Damned salt!!! What the hell happened to my shoes???

[Cayne-Abel]

So I had the bright idea of not checking the weather report before heading out to court on Tuesday morning (I live in NYC), and I put on my brand new Allen Edmonds and proceeded to put them through absolute hell. Â I stepped in about a half dozen nasty, deep puddles of slush, almost entirely submerging the shoes at one or two points. Â I got back to the office and noticed a salt-like residue, which I quickly wiped off with a wet paper towel. Â

When I got home, I noticed these raised "ridges" or lines on the leather, right where the salt had made its line. Â I put on a generous layer of Lexol conditioner, then polished the affected areas. Â The next day, I took it to a shoe repair place. Â The lady at the counter told me that applying Lexol was a terrible idea. Â She said she'd use saddle soap to get rid of the salt in the leather. Â I asked "doesn't saddle soap dry out the leather?" to which she replied "nah, if anything, it protects it." Â I came back to the shop at the end of the day, and she told me that they washed the leather with saddle soap a bunch of times ("the salt just kept coming out") and finally conditioned and polished them. Â This is how they came out:

The leather looks awfully dry and seems to have lost some of its smoothness. Â There also this strange whitish "haze" to the leather, although it might just be a result of the way the light hits the (now less-smooth) surface of the leather. (The ridges caused by the salt are still there, but not as pronounced.)

Any idea on what happened and what I can do? Â Did those morons use too much saddle soap? Â What should I do now?

 

[mr monty]

Shoe up! AE were made just for foul weather

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

now buy a pair of rain boots and put your good shoes in your bag.

 

[teddieriley]

Hard to tell from your pics, but if you indeed put your pair through hell on your first wear, they kind actually look pretty good. Not sure what ridges you are talking about.

 

[dpopat]

learn and buy galoshes?

 

[texas_jack]

You should have let the dry out for a couple days before you did anything.

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by teddieriley

Hard to tell from your pics, but if you indeed put your pair through hell on your first wear, they kind actually look pretty good. Not sure what ridges you are talking about.

+1

Really straining to see what's wrong here. Those "ridges" to which you are referring look like standard-issue creases from wear to me. Dress shoes will wrinkle like that. Especially RTW shoes.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

If you want to make due without rain boots you're going to need to hire a driver.

 

[MyOtherLife]

Anyone who gets salt on their shoes, DESERVES to get salt on their shoes.

 

[Crane's]

Originally Posted by texas_jack

You should have let the dry out for a couple days before you did anything.
Yep +1

 

[Cayne-Abel]

Originally Posted by teddieriley

Hard to tell from your pics, but if you indeed put your pair through hell on your first wear, they kind actually look pretty good. Not sure what ridges you are talking about.

Actually, this was about my 15th wear. But anyway, the ridges aren't the issue at this point - they aren't terribly noticeable even from close range, and I'm sure it'll improve with polish over time - rather, the issue is the smoothness that the leather seems to have lost.

Should I drench those things in conditioner or what?

 

[MyOtherLife]

Originally Posted by Cayne-Abel

Actually, this was about my 15th wear. But anyway, the ridges aren't the issue at this point - they aren't terribly noticeable even from close range, and I'm sure it'll improve with polish over time - rather, the issue is the smoothness that the leather seems to have lost. Should I drench those things in conditioner or what?
You should never expose leather footwear (especially leather soled footwear) to the elements (water, snow, salt or slush) in the first place. Please purchase some galoshes. Remember old wise saying: 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'.

 

[sho'nuff]

damned is this world whateva happened to your damned shoes !!!!!!!

vvv

 

[makewayhomer]

I would mos def just throw those shoes in the garbage or (much better) donate them to a shelter, b/c they are useless now

 

[Mr. Lee]

Bummer, but unlike many of the typical wise-ass, non-responsive replies this site is famous for and you got, let me offer an answer: the standard treatment for salt is a rubdown with a vinegar/water mix, although depending on the damage, it is not a 100% cure. I live in a city that uses more salt than anywhere and while I take extra precautions, my wife, with her 20 pairs of $229 "fashion boots" does not. I have used the salt solution with more success than anything else, but the ridge deal is a *****. You may have to strip the polish with saddle soap (sorry to take you backwards) so you can get to the goddamn salt. You should see what it does to cars here! Finally AE's are perfectly acceptable shoes, notwithstanding the snotty EG devotees on this site. You could put a pair of Lobbs through the same abuse and they wouldn't hold up any better. So, don't feel bad about that.