How to properly care for suede products at home?

Suede shoes - an indispensable attribute of any fashionable wardrobe. Not only bags and clothes are made of this material, but also shoes, autumn boots, warm winter boots, which are distinguished by a great variety of models. However, despite the attractive appearance, suede is capricious and will not forgive improper care for her.

Suede is widely used in the shoe industry. Even sports shoes, sneakers and lightweight sneakers are made of it. By type of material can be:

• artificial;
• natural.

Faux suede is a synthetic material. It can be made in two ways.

In the first case, on the base, smeared with a special adhesive, the particles of the pile are glued. This method of making suede is considered the most cost-effective, but the quality of the finished fabric leaves much to be desired. Shoes made of this material will not last long.

The second method allows you to get better suede. For this microfiber thread fluff, thereby turning into an analogue of natural suede. Such shoes look expensive, and in the care does not require special subtleties. The only minus of artificial suede is its cost, as its high quality will certainly affect the price.

Natural suede is made from the skin of animals, usually small rocks. The fluffed surface of the material is treated with various vegetable oils or animal fats, which makes it possible to impart water-repellent properties to the shoe.

There are two ways to make natural suede.

1. With the help of a cutting machine. With this method of production, the skin flap is divided into two parts on a special machine. The inner layer is fluffed and allowed for sewing suede products.
2. The skin flap is gently inverted and polished on the wrong side. Products made of such suede are the most valuable because they have two sides, one of which is represented by smooth leather.

If you want your shoes to last more than one season and look expensive and presentable, then not only care, but also the initial correct choice of material is important. It is better to give preference to natural suede, and in order to distinguish it from artificial, it is necessary to pay attention to some factors.

1. Smell. Natural material will always have a leather odor, while imitation will smell like glue or any other extraneous chemical.
2. Surface. A smooth and perfectly even surface usually has only artificial material. Natural has a porous structure, various irregularities and minor defects that indicate the way the skin is treated.
3. The foundation. Natural suede has a terry structure on both sides, and artificial suede - a fabric base on the wrong side.
4. Genuine suede villi slightly change color if you hold your hand over them.
5. Too low price. Natural suede can not be cheap by definition, so at low cost you should know that, most likely, shoes are purchased from an artificial counterpart.
6. The edges of the product. Not bent and unprocessed seams indicate that the product is made of natural material, as it does not crumble and does not need additional processing.

In order to suede shoes last more than one season, you should carefully and properly care for her. Special attention should be paid to the first treatment (especially in autumn, winter and spring) by special means, which is carried out immediately after the pair is bought at home. To do this, purchase a protective agent (usually in the form of a spray) that allows you to create a transparent film that will prevent the shoes from getting wet. And also it will allow to avoid the negative influence of salts, which cover the roads of cities in the winter. In order to achieve the best water-repellent properties, some shoe manufacturers recommend soaking the shoes several times.

The following care steps are performed at regular intervals, some daily.

In order for a pair of shoes to maintain a presentable appearance for a long time, it is necessary to clean it daily from dirt. For this, both improvised (“popular”) means and store lines for the care of products from this material can be used. You can clean your shoes with:

• gasoline;
• ordinary eraser;
• ammonia;
• steam bath;
• special equipment.

When using gasoline, you should use only one that has a high degree of purification (for example, which refueled lighters). With the help of this tool you can remove fat and fuel oil stains from your shoes. To do this, wipe the contaminated area with a clean cloth moistened with gasoline and leave to soak for 15 minutes. After that, the treated area is sprinkled with coarse edible salt and after a few minutes, it is carefully removed with a brush. If necessary, this procedure can be repeated several times to achieve a satisfying result.

An ordinary school eraser can rid suede shoes from shiny areas. To do this, you need to rub them a shiny area until the gloss completely disappears.

Ammonia - a unique product that is widely used not only in medicine but also in everyday life. To clean with it suede shoes, you need to mix it with water at the rate of 1: 3, and apply the resulting composition on the previously dust-free shoes. Leave for 15 minutes for exposure. If necessary, you can repeat the processing.

Steam cleaning is also very effective for suede, both natural and artificial. You can use a steam generator, or hold shoes over boiling water, and then carefully comb a special brush.

Special creams for suede shoes include special creams that are applied to shoes and allow you to remove even the most persistent stains.

Periodically, any suede shoes need to be colored in order to return a rich color to it and paint over faded areas. Shoe paints for suede are used for these purposes. When working with them should follow the recommendations of experts.

1. In order for shoes to color evenly, you must choose the paint exactly to match the color. It can be purchased at specialized shoe or sewing stores.
2. Before painting you should try the paint on the barely visible area (inside the shoe).
3. The procedure itself should be carried out strictly according to the instructions of the paint manufacturer. For ease of application, you can use a brush or foam sponge.
4. After the three hours required for the applied paint to dry, you need to walk on the shoe with a brush to lift the drooping pile.

Suede is a very delicate material, especially if it is natural, so it is better not to bring such shoes to normal washing, limiting yourself to daily thorough care. However, in the case of serious pollution (or very light shoes) can not do without such extreme measures. If you carry out the washing according to the following rules, it will be possible to avoid a negative impact on the appearance of the shoe.

1. No need to wet the shoes on the inside. Shoes in any case should not get wet through. For this reason, machine wash is prohibited.
2. It is not recommended to use powders for washing, as they are poorly soluble in water. It is better to give preference to liquid detergents.
3. Handle shoes better with a foam sponge dipped in soapy water. It is better to use rubber gloves to protect your hands.
4. Washed shoes should be tightly packed with newspapers and left to dry at room temperature.

From how shoes are stored, also depends on its service life, so you need to pay special attention to this moment. When storing (especially for the summer) should follow a number of rules.

1. Do not fold the tops of the boots, as horizontal creases form, which will then be impossible to remove. Boots should be stuffed with newspapers, or use special inflatable or foam molds for the tops.
2. It is best to keep shoes in a cool place away from sunlight and heating devices.
3. Before storage, shoes must be cleaned of dirt and thoroughly dried, otherwise mold may appear on it and the steam will be damaged.

We give the most popular industrial tools for suede.

1. Color restorer. Allows you to return shoes original appearance. May be produced in the form of emulsions, sprays and creams.
2. Water repellent. Allow to protect shoes from moisture. Most often have the form of a spray or light emulsion.
3. Stretchers. Used for "fitting" shoes in size. Most often can be found on sale in the form of foam.
4. Impregnation. Enhance the natural protective properties of suede. Available in the form of sprays and creams.

Suede shoes do not lose popularity due to their beauty and comfort in wearing. And despite the fact that it is very capricious in the care, if you do everything on time and follow the recommendations, then such shoes can be used for more than one season.

How to care for suede, you can see in this video.