Pielęgnacja obuwia skórzanego

Care

Shoes are particularly exposed to external factors such as moisture, dirt, salt sprinkled on pavements in winter, and mechanical factors such as repeated bending and abrasion. Proper care extends the life of the footwear, ensures its good appearance and increases the comfort of use.

• impregnate each newly bought shoes before the first wearing - impregnation will provide your shoes with proper protection against moisture and dirt. Renowned impregnations protect the materials of the latest technology for smooth, nubuck, velor leather, textiles and Gore-Tex, Sympatex and all High-Tech materials against soaking. It is recommended to impregnate three times with breaks for each layer to dry. This operation should be carried out regularly and only professional preparations should be used for impregnation. By regularly impregnating your shoes, you will avoid getting your shoes wet many times.
• clean your shoes with a damp, soft cloth or sponge - use mild detergents for cleaning , special fluids and foams that remove dirt and thus do not deprive your shoes of color. Soles made of natural leather should be protected from getting wet, and if they get wet, they should be dried at room temperature. When dry, the edge of the sole and the heel are protected with shoe polish and polished. On the other hand, dirt is wiped with a damp cloth.
• under no circumstances should you wash leather shoes, fabrics and synthetic materials - intensive action of chemicals, water (especially hot) has a very negative impact on the appearance, durability and general condition of footwear. The action of water and detergents also causes the glues and threads to lose their properties. Both sewn and glued joints are weakened (adhesives lose their adhesive properties). In the case of nubuck and velor leather, there may be significant discoloration of the tops. Use professional products for cleaning shoes (foams, liquids, brushes).
• for regular care, use agents and preparations appropriate for a given material - choose the right tools and professional means for your shoes. In this way, you will avoid damaging the leather, the outer material, because each material requires a different care agent. Follow the instructions in the chapter "Material used, its care and maintenance".
• always use a spoon to put on shoes - you will protect yourself from in this way, before damaging the components of the upper in the heel part, e.g. before deforming the tab
• the footwear should be carefully unlaced when putting it on and taking it off - this way you will avoid damage to the shoes in the heel part, deformation and damage to the overlap.
• wear shoes carefully laced - this way you will avoid abrasion heel counters (a heel counter - a component of the lining of the upper covering the sides and back of the heel from the side of the lining). It is important here to choose the right footwear for the width and length of the foot.
• avoid getting your shoes wet - as much as possible, of course. In a wet shoe, adhesive bonds are weakened, the leather becomes discolored, the footwear loses its original appearance, and the materials it is made of lose their properties.
• dry the shoes properly - please remember that drying should always take place at room temperature. Shoes should then be unlaced (if laced, of course), shoe trees should be used and the inside should be filled with soft paper. The paper not only prevents the upper from deforming, but also effectively absorbs moisture from the inside of the footwear. Please remember not to use dryers, heaters or stoves to dry your shoes. Also, do not expose your shoes to the sun. Intensive drying at high temperatures can lead to excessive deprivation of moisture from the leather, which leads to the destruction of footwear and, consequently, to cracking of the leather. The use of insufficiently dried footwear causes premature wear (especially insoles, insoles, linings and linings).
• don't use the same shoes day after day - every day during use leather, the material from which the shoes are made - absorb such an amount of moisture from the feet that they need at least 24 hours to evaporate it. This significantly extends the service life, and the footwear lasts longer maintains an aesthetic appearance.
• do not use self-gloss pastes for skin care - applying many layers of self-gloss pastes layer on layer leads to skin cracks, especially in where it bends.
• for shoe care/cleaning, never use solvents (e.g. acetone, toluene, spirit) - you will avoid thus damaging the surface of the material from which the shoes are made.
• in shoes without lining or with leather lining, naturally dyed, there may be dyeing of the inside of the shoe . This is a natural feature of the skin. Dyeing usually occurs as a result of repeated soaking of the footwear and/or the action of sweat on the lining.
• remember about hygiene inside the shoe - from time to time Expose your shoes to fresh air for airing. You can also use shoe fresheners that eliminate the unpleasant smell of sweat inside the shoe.
• use shoes according to their purpose and the right season - each the type of footwear corresponds to the intended use. The purpose of the footwear affects the choice of material used, construction, performance and maintenance of the footwear. When choosing footwear, please consider the purpose for which you will use the footwear.
• do not expose the footwear to direct sunlight - shoes retain their natural color and the shoe uppers will not discolor
• choose footwear to the width of the foot - when choosing footwear, pay attention to the selected type, size and width of footwear exactly matched your needs - the length of the inner insole of the footwear - size - should be longer than the length of the foot, the toes should under no circumstances touch the inside of the toe of the footwear (the so-called slack). Incorrectly selected type of footwear, size, width or shape may result in mechanical damage to the linings and heel counters.
• Innovative construction solutions have been applied in some of our models, consisting in the fact that the leather on the insole has direct contact with the ground. Therefore, even during normal use, it may be damaged by the unevenness of the ground on which we walk
• the wear of the tops (staples) results from the size of their surface and the way the footwear is used. A small heel tab (e.g. high-heel shoes) wears out faster than a large-area heel tab.
• during the winter, especially as a result of adverse effects on the shoe upper (leather). winter conditions, frost, the action of salt sprinkled on pavements in winter, do not forget about their proper regular care and maintenance. This is a necessary condition for the leather to retain all its properties and its appearance to always be at a high level.
• rememberthat natural leather is not a homogeneous material. It has thickness drops throughout its surface, and there may also be slight differences in its structure.

