How to Prolong the Life of Your Shoes

We're on our feet constantly, dashing here, running there and scurrying everywhere. A little tender loving care can keep shoes in top-notch condition, slow the threat of a heavy heel and reverse the damage of wicked winter weather.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Shoe Shining/cleaning Kits
• Damp Cloths
• Cushioned Shoe Insoles
• Old Newspapers
• Damp cloths

1. Store your shoes in shoe boxes, or place them on a shoe rack that attaches to your closet door. This will prevent them from getting crushed in the depths of your closet and keep them away from the menacing jaws of your pets.

2. Insert shoe trees or forms into expensive dress shoes to maintain their original shape. Combat odors by spraying the interior with deodorizing foot sprays or odor-absorbing shoe inserts.

3. Spray cloth shoes with a waterproofer and stain repellent before their first wearing. Keep suede shoes looking good with a periodic brushing.

4. Use saddle soap on smooth leather shoes to remove water and salt stains. Polish shoes on a regular basis to nourish the leather and keep the exterior color consistent.

5. Pay attention to wear at the tips and heels of your shoes. Get reinforcements if you tend to wear your shoe tips down, and have heel bottoms replaced before you wear into the wood or rubber body of the heel.

6. Wear rubber shoe covers or switch to all-weather shoes when you're obligated to traverse snow- and salt-covered streets. Let waterlogged shoes air dry, or stuff them with a clean, old T-shirt, as placing them in front of a heater can dry them out or cause shrinkage.

7. Try to remove tar with baby oil and gum with ice before attempting to scrape either off with a knife.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do a lot of driving, consider stashing a pair of drive-only shoes in your car. This will help protect the heels of your good shoes.
• Love to go sockless? Keep foot perspiration and fungus from breaking down shoe inners by wearing ventilated shoe inserts.
• Wear rubber gloves when polishing shoes, and always work over old newspapers or rags. Polish can stain carpets, linoleum, marble and wood.

Who Can Help:

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[shasha10]

on 4/13/2009 Nice article. A good comfortable pair of shoes are priceless. It pays to take care of them.

on 11/22/2005 Use shop granules made for floor grease and make a powder out of it. Mix it with oil and rub it into the suede. Let it set for 2 hours and dust off the shoes. This works great. Re-use as necessary.