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Guide to washing your leather shoes

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Find out how to remove dirt from your shoes and keep them looking new for longer.

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This advice file reads in 3 min

Introduction

Dress shoes, leather shoes or suede shoes are your companions all day long. They stand by you through rain, bad weather and so on. Washing them is essential if you want to keep them shiny and looking good for a long time.

In this article, we concentrate on leather shoes. For suede shoes, we advise you to refer to the dedicated article.

All our advice applies to smooth and grained leather shoes. What's more, the products shown are available in the Monsieur Chaussure leather care kit. You can also find them individually to put together your own personalised care kit.

You won't find any tips with banana peel in this article, we'd rather warn you. Only advice approved by shoemakers.

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Preparing leather shoes

Before you start washing your shoes, you need to prepare them. To do this, put wooden shoe trees in them. We recommend red cedar shoe trees for several reasons, including moisture absorption.

Then you can protect your work surface and your clothes. To clean the leather shoes in this article, take the complete leather care kit. It contains all the products and accessories you'll need.

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Step 1: Clean your leather shoes

Washing leather shoes involves several steps: dusting and cleaning. Dust your leather shoes with the Monsieur Chaussure shoe scraper. This step removes all surface dirt from your shoes. It prepares the leather to receive leather cleaning products.

If you don't have a scraper, you can rub your shoes with a cloth.

Next, we recommend applying Monsieur Chaussure cleansing milk. This cleansing milk is made up of three oils. This unique composition, based on natural active ingredients, ensures gentle cleaning. The cleansing milk only removes old layers of shoe polish, leaving the patina of your shoes intact.

To apply the cleansing milk, take a soft white cloth or chamois and place a dab of product on it. Use circular movements to quickly clean the entire shoe.

The cleansing milk will leave the leather of your shoes clean. It is exposed and unprotected against external aggressions.

We strongly advise against leaving it like this. Dirt can get trapped in the pores and stain the leather permanently. What's more, walking creases could appear prematurely because the leather will not be nourished.

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Removing stains from your leather shoes

If cleansing milk doesn't work, use special products to remove stains from your leather shoes. These include products for removing grease stains, ink stains, etc.

Leather stain removers are applied in addition to a cleansing milk and are targeted. They should be applied with a clean, white cloth to avoid colour transfer.

Some products can be aggressive and lighten the patina of your shoes. They should be used with care and according to the instructions on the product.

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Step 2: Nourish your leather shoes

To nourish the leather, use a cream shoe polish. It can be colourless or tinted. We recommend using a tinted shoe polish. It will recolour dull areas and hide scratches and other signs of ageing.

Cream polish has a readable texture that's easy to apply with a shaving brush or chamois. Apply it all over the shoe, including the tongue. You should add a dab of product to the shoe so as not to saturate the pores of the leather.

After applying the cream polish, your shoes will be matt and the colour even. You don't need to wait for the cream to dry before moving on to the next step.

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Step 3: Shine your leather shoes

This is the final step: shining your leather shoes.

This step will make your leather shoes shine and protect them from rain or other bad weather. You should use polishing paste to protect your leather shoes. Shoe polish paste can be coloured or colourless. We recommend using the yellow wax, as it is suitable for all shoe colours.

You can play around with the shoe polish paste to add different shades to your shoes. Blue polish paste adds nuance and depth to black shoes.

Apply it with a brass brush all over the shoe, a thin layer of product will suffice. After applying the product, rub the shoe with a polishing brush. For best results, we recommend that you scrub vigorously for a few minutes.

The polishing brush, made from pure horsehair, will heat the material. By heating the polishing paste, its properties will be activated. The shoe will start to shine on all sides.

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Conclusion

By applying these tips, you won't just be washing your leather shoes. They will also be nourished and protected.

So your leather shoes will last for years to come.

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