How to clean leather and suede shoes

Leather shoes are often used by office workers or young people who love classic, traditional style but still contain their own personality. Frequent use will make your leather shoes covered with dust and dirt from the surrounding environment, affecting the aesthetics of the shoes. Therefore, cleaning leather shoes will be very necessary for you when you have to use shoes regularly to keep them new and properly preserved.

1. What you need

1.1. For cleaning leather shoes

• Lambskin or polishing cloth: Actually, you can also use an old white cotton T-shirt or dress shirt.
• Horsehair brush: The larger the brush, the better. Larger brushes tend to create more friction when you polish your shoes. Experts may recommend having two brushes, one for dusting and one for polishing. You can use just one as long as you wipe your shoes down with a towel before you start polishing.
• Shoe conditioner: A good leather conditioner will clean and give a high shine. If there is anything you should skimp on, it should be this one. We recommend Saphir Renovateur in neutral.
• Cold water spray bottle: A small travel spray bottle allows you to apply a light mist of water as the first step of the cleaning process.
• Shoe polish: Helps to restore shine to your shoes by adding pigment and filling in small scratches. This cream is meant to be a temporary, thin stain rather than a permanent one, so your cream polish doesn’t have to match the color of your shoes exactly.
• You can use a lighter shade to maintain your current color or a darker shade to add a patina—and like a bad haircut, it will eventually wear off. If things get really bad, you can remove the stain by gently wiping it with a cloth and isopropyl alcohol.
• Shoetrees or newspaper: These will help keep your shoes in shape while you clean them. Wooden shoetrees, if you can get a pair, are great and will help keep your shoes looking new between wears.

1.2. For suede shoes

• Suede brush: A stiff bristle brush allows you to lift the fuzz (the fibers on the suede) to remove debris and brush the fuzz back out afterwards.
• Suede/nubuck eraser (or literally any eraser from the back of a drawer): An eraser can rub out small scuffs and light stains on suede. It also helps restore its original texture.
• Suede shampoo, water, and a small bowl: You can use a suede-specific cleaner or a small mixture of soap and water.
• Shoe brush or toothbrush: A gentler brush can be helpful while you apply the suede cleaner.
• Newspaper: Stuffing your shoes with newspaper helps them maintain their natural shape and block light while you clean tougher stains.
• Waterproofing spray: Used after cleaning, this spray helps keep the leather dry and clean.

2. How long does it take to clean shoes?

Just 20 minutes for a quick clean of your shoes and 45 minutes for a more thorough clean. How fast is that?

3. How to clean leather shoes

If this is the first time you’ve cleaned your leather shoes after a period of use, remove the laces and clean them with soap (following the instructions on the tin). But most of the time, you don’t need to do this — just insert a shoe tree or stuff your shoes with newspaper to help them maintain their shape.

• Brush your shoes vigorously with a horsehair brush to remove dust, dirt, and debris. Don't forget to brush the laces, the crevices where the shoe meets the sole. Then, wipe the shoes with a slightly damp cloth or use a light mist spray bottle and wipe clean with a dry cloth.
• Let the shoes dry for about five minutes, then apply a thin layer of shoe conditioner by rubbing small dabs into the leather in small, circular motions. Apply light to medium pressure all over the shoe. You can do this with a cloth wrapped around your index and middle fingers, a towel wrapped around your head, or your index and middle fingers left bare. Whichever method you use, be sure to get the tongue of the shoe. Wait about five minutes for the conditioner to dry and for the leather to absorb the nutrients.
• Give each pair of shoes a quick polish with your horsehair brush, using medium pressure. The friction from the brush warms up the conditioner's ingredients and brings out a nice shine.
• Apply a small amount of shoe polish and massage it into the entire shoe with your fingers in a circular motion. Less is more here: Apply a thin enough layer to cover the entire surface of the shoe, but not so much that it becomes flaky.
• Let the cream dry for 5 to 10 minutes, then brush it with a horsehair brush using firm pressure. This will mix the cream, remove excess polish, and raise the polish temperature to a high shine. You can repeat the process and apply another coat of shoe polish if you want to cover your soles.
• Wipe the shoes down again with a towel; this will remove any excess cream that the leather didn't absorb.
• This basic leather shoe care routine is all the average person needs. Your leather shoes are now clean, hydrated, and freshly colored. Stick some shoe trees in there, give your shoes 24 hours between wearings, and you've significantly extended the life of your leather shoes.

4. How to clean suede shoes

• You can tackle most suede stains with a suede brush and eraser. But more serious stains will require a good suede shampoo or a mixture of soap and water to really penetrate the soiled areas.
• To remove debris, use a suede brush, old toothbrush, or towel to gently rub the suede.
• Add a little suede shampoo to a small bowl of water (about a 2:1 ratio of water to shampoo) and mix it with a shoe brush or old toothbrush. Use the brush to rub the shampoo into the shoe in a circular motion and press firmly. The suede will darken as it saturates, which is perfectly fine and normal.
• Rinse the shampoo out with clean water and brush the shoe again until the stain is gone. Then shake the shoe to remove excess water.
• Use a clean towel to absorb as much moisture as possible.
• Stuff the suede with paper and let it dry for at least 24 hours.
• Use a suede brush to brush through each shoe—back and forth across the grain—to smooth out the suede.
• Finally, apply a coat of waterproofing spray to your suede shoes and let them dry for an hour.

5. Other shoe care tips

In addition to cleaning your shoes properly. Don’t wear the same pair of leather shoes two days in a row, and try to alternate between them evenly if you can. Leather shoes need time to dry out from the moisture they absorb. Giving them a day to ‘breathe’, with a pair of shoe trees inserted, will help extend the life of your shoes considerably.

You should brush your shoes gently and quickly with a horsehair brush after wearing them. When it comes to how often you clean them with conditioner, it really depends on how often you wear them and the conditions you experience. A safe rule of thumb is once a month.

If you don't have time to take care of your leather shoes at home, please refer to Celidior's Shoe Care and Maintenance services and Suede Shoe Care and Maintenance services.