Unlike fabric or leather tactical boots, suede tactical boots take you more time to care for and clean them.
The cleaning methods for suede are both limited in water use since suede tactical boots are very sensitive to water, prone to deformation, and deteriorate in prolonged or frequent contact with water.
How to clean suede tactical boots? Let’s find out the answer with FromTheGuestRoom.
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How to clean suede tactical boots?
After the fabric tactical boots, the most common material for tactical boots is suede, and next is leather.
Tactical boots are made of suede can bring the wearer many advantages:
- Soft, smooth and comfortable
- Breathable
- Uniform and beautiful colors
- Durable and flexible than normal leather
- Environmental friendliness
- Youthful, dynamic and fashionable appearance
- Retain beautiful color and pleasant softness after a long time of use
- Keep your feet warm in cold and wet weather
- Less break in time
On the other hand, suede also has some disadvantages such as:
- Very sensitive to water, easy to get wet (absorb water)
- Easy to get dirty
- Hard to clean
- Not as elastic as normal leather
- High price
Overall, you can see that the merits of suede tactical boots outweigh their drawbacks.
Many people hesitate to use suede tactical boots because they are water-absorbing, difficult to clean and get dirty easily…
Suede tactical boots are difficult to clean because suede easily gets damaged when exposed to water. If they get wet for a long time and are not cared for properly, suede boots can completely lose quality (loss of shape, cracking chappy,…)
This is a huge disadvantage of suede tactical boots, as the majority of tactical boot users are people who like to hit the road rather than using boots just for fashion. So tactical boots regularly in contact with water, mud, and dirt are something unavoidable.
The good news is, we can completely overcome the disadvantages of suede tactical boots by using suede conditioners to protect suede against water, dirt, mud…
Besides, you need to learn how to clean suede without the use of water (or very little) to care for suede tactical boots.
Or learning how to take care of tactical suede boots after cleaning them or after they get wet is essential too.
Do you know how to handle it yet? Follow us!
A step-by-step guide to clean suede tactical boots
We’ll show you the 5 basic important steps to clean up suede tactical boots, along with some notes you should pay attention to when having suede boots.
Step 1: Prepare
To clean the insoles and laces, here are what you should prepare: soft bristle brush, cleaning foam for fabric, a bucket of warm water.
Table could not be displayed.You should use suede specific products, avoid using household items.
A suede cleaner, dedicated suede brush and eraser, suede conditioner – that’s all for caring suede.
Besides, prepare a soft, dry cloth to clean your suede tactical boots.
Table could not be displayed.The suede cleaner will help you clean up the suede tactical boots without using water.
The suede conditioner will protect your suede boots from the invasion of water and dirt.
The dedicated suede brush will help you clean the surface of the suede tactical boots without scratching them.
Step 2: Clean the insoles and laces
You should take out the suede tactical boots insoles and laces to clean them first. This makes it easy to clean each part of the boots without much hassle.
If your insoles can be washed in a washing machine, that’s very simple.
But if they cannot be washed in a washing machine, then you must use a soft bristle brush and cleaning foam to clean them.
Moisten soft bristles, laces and insoles with warm water. Apply cleaning foam onto the brush and rub evenly over insoles and laces to clean them.
After cleaning them, rinse them with water and use a dry cloth to dry them to a certain extent.
Step 3: Clean suede tactical boots
First, use a dedicated suede brush to remove large and conspicuous stains. Scrub the entire surface of suede tactical boots gently.
Don’t ignore the nooks where the stains easily hide like tongue, eyelid,…
One important thing to note that if suede tactical boots get muddy: wait for the mud to dry and remove it then. Don’t rush to remove the wet mud or you only make your suede tactical boots more dirty.
After the cleaning process with the removed visible dirt, your tactical boots can still be ugly due to the mud stains left on them. You can use a special eraser to handle this.
A dedicated eraser will help remove unsightly colors created by mud and stains, you can use an eraser to scrub the surface of suede tactical boots thoroughly.
After you have completed the above 2 steps, now apply the suede cleaner.
Spray a thin layer of suede cleaner directly on the entire surface of the suede tactical boots. Then use the suede brush to gently scrub all the surface and corners.
Next, use the eraser to continue cleaning up the tactical boots.
Just repeat the process: spray suede cleaner – scrub with a brush – use an eraser to scrub until your suede tactical boots are completely clean.
Step 4: Clean the inside of suede tactical boots
You should determine what material is inside of your suede tactical boots.
If the inside is suede, apply the method above to clean it.
If the boot interior is leather, use a combination of leather cleaner and horsehair brush to clean. Apply leather cleaner inside the tactical boots and use a horsehair brush to scrub.
Table could not be displayed.If inside the tactical boots is fabric, use a cleaning foam and a soft bristle brush to clean it like what you did for the insoles and laces.
However, make sure to dry the inside of the tactical boots completely. Swipe down to see the methods to dry inside the tactical boots below.
Read more: How To Clean The Inside of Your Tactical Boots?
Step 5: Apply the suede conditioner
As mentioned above, it is very important to condition suede tactical boots. This process will ensure the suede keeps its quality, durability, and beautiful colors.
Tactical boots made from suede are susceptible to water so you should choose a conditioner that can help them overcome their weakness. Specifically, pick the conditioner that can make suede tactical boots waterproof, against dirt, mud, snow, sudden rain…
Next, use a waterproofing spray for suede. What you need to do is spray a thin layer of conditioner directly on the boot surface, then use a suede brush to scrub the surface again.
Coating the surface with a thin 2 or 3 layers of conditioner will give your tactical boots more resistance.
Wait for the conditioner to deep into the suede tactical boots until it’s dry. And you’ve done!
Some methods to take care of suede tactical boots
Make sure your suede tactical boots are dry inside out. It is highly recommended to use boot trees to chase away moisture in your boots. If you have too many boots in your house, you can use a boot dryer to dry multiple boots at the same time.
Table could not be displayed.If your suede boots are still wet from the rain, using household powder is a good choice to absorb moisture. Or you can sprinkle some cornstarch into the suede tactical boots and see magical results the next morning.
After cleaning the inside of tactical boots, use sunlight or natural wind to dry them out. Also, you can use boot trees, boot dryers or household powder mentioned above to make sure your tactical boots are not damp.
Suede tactical boots need to breathe. It is best to store them in a cool, dry place and avoid putting them in bright sunlight or humid places.
Don’t polish the suede tactical boots. Suede boots don’t need that!
Don’t use a hair dryer to dry suede tactical boots as the high temperatures can affect the suede quality.
Wearing socks is a good idea to prevent your feet from sweating suede tactical boots.
Conclusion
The cleaning process of suede tactical boots can be time-consuming and require a lot of attention. However, believe me, tactical boots are made from suede for good reasons.
As long as you keep the suede tactical boots in good condition, you can experience the great comfort, flexibility and softness they offer. That’s hard to find in leather tactical boots.
Clean and condition them, that’s all, just 2 simple steps to keep the tactical boots ready for the toughest battles.
Any more questions? Feel free to ask us in the comments, we are pleased to hear from you.
After cleaning and conditioning your suede tactical boots, don’t forget to take a picture and send it to us!
Good luck!