You just bought a fresh pair of suede Air Jordans, But Unlike the rest of your collection this special material requires particular care and maintenence. From experience I will go through a few steps that I have tried that will give you the advantage when keeping Your Kicks Clean.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
First of all I would like to note that preventing your Suede shoes from any scuffs or dirt marks is an eaiser task then fixing the mess after it happens. So tip number one is to be aware of your surroundings, this means when your rocking your new shoes is to be mindful that the material is wiry and impressionable and will leave a mark if it was bumped. Knowing this, you also want to think about storage. To avoid having to brush dust off of them just keep them in a confined space, a shoe-box is great for keeping dust out. If you can go as far as buying dust bags for each individual shoe, to ensure that they won’t rub together, or gather dust. Another very important fact to note is that water and suede shoes do NOT mix, so spray your shoes with a suede/nubuck protector before wearing them to make cleaning much easier. (treat your shoes with pretectanct about every three months)
Brush them back into existence
For heavy stains on suede shoes footwear, use a cleaning block (also called a suede eraser). These products will crumble as you rub them across the surface of the footwear, and are great for removing even deeply embedded dirt. If your suede shoes have stains all over them, you need to buy a simple brush and brush them after every wear. You may find a special suede brush which is a good choice in order to clean your shoes properly Because it comes with a heavy bristle brush on one side, a rubber brush on the other and rubber edges to get those hard to reach areas. When brushing you want to stay in one direction to help restore the nap.
Fight water with water
Unless you live in the dessert your suede shoes will at some point come in contact with its worse enemy WATER! I know that most people who are looking for tips on cleaning suede shoes are dealing with water stains. The best thing to do is to first stuff the shoes with plastic or paper bags (to keep them from losing shape), Second Apply water evenly over the entirety of each shoe (even if only one got wet) using a spray bottle or sponge,and then blot away the excess moisture and allow the suede shoes to dry over night. Last but not least brush them accordingly and apply a suede cleaner and protector. your ending result will be that your suede shoes will now be evenly colored, though a bit darker. Which in my opinion is better then being light or faded as most would call them.
Tackling bigger problems
When it comes to oil, food, grease, mud, blood and other stains a vigorous regiment must be applied to your suede shoes. If it’s fresh, blot up any excess with a paper towel. Be very gentle, so you don’t push the stain further into the pores of your suede shoes. Next (and if your stain was already dry) take a damp rag and gently rub the stain. Let it dry and attack with a suede brush and suede eraser. If your shoes came with instructions, they would suggest suede cleaners for disasters like this. Even if you don’t have care directions, now would be the time for suede cleaner. You may need to apply several applications. Sadly, your chances of cleaning suede shoes that are badly stained are 50/50 at best. But it still never hurts to try. as JFK once said “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly” and I am living proof of what you can do by following these methods, just check out these before and after photos.
Charles Williams is an avid sneaker collector and enthusiast. Over the past years he has dedicated most of his time to improving his skills in maintaining and restoring all types of sneakers. To Learn more about keeping your Suede Shoes and any other type of high end footwear well kept visit http://www.solerebirth.com