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How To Care For Your Leather Work Boots & Hiking Boots


Today the average price you pay for a pair of quality work boots or hiking boots is about $150. You can easily double, triple or even quadruple that for custom logging boots, custom firefighting boots, lineman’s boots, high end hiking boots or ranching boots. If you want long life from your leather boots, you must care for them. It is the same principle as maintaining anything of value.

Quick Care Method:


1) Using a convenient water supply;

Wash your boots, with warm or cool water, wipe them down with a rag and set them aside to dry. If necessary, stuff something absorbent in the boots like cotton rags, old socks or newspapers.
(You can use an electric shoe dryer, like Peet’s Shoe Dryer®, which is excellent to safely dry your boots)

2) Then ……rub, daub or spray the boots with AQUASEAL Spray. Then let them dry overnight.

Note, in the Quick Care Method you can use any of these three Aquaseal products to protect and waterproof your boots:

1. AQUASEAL Spray provides the quickest product application.

2. Liquid AQUASEAL Max Leather Daubbed onto the leather provides longer lasting protection 

3. AQUASEAL Crème Rubbed into the Leather Provides the most durable protection!

What you will accomplish in the shortest amount of time is to:

  • Clean your work or hiking boots
  • Let them dry, more or less
  • Add back conditioning oils that leached out from wear
  • Add silicone and wax waterproofing agents to protect from tomorrow’s wear


Doing this the night before allows AQUASEAL to soak in and dry. That ensures the protection is more likely to last throughout the following day.
There is no downside to the Quick Method. You will add many  months, or in most cases years, to the life of your boots!

Some of you prefer a more demanding method. You take pride in being very meticulous. For some of you there is simply no other way.


Meticulous Care Method:


The meticulous version is not much different from the short version. It involves more TCL and time. The reward is a better looking boot in better shape each morning and/or each new work week.


1) Using a 1-2 gallon bucket, a nylon brush, a cloth and a bottle of AQUASEAL Leather Footwear Cleaner and a water hose:

Fill the bucket half-way or so. Warm water, not hot, is better if it is easily accessible.
Removing laces is optional but makes it considerably easier to clean that area of the surface.

Remove loose dirt and rinse footwear with the hose. Dispense Leather Cleaner to damp cloth or sponge and thoroughly work it into the leather. (If very dirty use a nylon brush.) Rinse and wipe surface with a clean dry cloth.


2) Before you retire for the night, go one step further……rub, daub or spray the boots with AQUASEAL. Note: AQUASEAL Spray is the quickest; daubing on Liquid AQUASEAL Max Leather will last longer; Rub on AQUASEAL Crème for the most durable protection.

What you will accomplish is

  • Clean your work or hiking boots
  • Let them dry, more or less
  • Add back conditioning oils that leached out from wear
  • Add silicone and wax waterproofing agents to protect from tomorrow’s wear


Doing this the night before allows AQUASEAL to soak in and dry. That ensures the protection is more likely to last throughout the following day. 
You will add many  months, or in most cases years, to the life of your boots!

Some of you have even greater needs. The ultimate method is as follows:


The Ultimate Care Solution:


Buy two pair of boots and rotate them when necessary. This is the perfect solution if your work is such that your leather work boots are getting super dirty and/or wet frequently. 


1) The idea is to allow your boots to dry completely after cleaning and before you wear them again

2) Then allow AQUASEAL Crème’, Max Leather or Pump Spray for Leather to dry 100% after application.

 

* AQUASEAL products are safe to use on Gore-Tex®
** Very important! These care-tips are not intended to replace the ones that came with your leather work boots or are provided on the websites of the manufacturer. We strongly suggest you use the instructions tailored for your leather footwear.