How to protect leather shoes in summer

Taking care of leather shoes in summer is not so cumbersome. Just keep them away from direct sunlight and water, say experts.

Kanika Bhatia, Chief Experience Officer, Egoss, and Ambud Sharma, Founder, Escaro Royale Luxury (Escaro.in), tell how to maintain your leather shoes:

* Keep them away from direct sunlight: Leather fades faster when exposed to sunlight. If it is kept out of direct sunlight, it will fade naturally over time. Sunlight can lead to drying and cracking. Ideal places to store leather footwear are darker places with some humidity, with slight ventilation to avoid formation of mildew.

* Avoid keeping socks in shoes: Shoes wear off faster if socks are kept inside the shoes as they leave a pungent smell leading to bad odour that transpires into the socks worn with the shoes.

* Don't store shoes in plastic/grocery bags: Leather shoes need some ventilation. Air should be able to pass through leather. For this, shoes should never be stored in plastic or grocery bags. Use bags made of breathable fabric and pillow cases to keep the shoes.

* Do not wear the same pair daily: Leather shoes need time to dry up naturally as they have a tendency to soak water from your feet. Wearing the same pair everyday will not help the shoe to dry up leading to a faster wear down.

* Use shoe tree: Keeping shoe tree in the shoe would enable it to maintain its shape, reduce creases and also to soak in excess moisture and odour.

* Cleaning is important: Regular cleaning, polishing and conditioning play an important role in taking care of leather shoes. You should clean, polish and condition your leather pieces regularly with high quality cleaners and sprays to increase its lifespan. Always clean your leather shoes with a soft cloth before applying special shoe cream on the soft leather handcrafted products.

* Stay away from water: Don't put water on your leather products especially hand-painted products.

--IANS

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