How to repair water damaged shoes?

[beasty]

OK. So after a heavy downpour, my shoes were utterly wet.
After they were dried, I noticed the portions where my ankles are, are still darker than the other portion on my shoes. And that is 1 week after the downpour.

So what do I do to get rid of the water stains bearing in mind these are brown leather shoes and not black shoes? I don't want to risk applying cream on it and make the stains permanent.

Thanks y'all.

 

[flatfront]

A friend of mine swears by Baby wipes for removing water and salt stains from brown shoes before polishing. Never tries it myself but his shoes always look well maintained.

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by flatfront

A friend of mine swears by Baby wipes for removing water and salt stains from brown shoes before polishing. Never tries it myself but his shoes always look well maintained.

Baby wipes? You mean those tissue papers that are wet?

 

[flatfront]

Yeah specifically the ones used on babies. He swears by them. Don't know how he stumbled across this but if it works who cares

 

[ManofKent]

Originally Posted by flatfront

Yeah specifically the ones used on babies. He swears by them. Don't know how he stumbled across this but if it works who cares

I think baby wipes are impregnated with Lanolin, which could work. I suspect a leather balsam would be better though.