Material used, its care and maintenance

Basic information about the materials used, along with proper care and careful maintenance, will extend the life of your footwear.

Grain leather (smooth) - it is the easiest to maintain. Surface cleaning with a damp cloth or brush. Thoroughly wash off all impurities and dirt from the top of shoes and soles, and also with warm water - the old layer of shoe polish. This is necessary because new paste cannot be applied to an old or uncleaned surface. Salt stains can be removed with warm water and a little detergent. After cleaning and drying the shoes, evenly apply a colorless or leather-colored polish. Use good pastes that contain natural waxes. Use the rule - you have expensive shoes, do not save on good paste. In the case of uppers made of calf leather, grain leather, aniline leather and nappa leather, any dirt should be removed with a sponge or cloth dampened with clean water and left to dry at room temperature. It is good to apply a small amount of paste or cream on cleaned shoes. The surface should be wiped with a slightly damp cloth and then polished with a soft brush or cloth. Self-gloss pastes are not used for this type of leather. Self-gloss pastes definitely have bad effect on the skin - they dye and shine the leather, but do not impregnate it and, as a result, cause its drying, cracking and flaking.

Velvet, nubuck leather - velor leathers are obtained by grinding the flesh and nubucks by grinding the face of the leather. Surface dirt formed on this type of leather should be cleaned with a rubber brush, preferably a wire brush (a brush with wire, copper tips), brushing the upper. Dirt is removed under running water or preparations intended for this type of skin. Raw leather is characterized by discoloration, so you can not allow for heavy soiling and complete soaking of footwear. Any stains should be removed by gently rubbing with a soft cloth or sponge soaked in a light soapy solution. If the shoe is heavily soiled, clean it with a soft sponge soaked in salt water. Visible abrasions are eliminated by holding the shoes for a few minutes over the steam of boiling water. Sprinkle grease stains with talcum powder for a few hours, then brush thoroughly. Thanks to this, you will get rid of stubborn dirt, but also give suede shoes a fresh look. In order to revive the color, a coloring agent should be applied from time to time. When preserving autumn and winter footwear, an aerosol impregnation agent is used, either colorless or in accordance with the color of the footwear. Reputable companies that produce chemicals for footwear offer many good preparations for such leather. These pastes are now available in a variety of colors. Shoe manufacturers, however, warn that the specifics, even the colorless ones, can darken even very light shoes. No creams are used for nubuck and velor footwear.

Bufallo and pullup leather - the uppers of such leather are dry cleaned by wiping with a cloth. A layer of a special colorless or colored (according to the shade of the top) greasing cream is applied to the cleaned surface. Covering pastes and self-shining pastes are not suitable for this type of leather.

Patent leather - it is characterized by a completely smooth and glossy surface, which is not we impregnate - it could reduce the effect of varnishing and gloss. We care for it with a special cream for patent leather or a special paste. Polish with a soft, preferably flannel cloth. Remember, when you wear patent leather shoes in sub-zero temperatures, you expose them to cracking due to the thin polyurethane coating applied to this type of leather.

Coated leather - leather with a layer of foil or plastic applied or glued to the surface. It has similar properties as patent leather. This type of material should be wiped with a damp cloth and wiped dry, or use products intended for the care of synthetic materials.

Other leathers - there is a whole a number of other types of leather, which are characterized above all by color effects and a variety of surface treatments. A characteristic feature of most leathers is that their appearance "develops" with their use. Rubbed leathers, where the original worn color is a different, often contrasting colour. Another variant is leather with a mechanically damaged face, where the face of the new footwear is torn, you can see a different color of the leather structure. the changes occur very quickly, deepening with use. Footwear "patinates" faster, obtaining a characteristic "worn" appearance. These changes are special, in no way a defect. These types of leather must not be creamed or polished. For care, colorless pastes and creams should be used, which should dry on the surface of the footwear. Impregnation will partially protect the shoes from moisture and dirt, but you should beware of heavy soiling of the shoes, because it is difficult to remove from this type of surface.

Textiles - is used for lighter, often summer or home shoes. Textile footwear should be dry-brushed and treated with textile cleaning sprays, which also impregnate the footwear, revive its colors and reduce soiling.

Synthetic materials - leather-like materials - these materials often look like leather, but their properties do not match the properties of leather, e.g. they have limited permeability, thus causing more sweating of the feet. These shoes are extremely easy to care for. Plastic parts shoe soles that are dyed on top (e.g. polyurethane soles) are extremely easy to mechanically damage. With this damage, the color wears off on the surface and the original color of the material shows through. Footwear made of this type of material should be washed with a damp cloth with detergent and wiped dry.

Rubber - wash footwear with a damp cloth with detergent and wipe dry.