How To Clean Boots At Home FAST (Step By Step Guide)

Hey guys! 

When it comes to one of the treasured possessions in your wardrobe, boots are ought to be one of them. Boots never go off the trend and therefore, we need to treasure and maintain it from time to time. 

I know, it strains your nerves even with the thought of cleaning your boots and you might think of discarding the old one and get a new in place of it. 

But why waste money on the new when your old one can be renewed completely with ease with some brilliant hacks?

So, today in this article I am going to tell you about how to clean your different types of work boots stained with different things just by following some quick and easy hacks sitting back at home.

Contents

• • • How to Clean Leather Boots
    • How to Clean Smelly Boots
    • Clean Different Types of Stains
    • How to Clean Tar from Boots
    • Clean your Suede Boots
    • Get Off Sticky Dirt from the Bottom
    • Clean Different Parts of Boot

How to Clean Leather Boots?

Step 1: Taking out the removable parts of the boots

Firstly, take out the laces, soles and inserts to treat them separately afterwards.

Step 2: Getting rid of loose dirt and debris

Take a horsehair brush or a soft bristled toothbrush or a soft lint free cotton cloth. Now brush off/wipe off the loose dirt from the boots by rigorous motions. Do not forget to go deep into the pores and other corners of the boots where the dirt might have settled.

Step 3: Applying the soap solution

Mix a few table spoons of soap in a bowl of water and work into lather. Now take a soft bristled toothbrush or a soft lint free cotton cloth and dip it into the soap water solution. Work in slow circular motions over the leather fibers. Do not forget to take extra care of the sides and edges, heels and outsoles. Go deep into the pores using the toothbrush.

Step 4: Wiping off the soap solution

Again take a clean damp cloth and wipe off the soap from the boots. 

Step 5: Drying the boots

Dry the boots under the sun or under a fan or using a dryer. (Use dryer to dry Boots FAST)

Step 6: Conditioning the boots

Only cleaning the boots won’t work. You have to condition the boots as well to retain the shine and restore the leather fibers.

Step 7: Cleaning the extra parts (soles, laces)

Dip the laces, soles and inserts in the soap solution and wash them nicely. Dry them separately using the dryer.

How to Clean Smelly Boots?

Step 1: Cleaning with soap water solution

Mix a few table spoons of soap in a bowl of water and work into lather. Now take a soft bristled toothbrush or a soft lint free cotton cloth and dip it into the soap water solution. Work in slow circular motions over the leather fibers. Do not forget to take extra care of the sides and edges, heels and outsoles. Go deep into the pores using the toothbrush.

Step 2: Drying the boots

Dry the boots under the sun or under a fan or using a dryer.

Step 3: Sprinkling the baking soda

Sprinkle some baking soda on and inside the boots. Don’t forget to take out the insoles first. Keep the baking soda sprinkled overnight.

Step 4: Taking off the baking soda

With a damp cloth, take off the baking soda from the outside and the insides of the boots. Then use a dry cloth to wipe dry the boots.

Step 5: Drying the boots

Dry the boots under the sun or under a fan or using a dryer.

Step 6: Preparing the boot deodorizing spray

Ingredients:

• • 1. Spray bottle
    2. Half a cup of water
    3. Half a cup of distilled white vinegar
    4. Few drops (6-7 drops) of tea tree oil

Procedure:

• • 1. Spray the boot deodorizer inside the boots and let dry naturally under the sun.
    2. You can use the fan or dryer to dry quickly.

Step 7: Treating the removable parts

Clean the soles, laces and inserts in the soap solution and repeat every step with these parts as well.

You can also follow some other exciting steps on how to get rid of work boot smell. 

How to Clean Different Types of Stains from the Boots?

We have come up with really exciting DIY ideas to restore your leather boots in various conditions:

1.) When your boots are stained with Ink:

• • 1. Here you need a nail polish remover or a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
    2. Put either of the two on the ink spot on your boot. Don’t rub it now as the ink might spread in the neighbouring areas. 
    3. Once the alcohol has been semi absorbed, take a piece of dry rag and rub off the stain. 
    4. Now, take a soap solution and using a rag rub gently on the area. 
    5. Dry the boots using a dryer.

2.) When your boots are stained with grease or oil:

Grease or oil creates really stubborn marks on the leather. But, you don’t need to worry, as we have some easy tips for it too:

• • 1. Grab some cornstarch or baking soda and sprinkle it all over the greased surface.
    2. Rub the leather gently with a wet piece of cotton rag.
    3. Let it sit overnight.
    4. The starch will absorb all the oil or grease.
    5. Wipe off the surface with a damp cloth and dry the boots using a dryer.

3.) Any other stain:

Who knows your food might fall on your boots or your kid might drop their paint on your boots. Well there is a remedy for that too:

• • 1. Mix equal parts of lemon juice and tartar cream.
    2. Apply it on the stained area and leave it for 1 hour.
    3. Use a damp rag to remove the paste.
    4. Dry the boots.

