Clean Road Salt from Leather Shoes

There are three important factors to cleaning salt from leather shoes:

1. How soon you clean them


2. How you dry them


3. Patience

Clean them immediately or as soon as you can.

You will need:

• A cotton towel


• A clean cotton rag


• White vinegar


• Water


• A bowl


• Newspaper

Clean them with a one-to-one solution of white vinegar and water. I.e., half a cup of vinegar, half a cup of water. I use distilled water, but I’m pretty persnickety. Tap water will be fine. Mix the vinegar-and-water solution in the bowl. Dip the cotton rag into the solution, and apply liberally to affected parts of your shoes. Rub it around until the salt disappears, re-dipping as needed. Vinegar is natural, and won’t hurt your shoes. After you’ve cleaned the salt to your satisfaction, wipe the shoes dry with the cotton towel.

Now comes the drying part.

Stuff your shoes with crumpled-up pieces of newspaper, and lay them on their sides, on a towel if you like, away from any heat source. The trick is to let the leather dry at its own pace. Don’t rush it. Leave them on their sides so the leather soles can dry as well. Leave your shoe trees out of the shoes until they’re completely dry.

If they’re dry and you can still see salt marks, repeat this process, letting them dry each time.

If you can see where the salt has caused raised lines on the leather, you can take a tablespoon and, after you’ve wiped the shoes down with the vinegar solution, rub the ridges with the back of the spoon.

Be patient!

Because the vinegar will probably have stripped away some of the luster of your shoes, it’s a good idea to shine them, with wax or cream, after they’re dry.

There you go; you’re done*!

* Secret last step: Buy Swims.

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