**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**

[patrickBOOTH]

I've never thought about it, but then again I do my best to avoid stepping on ****. Maybe I am just better at that than most?

 

[Chowkin]

I use shoe bags only for long term storage which means the shoes including the soles have been cleaned thoroughly.

 

[narcosis219]



I've never thought about it, but then again I do my best to avoid stepping on ****. Maybe I am just better at that than most?

To be fair, I do consciously make an effort to avoid stepping in crap, but when you walk into a restroom and use a urinal it's impossible not to step in stale pee. Maybe by the time you make it home the pee has scrubbed itself off

 

[BostonHedonist]

I have a cabinet for my shoes that keeps them free of dust. There is also a doorside rack where shoes can dry out before being put back. When they come off, they get the trees and go on the rack. I give them a wipe and a quick sole brushing before going back in the cabinet. Only my finest and/or least-used shoes get put in bags (unless I'm flying), and then after at least a quick cleaning. Though I do maintain an "up" and a "down" side of shoe bags for those sorts of reasons.

 

[muddy250]

Shoe bags...

How do you guys use shoe bags when the shoe soles are so dirty? Do you clean the soles every time before you put them in shoe bags or do you just nasty up the bags and wash them periodically?

Maybe I'm just grossed out having piss and other crap that's sitting around city streets/restroom floors soaking into the bags. Also concerned about dirt and pebbles scratching the uppers if they're loose in the bags. Not a huge issue? No one seems to talk about shoe bag maintenance

I let them dry, brush them off and always put them in the bags with any label up so the soles are always on the same part of the bag. Don't just throw them in the bags. That said they're in a cabinet as well so I really don't need the bags. Just habit I suppose.

 

[ZyrtecNasonex]

Hello everyone,

I recently got into quality footwear and shoe care. I got my first pair of USA made shoes from ebay, a pair of new without box Allen Edmonds Cavanaugh in snuff suede. They've gotten 6 wears so far. I've been following the rotating, brushing and shoe trees routine and I've also conditioned them once with a suede spray.

I am having two issues with these. The first one is this wrinkle:







I'm pretty sure I haven't caused this myself, because I use shoe horns to put them on. Shoe trees haven't helped with this.


The other issue is that the suede of the left shoe's vamp is significantly fluffier and it sheds when I brush it. It was also there before the conditioning. Here are some pictures:









I would be grateful to know what your advice is on both of these issues. I like these shoes a lot and I would like to keep them in a good shape for a long time.

 

[DWFII]

Unlined(?) loafers...no heel stiffener? What is to prevent the leather from sagging around the heel?

Suede...in all likelihood really a split, no grain surface. Not prime to begin with.

Excessive fiber tell--one shoe cut from a marginal area on the hide, the other from a denser area.

It is what it is.

 

[cbfn]

You can try using a lighter and burn some of the extra fluff off, I've done it on some of my suede shoes.

 

[ZyrtecNasonex]

You can try using a lighter and burn some of the extra fluff off, I've done it on some of my suede shoes.

It worked, thanks a lot.

Now what do I do about the wrinkle in the heel area?

 

[masernaut]

Shoe bags...

How do you guys use shoe bags when the shoe soles are so dirty? Do you clean the soles every time before you put them in shoe bags or do you just nasty up the bags and wash them periodically?

Maybe I'm just grossed out having piss and other crap that's sitting around city streets/restroom floors soaking into the bags. Also concerned about dirt and pebbles scratching the uppers if they're loose in the bags. Not a huge issue? No one seems to talk about shoe bag maintenance

I don't use shoe bags. Shoe bag maintenance? What?

It worked, thanks a lot.

Now what do I do about the wrinkle in the heel area?

Nothing. Wear them to death. No one except you will notice the wrinkle.

 

[M635Guy]

Shoe bags...

How do you guys use shoe bags when the shoe soles are so dirty? Do you clean the soles every time before you put them in shoe bags or do you just nasty up the bags and wash them periodically?

Maybe I'm just grossed out having piss and other crap that's sitting around city streets/restroom floors soaking into the bags. Also concerned about dirt and pebbles scratching the uppers if they're loose in the bags. Not a huge issue? No one seems to talk about shoe bag maintenance

My soles aren't dirty. I'm a corporate guy, so most of my walking is pavement/carpet/tile, but mainly I think I just wipe my feet well before I come inside.

I use bags. I brush shoes a bit before I wear them, and a bit more thoroughly before I put them up in bags (30-45 seconds each). If the day was dusty or especially dirty, I'll wipe the shoes with a slightly damp cloth and brush them for a minute or so each. Seems to work, and not much effort. If the bags got dirty I guess I'd just wash 'em all in cold water and dry in the gentle cycle, but I'm not super-worried about the bags, nor do any of them appear dirty.


(a bit of a dated picture, but you get the idea)

 

[Fred G. Unn]



I use bags. I brush shoes a bit before I wear them, and a bit more thoroughly before I put them up in bags (30-45 seconds each). If the day was dusty or especially dirty, I'll wipe the shoes with a slightly damp cloth and brush them for a minute or so each. Seems to work, and not much effort. If the bags got dirty I guess I'd just wash 'em all in cold water and dry in the gentle cycle, but I'm not super-worried about the bags, nor do any of them appear dirty.

Spoiler

(a bit of a dated picture, but you get the idea)

I do basically the same thing:

Boots are on racks on the floor.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

All of those shoes in bags is insane to me. The only time I use shoe bags is when I travel to keep them from getting banged up in a bag.

 

[DeSense]



Who was it that was going to check the pH on their bottle of Bick4? Mine was high and as I have mentioned in another post I'm not sold the product has much in it that doesn't evaporate.

That would be me. Alas, no luck in sourcing anything litmus or ph tester related here in Seoul so far. Amazon (or its affils) don't ship that stuff. Stuck for the moment. Will fly to Europe in May latest, so there is a faint light at the end of the ...

 

[Fred G. Unn]



All of those shoes in bags is insane to me. The only time I use shoe bags is when I travel to keep them from getting banged up in a bag.

You don't have to brush off dust that never lands on the shoe in the first place. Also, I definitely have shoes that don't get worn every month, sometimes even longer, so doesn't it make sense to keep them as dust-free as possible?