Leather and Suede Care

If you know me well enough you know I am obsessed with leather and suede waterproofer. I think it comes from my days working in footwear stores- Footaction, Foot Locker, Aldo. In our attempt to make our add on goals for the store we did demonstrations on how well the product care items work. I was sold on the waterproof spray from day one! For our demonstrations we took a shoe, sprayed it with protector then poured water right onto the shoe from a water bottle. The water would bead up and roll right off! It really does work folks!
To care for your leather and suede goods it is important to clean them once year as well as condition leather once a year. I recommend water protecting shoes every time to every other time you wear them (weather depending, obviously more often in rainy and snowy seasons). I am sure we have all experienced a sudden rain shower while wearing our favorite shoes and they are now forever “polka dot” stained. Or how awful the salt after snow treatments are! The salt is made to eat away at ice but it eats away at our poor footwear as well! The waterproofing spray is not only meant to fight nature’s elements but our own mishaps as well, like spilling our drink on our shoes.
Waterproofing spray and leather conditioner is not just limited to shoes either. Leather jackets, belts, gloves and handbags are just as important to condition and protect. Especially for the ladies like myself who love dark denim jeans. How often does the dye from your jeans rub off on your lighter colored leather and suede shoes, belts and handbags (like cognac, taupe,e  grey, beige, etc)? Water repellent spray also adds a little bit of protection from denim dyes when light contact has been made.
These product care items can be found at any footwear store as well as department and drug stores. Keep in mind leather and suede typically have two different types of cleaners for each material however there are some waterproof sprays that can be used on both. In fact Aldo even makes  a 2 in 1 lotion and waterproofer! A very inexpensive way to preserve the investment you made into your quality leather and suede goods!