The right cleaning and care is crucial for you to enjoy your legero shoes for a long time. With these tips you can clean and care for shoes made of smooth leather, suede, effect leather, textile or loden properly.
Because that damages the upper and the sole. Whether they are from legero or not – if your shoes ever get wet, allow them to dry slowly and evenly at room temperature. Don’t put them on a heater or in the blazing sun. This can cause the leather to become hard or brittle.
Always remove insoles and stuff newspaper inside the shoes. That way, your favourite shoes will keep their shape. That also goes for a shoe tree.
If the shoes are cleaned when damp or wet, it’s advisable to impregnate them again afterwards. Please also note our tips on waterproofing shoes. It’s important to know that both cleaning and impregnating agents can cause the feel and appearance of upper materials to change. It’s therefore best to test performance or care products on a small area before treating the shoe completely.
You want to treat your leather shoes with shoe polish or a waterproofing spray? Then clean them first. It's easier if you remove the laces. This also prevents them from getting dirty.
Some stains can’t be removed with a brush or a soft cloth. In this case, it is best to wipe the shoes with a damp cloth. Salt, water or snow marks can only be removed with a damp treatment anyway. Ideally, fit shoes with shoe trees to keep their shape and clean them with a special cleaning foam or shampoo. It’s best to always follow the instructions for use.
Proper cleaning should be followed by proper shoe care. Always apply a thin layer of shoe polish to smooth leather. Then allow it to dry and polish the leather – ideally with a particularly soft cleaning cloth or with a soft horsehair brush. The shoe polish makes the shoe shine beautifully and protects it from new dirt.
Important to know: GORE-TEX products need special care. See our tips for cleaning & care of GORE-TEX shoes.
Suede or nubuck leather is best cleaned with special brushes and rubber cleaners. Always brush the leather with a shoe brush before cleaning. A leather shampoo or leather foam is recommended for heavy soiling. Be sure to always use mild cleaners. If the suede is dry, it’s best to loosen it again with a suede brush to restore the loose fibre structure.
Suede leathers are extremely absorbent due to their rough surface. That’s why they need special care. Impregnation is important for ensuring that they are protected against moisture for a long time. Please be sure to read the instructions on the respective care product. For articles with GORE-TEX equipment, please also refer to our care tips for GORE-TEX shoes.
Effect leathers are sensitive. They should, therefore, never be treated with a hard brush, because it can scratch the leather or damage it more. The best way to care for your effect leather shoes is with a damp cloth and care products that don’t contain solvents. It’s best to test the care product on a small area. Before polishing the shoes with a dry, soft cloth, allow previously applied care products to dry completely.
As we already mentioned, shoes should never be put in the washing machine. This also applies to shoes made from textiles. Cleaning textile shoes with a brush is usually quite easy. If you can't get rid of the dirt like this, you can also clean your textile shoe with a damp cloth. Special foam cleaners with soft brushes make cleaning easier.
To help keep your feet dry, we also recommend regular waterproofing for functional shoes.
Dry cleaning with a soft brush is also usually sufficient for loden as a textile material. The loden we use is water and dirt-repellent thanks to its coating and is by nature extremely easy to care for.
Tmall mishaps are easy to fix Nevertheless, one day, liquid might find its way onto the shoe and cause stains. In this case, dab up the liquid with kitchen paper or a clean cloth. For stubborn stains, there are special cleaners available in shoe shops.
The same applies here – please follow the instructions for use. And the washing machine and radiators are also taboo for loden shoes. Regular airing and brushing with a soft natural hair brush optimally maintains the quality of the fabric.