How to Clean Tar from Boots

Step 1: Use a stainless steel knife to get rid of the hard tar:

1.) Take your shoes and scrape off the hard tar from the bottom of the shoes. Don’t be very harsh in this process. Use the knife gently to scrape the tar off or else you might end up taking our portions of your shoes’ soles with the knife.

2.) If there are still tar left in between the gaps of the outer soles, leave that and don’t use knife to clean them. We will treat these hidden tars in the following steps.

Step 2: Use conditioners to soften the tar:

If there is tar remaining in the gaps of your outer soles, apply any of the following conditioners in thick layer on the remaining tar and keep overnight:

1.) Boot conditioners, olive oil, eucalyptus oil, vegetable oil, butter, etc.

2.) Next morning, take a toothbrush and gently brush out the softened tar from the shoes.

Step 3: Use solvents for the remaining stains:

By any chance if any small portion of tar has remained hidden in any corners of your shoes or there are visible stains of tar, you just need any of the following solvents to do the job:

1.) Fuel (petrol), lamp oil, turpentine oil, WD-40 or rubbing alcohol.

2.) Take a piece of cloth and dip it in any of the above mentioned liquids. Now blotch or rub it over the stain in circular motions until the stains are vanished.

You can also know about different methods on how to get different types of tar off from different boots.

5 HACKS to Clean your Suede Boots at Home

It is very important to learn the correct ways of cleaning them or else you will lose hold of your favorite boots. And if done correctly, they will look the same even after years and years. So, here we begin with some of the easiest and quickest ways to set your suede boots right:

1.) Soft bristle brushes:

Yes, you can use any soft bristled tooth brush or a good suede brush to clean your boots. Using a hard brush might damage the soft suede fibers. 

Always remember to go in the direction of the suede fibers or they will fall off soon and look distorted. Another thing to note is that your boots should be completely dry while brushing.

2.) White vinegar:

Always brushing won’t do the job. You need some chemicals for cleaning those spots on your boots. White vinegar is the easiest available fix for this.

Put a considerable amount of white vinegar on a piece of clean cloth. Rub gently on the spotted area of the suede in the direction of the suede fibers. Your stains would be gone.

Don’t forget to dry your boots after that and brush with a suede brush or a tooth brush.

3.) Suede eraser:

Suede eraser does the same job that is to clean the spots from your boots. A number of them are available in the market. Just invest on the right product.

4.) Hair dryer:

Of course you cannot leave your boots wet. They will stain badly if there is moisture locked in it. After cleaning it with any liquid all you need to do is to strip all the moisture off your boots.

For this, just take your hair dryer and blow it in the direction of the suede fibers. Then keep the boots under the sun for 10-15 minutes and your boots are completely dry.

5.) Washing:

Obviously you cannot dip your boots in water to wash it. All you can do is take a mild shampoo, make a froth of it. Take a piece of clean cloth and rub the boots in the direction of the fibers. Don’t forget to wipe with clean water after it.

How to Get Off Sticky Dirt from the Bottom of the Boots

Step 1: Use a painter’s duck tape:

Apply some painter’s duck tape around the edges of the shoes. This will protect the leather of your shoes from the heavier chemicals that would be applied afterwards in the process.

Step 2: Spray WD40 on the tarred areas:

Apply 3 coats of WD40 on the tar of your shoes. The chemical drips off taking out the tar and dirt from the soles of your shoes without any effort. 

Step 3: Use Armor All Wipes:

Take the Armor All Wipes and wipe out the left behind tar or stain from the soles.

Cleaning Different Parts of the Boots (Insides and Insoles)

How to clean the insoles?

• • 1. Take out the insoles from the boots
    2. Now wash them thoroughly in warm water using a mild detergent
    3. Then rinse them nicely to remove any soapy residue
    4. Dry them in the sun or using the dryer

How to clean the insides of the boots?

• • 1. First take out the insoles and clean them as described in the previous section above
    2. Then add few drops of mild shampoo in warm water in a bowl
    3. Using a lint free cloth or sift bristled toothbrush, dipped in the soap solution, clean the inside of the boots
    4. Now take a damp towel or cloth to wipe off any soapy residue from inside of the boots
    5. Dry them using a dryer nicely
    6. You can then follow the steps used to eliminate odor from the boots mention in the section above

Before we say Good Bye:

I tried to include every possible detail regarding cleaning of boots ranging from different types of stains and different types of boots.

Hope that cleaning your boots won’t be any difficult task hence.

Still if you have any queries regarding cleaning of boots or you want to tell us about your special hacks, please do comment below.

We would love to hear from you guys!

Pro tips: Just a thing to note: don’t ever dip your boots in water or it will ruin your boots forever! 

Also don’t miss out our article on how to dry boots fast.

Because drying is the most important part after cleaning the boots as a wet boot or a boot with moisture will not only last short, but can also cause certain foot diseases due to the building of bacteria in it.

That’s all for today folks!

Take care, stay healthy…

And…

Keep walking!