Important Tips
Before putting on new suede shoes, treat them with a special protective spray. Use the product according to the season. For winter, autumn and early spring it is better to use water-repellent sprays. They allow the suede to remain dry even on very wet roads. In addition, after the sole and upper material dry, the suede remains beautiful and fleecy. For summer shoes made of special leather, it is better to use dust-repellent compounds. They preserve the brightness of a black product and the freshness of light-colored shoes.
After treating the suede with the spray, let it sit for at least three hours and only then put on your shoes. Renew the spray layers periodically approximately once every 2-3 weeks or as appropriate.
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What products and tools are needed for cleaning at home?
Tools:
- Rag. A plain rag made from natural material is suitable. Coloreds can shed.
- Vacuum cleaner. Removes dust.
- Towel. Paper and regular.
- Roller for cleaning clothes. Cleans out small debris.
- Brush. Buy a special brush at a hardware store that is designed specifically for suede. Some people replace it with dental or regular clothing, but with natural bristles.
- Sponge. You need to use one that matches the color of the hat. Ideal option: colorless white.
- An eraser.
- Professional suede care products. Only liquid and without chlorine.
Homemade cleaning products. To prepare them you will need:
- colorless vodka or alcohol;
- petrol;
- soda;
- vinegar;
- milk;
- salt;
- starch;
- white bread (for light suede), rye bread (for dark suede).
Important! Caps and berets in bright colors require careful handling. Ideal option: postpone attempts to get rid of dirt yourself and contact a dry cleaner.
How to clean suede from street dirt
If you walked in such elegant shoes along the autumn street after rain, most likely you got them dirty and dirty the soles. Under no circumstances should you start cleaning suede when it is “fresh”. And of course, do not wipe off the dirt with a damp cloth. This way you will only rub it deeper into the pile and ruin the product.
Proceed this way:
- Just let the shoes dry at room temperature.
- Then take a special double-sided brush for cleaning suede. On one side it has metalized bristles, and on the other - rubberized. Use a wire brush to remove any dried dirt.
- Then lift the pile with rubber bristles.
Done, your shoes are like new.
Caring for suede items
So that this issue torments you as little as possible and is resolved quickly and without any problems:
- Treat the product immediately after purchase with a water-repellent agent. This simple and not so expensive procedure will protect you from: drizzling rain, splashes, passing cars, salts, snow, etc.
- Buy only time-tested products in specialized departments or shoe stores.
- If necessary, use dry cleaning. An inept attempt at home to remove a large and complex stain can have serious consequences. And it will cost more than it could have been done initially.
- Daily care is best done at home.
- But at the end of each season, you need to use specialized dry cleaning and put the item in storage until the next season.
Salt stains
In winter, it often becomes necessary to clean suede shoes from white spots or white stains.
They are formed if boots or boots have been in melt water with the inclusion of reagents. As a rule, a standard suede brush will help here too.
If the salt does not go away, proceed as follows:
- Hold your boots or boots over the hot steam for a few seconds. Try not to let it get too wet. After this, wipe the suede with a dry cloth and lift the pile with a brush or a dry crust of black bread.
- Use a clean sponge lightly dampened with 9% vinegar. Wipe the area with the salt stain or stain, and then go over the top with a slightly damp cloth. Dry your shoes and refresh the bristles with a brush.
With vinegar
- Go over milk stains or stains with a regular office lint eraser.
Fatty, shiny spots
Sometimes it becomes necessary not only to clean suede shoes from dirt, but also to remove shiny, greasy stains, as well as wrinkles from time to time. In this case, talc or a light soap solution will help.
In the first case, apply a little hot talc (starch) to the greasy stain. They should be heated in a dry, clean frying pan. Shake off any remaining residue and let the boots or shoes sit for an hour or two. During this time, it adsorbs fat onto itself. Then go over the shoes with a metallic brush, removing any remaining dirt. Repeat the procedure if necessary.
If you have to fight shiny creases, then a soap solution is good. Prepare it from a small amount of warm water and detergent (for dishes, for hands). You can add a couple of drops of ammonia here. Beat the foam well and apply it to the crease area. Try to ensure that only foam, not water, gets on the suede. Let the boots or boots sit for half an hour. Then use a dry sponge to blot the suede thoroughly and brush it with a brush to lift the lint.
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We remove other types of contaminants
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to determine the nature of the contaminants, but most of them can be cleaned with plain water.
Fresh stains from milk, eggs, blood, various types of food and drinks can be removed by wetting a piece of cloth with water and wiping the affected area.
Few people know, but if you add ammonia to the soap solution, the dirt comes off much easier and faster.
But this method has one drawback: when it dries, the pile becomes hard, but this can be easily corrected by working with a brush.
With the arrival of cold weather, warm clothes come into use, but bad luck, there is a stain on the suede sheepskin coat, the nature of which can no longer be determined.
It doesn’t matter, a stagnant stain can be removed using a paste of starch and ammonia.
To do this, you need to mix the ingredients one to one, apply to the contaminated area and let it dry, then brush off the dried paste.
Don’t forget to treat the product with a water-repellent solution after any cleaning procedure; this will significantly extend its service life and appearance.
Cleaning light suede
Often you have to clean light-colored suede shoes from dirt, since they suffer especially badly from street wear. To remove stains from such material, first clean the shoes of dried dirt and dust. Next, prepare a light-colored cleaning solution from half a cup of skim milk, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 2 drops of ammonia. Mix everything well. Use a clean sponge to pick up a little solution and rub the stain thoroughly. Then remove any remaining moisture with a dry cloth or sponge. Let the shoes dry, then lift the pile with a brush.
Before using any wet method of cleaning suede, test how the solution works on an inconspicuous area of the material. As a rule, this is the inside of boots or boots in the area of the zipper or lace. Do not use aggressive detergents containing chlorine. They can discolor black shoes.
Loss of appearance, what to do?
The appearance of unsightly creases and scuffs is most often found on suede shoes. Milk at room temperature with a teaspoon of soda dissolved in it will help return it to its previous appearance.
A similar effect will be achieved by ammonia and water mixed 1 to 4. You need to treat the affected area with a cotton swab and then wipe with a clean damp cloth.
But that’s not all, after this procedure, mix vinegar with water, at the rate of one teaspoon per two glasses of water.
Without a doubt, vinegar will help clean suede. However, you should be careful when using it; apply the vinegar solution to the fabric only with a napkin soaked in it.
Steam can correct the situation here too, but only if the problem is small.
Quite often, owners of suede products are faced with the problem of color loss. Here you can use a dye; you must use it after carefully studying the instructions.
Brown suede can be saved by coffee grounds. You need to generously rub the material with this slurry, wait a little, and then clean off the remaining coffee from the surface.
Surprisingly, after such a procedure, the thing will look like new, not a trace will remain from such treatment, and a pleasant bonus will be the fact that this procedure can be repeated several times, which means that such a thing will last much longer.
How to refresh the color of your shoes
Wearing suede shoes for a long time causes them to fade and become less bright. In this case, it is quite possible to restore the color at home. Rub brown shoes or boots well with coffee grounds. Let them sit overnight and then remove any remaining product.
Light-colored shoes (white and milky) can be refreshed with talcum powder or chalk. Follow the same principle. Rub the suede thoroughly and then shake off any excess. Lift the pile with a brush.
For black shoes, use special dyeing compounds. They are sprayed onto clean shoes and dry within a few hours.
Before and after
If you have colored suede, then you can restore the brightness of its color only in a workshop.
