in the case of suede also the nap.
In the case of leather, take a damp cloth and wipe all over the boot to remove excess unabsorbed salt and any dirt. Mix a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, dip a sponge in the solution and wipe a small section at a time until you can see the salt mark lift; with a clean damp cloth wipe away the vinegar and water, then once again wipe the whole boot over with a soft dry cloth. Stand the boots up to dry in an area away from direct heat as it may cause the leather to crack. At this point, once dry, my Dad would dip a cloth in Vaseline and rub it into the leather particularly where there was stitching which he insisted gave a very good water barrier. I would normally only suggest this if the boots were older, but it did seem to work very well, otherwise a good coat of leather polish should do the job.
Suede is a little trickier, once it's newspaper-stuffed, use a soft brush all over the boot to loosen any dirt or salt crystals. Steam the boot over a boiling kettle spout, then use a soft eraser on one area at a time to scrub away the salt mark, lightly dab with a damp cloth. I have seen suggestions to use the vinegar and water solution on suede, but I would be very careful to test it first. Once the salt marks have been cleaned away steam the boot once again over a boiling kettle, then soft brush it all over and stand out of direct heat.
The best solution to all of this of course, is to clean and spray the boots before they are put away in the spring. I'll do better next time, instead of skipping happily in the warm sunshine tossing them in the winter bin to say goodbye without a thought of snow, salt, sleet. I hope you are all wiser than I.