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You finally found them — that ideal pair of leather boots that will keep your feet warm and dry through the winter months — without making you clunk around in moon boots. Remember those? Ugh. Hooray for progress! Now that you’ve found the perfect winter pair, you want to take care of them. And if you live in an area where ice and snow — and ice melting salt — is common, you’ll want to take special care to remove those stains. Here’s how to get that nasty salt off your leather shoes.
1. What You’ll Need
You’ll just need a few basics to banish that yucky salt and make your boots look new again. Grab some castile soap (such as Dr. Bronner’s), some white vinegar, a small towel, some shoe polish in the right color (hint…you can use hair conditioner as a replacement!), and a spray bottle. If you want to spray your boots with leather protector when you’re done cleaning, get some of that, too.
2. Initial Cleaning
Mix 1 tablespoon of the soap with 1 cup of warm water. Then dip a small portion of your towel into the solution and rub the salt stains to remove any debris.
3. Vinegar Time!
Grab your spray bottle and mix a 50/50 solution of of water and vinegar. Spray the mixture onto a clean portion of your towel (not right on your shoes), and rub away the salty stains and buildup. Vinegar is awesome for dissolving away minerals — like salt!
4. Polish
Now, you can rehydrate any moisture removed from the leather by the vinegar mixture. Just take your shoe polish or hair conditioner and apply it according to the label (well, at least for the shoe polish — haha). Then take another clean portion of your towel and buff away any excess. If you’d like to prevent future salt stains, use your leather protecting spray. And voila! Your leather is as good as new.
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