With the onset of the bad rainy season, every man starts thinking about the problem of clean shoes. It is difficult to keep your shoes clean without cleaning them regularly, but let me tell you that in order to ensure the best performance of your shoes over time, we recommend proper care and maintenance, after all, they should only be used for your day. K needs little attention from his busy schedule and he is happy as such. Although there are many options for protecting your shoes from dirt and water (for example, wearing galoshes or just rubber boots, and just changing your shoes at the office), we are sometimes too lazy to come up with something Or think it’s not so terrible to wet your shoes. However, I have to disappoint you. Good leather shoes, if not taken care of, will wear out after the first “wet” weather and their favorite shoes will have to be thrown away.
So in this article, we will show you how to clean your shoes to make them shine and protect them from dirt and water, one more thing, these tips will help you to keep any sneakers and running shoes fresh and clean in a few easy steps.
Easy Tips To Take Care Of Your Shoes
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How To Clean Your Shoes?
As you may have noticed in your previous statement, a key component of shoe care is shoe polishing. If you are going to work or an official event, your shoes should be clean and shiny. This is a strict rule that I think a man should follow. Why, do you ask? The fact is that a clean and tidy appearance is the key to a good atmosphere for people to come to you. Once again I remind you of a saying: “They meet you on the clothes, but escort you to your mind”. If you have a nice suit, clean shirt, well picked up tie, but dirty and not cleaned shoes since their purchase – you are a sloppy man. I assure you that if a person shakes your hand, smiling kindly, and then accidentally sees dirty shoes, he will change his face (or pretend he hasn’t noticed) and change his mind about you.
I will repeat once again. Every self-respecting person should wear neat shoes and moreover classic shoes. Of course, there are cases when shoes got dirty on the way to work from home, even if you were as careful as possible. In this case, there is a damper for shoes of a smaller size, which will fit even a small briefcase. Ideally, you can have a special machine for shoeshine at work, but this is only found in large office centers or halls of large companies, where there are many top managers. In any case, find a way to clean your shoes quickly.
So, besides the good appearance, well-cleaned shoes will be protected from moisture and dirt. This will have a positive effect on her life expectancy, especially if you buy expensive shoes and want her to please you for many years.
What Do You Need To Clean Your Shoes?
Shoe Polish
Generally, there are two types of shoe polish, cream, and wax. Whether you choose a polishing cream or just wax depends on how polished your shoes are. Shoe polish cream gives you a medium shine, but moisturizes your skin and refreshes your shoes. Keep in mind that if you choose the wrong shade of cream for your colored leather shoes, you can change the color of your shoes, so be careful when choosing a cream.
Shoe wax, in turn, waxes finely over small skin lesions, and abrasions and gives a strong shine after polishing your shoes. But it doesn’t renew the shoe’s color, as the wax is sold in the natural color – beige.
For normal care, I still recommend using a shoe cream with the right color for your leather shoes. There are fewer problems with it, and it is better able to cope with moisture protection.
Polishing Cloth
A shoe polish cloth is necessary to polish your shoes to shine. A special polishing cloth can be purchased from the shoe shop, while a regular old cotton shirt will also do. All you have to do is wrap a little cloth around your fingers and polish your shoes.
Clean Rag
A clean cloth is needed to wipe off the excess cream. Perfect for any soft cloth.
Brush For Footwear
Shoe brushes are the main tool you can’t do without. I strongly recommend buying a brush with natural horsehair. Why with horsehair? The fact is that such hair is hard enough for the brush to normally clean shoes and soft enough not to damage the skin on the shoes. A good brush is inexpensive, but it will last for many years. Don’t be stingy.
Small Brush With A Handle (If Necessary)
In order to clean shoes in hard-to-reach meters, you need a small brush with a handle. Of course, you can buy a special toothbrush in a shop, but a regular old toothbrush is also a good idea.
Glass Of Water (If Necessary)
You will need water to clean the dirt and polish your pair of shoes.
How To Clean Your Shoes And Make Them Shine
The method that we will look at below is not exactly suitable for everyday shoe care. It is more suitable if you have stepped into a puddle, dirty shoes to the bottom and you need to clean up the pair immediately so that it does not spoil. A simpler and faster way to clean your shoes is at the end of this article.
So, having collected all the items listed above that we need for our work, place them next to each other so that they are always close at hand. Before you start cleaning your shoes, spread out a newspaper or cloth so you don’t have to clean the floor afterward, as the shoes can be dirty.
Step 1: Shoe preparation
Remove the shoelaces from the shoes and insert a wooden spacer or just crumpled paper into the shoes to make the shoe surface firm.
Step 2: Dust and dirt removal
Take a prepared cloth and wipe the entire surface of the boot from dirt and dust. If there’s a lot of dirt or it’s stuck in hard-to-reach places, use a small brush with a handle or an old toothbrush. If the surface of your shoe is very dirty, soak a piece of cloth and run it through to remove any dirt. Before moving on to the next step, let the shoes dry for 10 minutes and finally inspect the pair to see if all the dirt has been cleaned up.
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Step 3: Apply shoe polish
Apply enough shoe polish to the shoes to treat the entire surface. Rub the cream in a circular motion, this will allow you to absorb the cream better into the skin surface and distribute the cream evenly over the shoe. If necessary, apply more shoe cream until the entire surface has been treated and is matte. Remember the small brush and use it to apply the cream in hard-to-reach areas. Allow the cream to soak in and dry slightly for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Shoe polishing
Take a prepared horsehair brush and polish your shoes by moving the brush from side to side with sudden movements. The shoes will start to shine a little bit.
Take a polishing cloth and drip some water on your shoes (you can just wet the cloth in the water). Use circular movements to polish your shoes to shine, wetting the cloth as needed. Notice that too much water is not needed, just a damp cloth is enough to prevent the water from dripping off.
Step 5: Shoe Lacing
After putting a shine on your shoes, pull out the strut or paper, lace up your shoes and let them dry for 15-20 minutes, then you can go to the streets of the city.
Express Shoe Shine
Of course, every day to spend 30-40 minutes on shoe shine there is neither time nor desire. Therefore, it is possible to reduce shoe shine to only 3 steps:
Step 1: Cleaning your shoes from dust and dirt
Without lacing your shoes, soak the cloth with water and wipe the entire surface of the shoes. First one shoe, then the other. Perform operations with one shoe in turn, then with the other. While one dries, the other you clean.
Step 2: Applying Shoe Cream
Apply the cream to your shoe and circular motions, brush from horsehair and rub the cream on the skin. After application, polish the shoes a little, moving the brush from side to side with sharp movements.
Step 3: Final polishing of the shoes
Wet the cloth with water, wrap it around two fingers (middle and index fingers) and turn the shoes to shine.
The time you will spend on such shoe cleaning will be about 3-4 minutes, but even such an express variant will protect your shoes from bad weather and will allow you to look good.
Shoe Care Recommendations
If you ruined your shoes with salt sprinkled on the streets in winter, take a glass of warm water and add a teaspoon of table vinegar (a concentrate not diluted with 6%). Wet a cotton cloth with a vinegar solution and apply it to the salt domes before you clean your shoes well.
Use wooden shoe struts, which prevent the shoes from wrinkling during summer storage and allow the shoes to “breathe”.
Always wear shoes with a shoe spoon (shoe cone). You will keep your shoe heel intact.
If your shoes are dry and frayed, buy a good shoe conditioner and return them to their normal appearance.
That’s it, then. I’m sure men shouldn’t have any problems now, and they’ll know how to clean their shoes and shoes in particular. I wish everybody to keep their favorite shoes for many years and look good in the eyes of the people around them. Good luck!
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