How to Clean Suede Shoes

If you like to wear suede shoes or boots, then you know how stylish they can be, especially during the colder months. In addition to being highly fashionable, suede shoes can also be easily ruined if not cleaned properly. Follow these simple steps below to clean suede shoes while protecting the inherent beauty.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Clean, dry towel
• Pencil or suede eraser
• Metal suede brush
• Suede protector
• Nail brush
• 2 shoe trees or tissue paper
• Nail brush
• Dry cloth or sponge
• Shoe tree or tissue paper
• Suede brush
• Suede protector

General Cleaning

1. Take a clean, dry towel and gently rub your suede shoes. This helps to bring up the nap and restore the suede's surface.
2. Grab your pencil or suede eraser and rub your shoes to remove dry deeply embedded stains.
3. Brush the surface of your shoes with a metal suede brush using a controlled circular motions. This helps to smooth out the areas of your shoes that have been roughed up by the eraser. It also effectively gets rid of stubborn scuff marks.
4. Spray your shoes with a coat of suede protector.

Removing Water Stains

5. Place a light coat of water on the outside of each shoe with a clean nail brush if your shoes have water stains.
6. Soak up the excess water with a dry cloth or sponge.
7. Insert a shoe tree into each shoe and let them air dry overnight. Without the shoes trees, your shoes will lose their form or shrink. If you don't have any shoe trees, then use balled up tissue paper instead.
8. Go over your shoes with a suede brush the next day when they have dried completely.
9. Coat each shoe with a layer of suede protector.

Tips & Warnings

• To remove oil and other stubborn stain(s), scrub the soiled area(s) with a suede brush. If the stains don't budge, then use nail brush and warm water to scrub each stain.
• If your shoes have laces, then remove them so they don't impede the cleaning process. If the laces are dirty, too, then simply clean them in the sink with soap and water, add them to the laundry or buy a new pair.