The general guide to taking care of your boots is that you don’t want them to be damp (or soaking wet) for too long, but you don’t want them to dry out until they become dessicated and ruined, either. The best way to care for your boots long-term is to keep them clean, and condition them with oil or wax on a regular basis (every few months, more if they get a lot of use) so that the leather stays flexible and protected, without becoming too dry so it becomes brittle, or too wet so it rots.
To clean your boots:
- Use a dry brush or rough cloth to get all the dirt and mud off before you do anything else. It helps if they’ve had a chance to dry for a while, so the dirt will come right off.
- Use a cleaning spray to wet down the boot, and let it work for a bit to lift the dirt off.
- Wipe off the dirt with a brush or a clean cloth – an old washcloth works well.
- Set the boot aside to dry for a while, preferably overnight
- If you have Boot Stays or Boot Shapers, this will help them maintain their shape (instead of flopping over), and also means they’ll get maximum air flow to dry out on the inside, which is good.
- Once the boots are clean and dry, apply either Oil or Wax to condition and waterproof them. Again, let them “dry” overnight so the oil has time to soak in and condition the leather.
- Oil is easier to apply – it’s a liquid that will soak into the leather of the boot. However, it doens’t last as long as wax does, meaning you’ll need to apply it more frequently.
- Wax takes more work to apply, and you need to put the boots somewhere warm (near a radiator in winter, in a sunbeam in summer) for them to warm up and soak in the wax. However, wax lasts longer than oil for protection, meaning you don’t need to apply it as often.
In general, you clean and protect the outside of your boots, where the smooth leather is. You don’t need to clean or protect the inside, unless they are especially dirty.
Links to Resources:
I have an Amazon list I use to keep track of my boot care supplies, and share with anyone who needs it. The list is visible at:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1W9YBM0KGSR6N?ref_=wl_share
Other Notes:
If your boots have buttons (such as the Son of Sandlar 9-Button Boots), you may want to occasionally remove them so that you can clean under them, clean the buttons, etc.
If you do this, or if you have issues with the buttons unscrewing from their posts, you can use Loctite Threadlocker to hold them in place. The “Blue” version makes the screws stick to the buttons without being permanent – you can unscrew them later, it just takes a bit more effort to get them off. Do NOT use the “Red” version, as this is designed to make them non removable!