As with outdoor clothing, it is important to maintain your walking boots so that you can continue to enjoy them for a long time. This not only keeps your boots looking good, but also maintains the high quality of the outer material. It also extends the life of your boots.
It is advisable to clean the shoes after every walk with a brush and lukewarm water. It is also important that the shoes are treated thoroughly. In the video below, we explain how to do this in a few steps. Further down this page, you will find more information about each step.
Step 1: Remove laces and insoles
Dirt often remains in the areas where the laces are located, or the impregnation material does not reach the areas covered by the laces. It is therefore important to remove the laces from the shoes when cleaning and treating them. Removing the insoles from the walking shoes allows the inside of the shoe to dry better. In addition, the insoles absorb a lot of moisture, so they dry well when removed from the shoes.
Step 2: Cleaning shoes
Before treating the shoes, it is important to clean them. If your shoes are covered in mud, you can remove it with a brush and lukewarm water.
If you also want to clean the inside of the shoes, it is best to do so with lukewarm water. For textile linings, you can use a little green soap. This helps to remove perspiration odours from the shoes and restore the breathability of a GORE-TEX membrane.
Step 3: Shoe cleaner
After removing coarse dirt, spray them with a shoe cleaner. The shoe cleaner ensures that any remaining dirt and even embedded dirt is removed. This will leave your shoes really clean. Be careful not to use ordinary soap, as this will dry out the material.
Next, allow the shoes to dry before proceeding to step 4. It is important that you do not place them too close to the heating or stove. If you do, the leather may dry out and crack.
Step 4: Conditioner for leather shoes
If you have shoes with an outer material made of (nubuck) leather, we recommend treating them with a conditioner. This nourishes the leather and keeps it supple.
Steps 5 and 6: Impregnation
Over time, walking boots become less water- and dirt-repellent. Impregnating your walking boots restores their water- and dirt-repellent properties. Instructions on how to impregnate your walking boots are usually provided on the back of the impregnating agent. Spray the shoes and wipe off any excess material with an old cloth.
A few important points to consider when impregnating:
- The shoes should usually be slightly damp when you spray them with a waterproofing spray.
Most impregnating agents are water-based and penetrate the leather better when the walking boot is still damp. - When using an oil-based impregnating agent, it is important that the shoes are completely dry before treatment.
It is best to spray the shoes outside at a distance of approximately 30 cm.
Shoes with a synthetic outer material are less maintenance-sensitive. After use in dirty conditions, you can easily brush them off with a coarse brush. It is not necessary to spray shoes with a synthetic outer material. However, you can spray the shoes with a water-repellent material if desired. The material we recommend for this is Carbon Pro.
Step 7: extra protection with wax
With leather walking shoes, the leather dries out after prolonged or intensive use. Over time, the leather becomes brittle and starts to crack. To prevent this, you can treat the leather with wax. You can rub wax into the walking shoes with a cloth or your fingers. If there is any excess wax, you can remove it with a cloth. You can also rub a maintenance product into the toe caps of the shoes. Instructions on how to apply this maintenance product are provided on the packaging.
Please note: Waxing will make the rough surface of suede and nubuck smooth, shiny and dark. If you do not like this effect, it is better not to wax your shoes. You can use a suede brush to roughen the leather slightly, but it will never be quite the same as it was before.
Do not use oil or grease! Oiling or greasing the leather will make it soft and waterproof, but the walking boot will no longer be stable and breathable. The leather will become limp, the pores of the leather will be sealed and glued parts of the boot may come loose.
Step 8: bothered by odours?
This last step is not necessary for everyone. Do you suffer from odours in your shoes, for example due to sweaty feet? Then you can use a spray that neutralises this odour. Such as Grangers Odour Eliminator. You spray this into your shoe and the spray does the rest.
Storage
Store your walking shoes in a dry, well-ventilated place. Do not leave them in the car or near the heating. Shoes can become mouldy in damp areas. You can place a wooden shoe tree in your walking shoes to keep them in good shape.
