If you’re a walker, hiker or mountaineer, you’ll likely have a decent pair of boots at your disposal. However, to keep your boots looking and performing great across your walks and trails, you’re going to need to care for them properly. Unsure how to clean hiking boots? Here’s some helpful tips on how to get started…
Clean Up As Soon As You’re Home
This is the number one rule! Leaving dirt, sand and mud to fester is going to make things very difficult in the long run. Why leave your boots caking in dirt when you can carefully get it all off in a couple of minutes? Save your future self some serious time and effort.
Step 1: Get the Dirt Off
The first thing you should always do is get rid of that nuisance dirt, mud, sand and debris. No matter where you’ve been hiking, dirt is going to clog up your treads and grooves (especially if you’ve been hiking in the rain).
You can actually do this on the move by soaking yourself in a puddle or two to dislodge the worst of it.
Otherwise, make sure to rinse them carefully. It’s a good idea to do this in any case. Try not to throw them into a pool of water – use a hose or shower head sparingly or on a low setting to carefully remove nuisance clods. Submerging your boots is going to risk their integrity.
You might not get all the mud off at this point. Don’t worry – that bit’s coming up.
Step 2: Get Into the Nitty Gritty
Yes, you’re going to have to clean deeply if you want to clean properly. This means getting deep into your laces and all the nooks and crannies you’d normally forget about.
Remove anything you can from your boots, and take a nice, soft brush, as well as a little water, to the worst bits of dirt and build-up.
Don’t give into the temptation to scrub hard, or to use soap. Dirt and mud will give way eventually if you’re cleaning up as soon as you get home. Just don’t go hell-for-leather.
To clean the insides of your boots, you can safely fill leather shoes with a little warm water to soak overnight. In the morning, tip out and leave to dry.
Step 3: Dry Off
Drying off properly is important, too. Don’t subject your boots to heat drying or anything similar.
Plug the insides of your boots with tissue or newspaper and leave them to dry naturally. Once again, this is going to protect integrity for time to come.
Once dry, you might want to think about conditioning. Leather boots are at risk of some severe wear and tear! Therefore, you might want to dab on some powder or conditioning. You might already have agents available for waterproof footwear, too.
This bit might seem unnecessary, but it’s always worth keeping your boots in peak condition for future hikes. If you’re really unsure how to look after your boots for the best, make sure to contact the manufacturer or tailor for more advice!
Follow these tips on How to Clean Hiking Boots and you will save yourself having to replace them sooner!
