Cleaning your rubber boots is easy with things you already have on hand.
We believe that every pair of rubber boots that accompany you through wet weather and muddy environments is a loyal partner that you have carefully chosen. When it protects your feet and steps through every puddle of water and every piece of land, the marks left by it cover its brilliance. So please choose a good day to let it bloom its beauty again! Let it accompany you for a longer time!
Before cleaning rubber boots, you need to know what the problem is on the rubber boots and then follow the correct cleaning steps. In this article, We will explain in detail how to clean rubber boots according to the five situations of rubber boots.If this article includes the problem with your rubber boots, then please read on carefully!
(Click the question button below to jump directly to the solution you need!)
▶Inspection before cleaning
First, carefully check whether there are obvious damages on the rubber boots. Secondly, determine what kind of dirt needs to be cleaned (because this is related to the amount of detergent used for cleaning later)
▶Preparation of tools
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
- Olive oil
- Dishwashing liquid or laundry powder
(neutral detergent) - 1 pair of protective gloves
(to protect your hands from damage by lotion) - 1 clean soft rag or 1 soft sponge
(preferably white to avoid fading of other colored rags) - 1 old medium-hard toothbrush (any other brush of moderate hardness will also work)
- A basin of warm water
- A regular eraser
(if your boots have scratches similar to scrapes)
▶Detailed steps for the five questions
①[Basic cleaning]
If the stains on the rubber boots are newly generated in the past few days or even today, then this will be a very easy solution. In order to avoid it becoming a stubborn old stain, we should deal with it as soon as possible.
First, take out a clean rag or sponge, soak it with warm water and wipe the stains and dust on the surface of the rubber boots. If your rubber boots are not particularly dirty, they can usually be wiped clean in this way.
Secondly, if the effect of wiping with a wet cloth is not satisfactory, you can try to add detergent to warm water, soak the towel and then wipe the boots to increase the decontamination ability.
Tips: When wiping rubber boots, it is recommended to start from the boot shaft and clean from top to bottom to avoid moisture entering the inside of the boot shaft.
②[Deep cleaning]
If your rubber boots have been in a complex environment and have not been cleaned in time, leaving heavy and stubborn dirt, then you can choose to clean only the boot surface, or clean it thoroughly from the inside out.
If you choose to clean only the boot surface, you need to prepare a bucket of warm water mixed with detergent for the dried and lumpy mud on the boot surface, and use a brush of moderate hardness to dip the detergent to focus on cleaning the seams, eyelets and other dirt-hit areas of the rubber boots, then soak a clean rag and slowly clean the boot surface in a circular motion (Tips：Do not try to directly remove the dry mud, and do not brush it violently when using a brush to avoid damaging the boot surface).If there is still some dirt left, try to wet a wet rag without wringing it out, cover the dirt until it softens, then wipe it off, and finally rinse and wipe it with clean water.
If you choose to clean your rubber boots from the inside out, you will also need to clean the inside of the boots after completing the above steps to clean the outside of the rubber boots. First, you need to confirm whether your rubber boots have a drawstring anti-water collar design at the opening of the boot. If so, and this collar is stained, then be sure to clean the dirt here first! Because the material of this collar is usually polyester, in order to avoid subsequent soaking affecting the spread of stains and making it impossible to completely remove them, you need to solve it as soon as possible.The cleaning method is not to wet the stains, but to rub the stains with laundry detergent or detergent until they are clean, and then proceed to the subsequent overall soaking and cleaning steps. If your rubber boots are other styles, then generally dirt is not easy to enter the boots, but regular cleaning of the inside of the boots can effectively prevent the generation of bacteria. You need to prepare a bucket of warm water with dishwashing liquid or laundry powder, soak the rubber boots in the detergent for 15 minutes, gently scrub the inside with a soft cloth or brush, then rinse thoroughly with clean water, and then hang it upside down in a well-ventilated, cool place without direct sunlight to dry.This way, your rubber boots will be deeply cleaned from the inside out!
③[Wear marks]
When we just get a pair of new shoes, we always hope that they will always maintain their original beauty. Unfortunately, even if we wear and use them carefully, it is difficult to ensure that they will not be worn.
When your rubber boots have experienced traces of wear and tear that you have never noticed, such as on the toe, heel, side of the shoe, or even on the boot shaft, you can try to use an eraser of a regular eraser pencil to gently wipe the marks on the boot surface in a circular motion. If this doesn’t work, you can try mixing baking soda with a little warm water until it becomes a paste and then covering the scratch, rubbing gently in circular motions with a dry soft cloth and the general signs of wear will disappear.
Tips：If it does not work after trying, then you may need to carefully determine whether these wear and tear have caused more obvious damage to the boot surface. Perhaps this is no longer a general cleaning that can solve the problem, but requires repairing the boot surface.
④[Whitening of the boot surface]-‘blooming’ or ‘glue’
Before dealing with the problem of whitening of the boot surface, you need to know that there may be two situations.
The first situation involves a natural phenomenon of the rubber material. This phenomenon is called “blooming”, that is, at a certain high temperature, the insoluble granular compounds contained in the rubber float to the surface and come into contact with the air, resulting in the vulcanizer and the additive volatilizing into white powder.
It is also very simple to solve this problem. You need to use a rag that is twisted to half dry and soaked in warm water to wipe the white part of the boot surface, and then use the rag to dip a proper amount of olive oil to polish the boot surface in a circular motion. Usually, the problem of whitening of the boot surface can be solved.
Tips: If this method does not solve the problem of whitening of the boot surface well, then you may need to buy a special polish for rubber boots to remove it.
The second situation is the whitening caused by the glue residue during the production of rubber boots or the glue accidentally dripping on the shoes during daily wear and not being cleaned in time. If it is glue, you can try to use floral water or gasoline to repeatedly wipe the white part until it is clean.
⑤[Smell in boots]
We need to know that even the best shoes will inevitably produce some invisible bacteria and organisms due to long-term use when they are relatively tight, wet and have experienced a lot of exercise, which will cause odor. When your rubber boots have already appeared or have not yet appeared after wearing, you can take some time to solve or prevent this problem.
A relatively simple and quick way is to sprinkle some baking soda powder inside the boots, let the rubber boots stand overnight, and shake off or absorb the powder the next day to effectively remove the odor in the shoes.
Another way requires you to prepare some things. If you have a spray bottle at home, you can mix white vinegar and clean water in a 1:1 ratio and spray it evenly inside the boots. Be careful not to overdo it! Then let the rubber boots stand overnight or put them in a ventilated place. The acid in the vinegar can effectively remove fungi and prevent the generation of odors.
▶Daily maintenance precautions
After we understand the various problems of how to clean rubber boots, we need to realize that if we can spend a small amount of time in our daily life to easily and effectively maintain our rubber boots, then we are likely to avoid encountering some tricky problems related to rubber boots.
For example: After wearing rubber boots every time, if there are obvious stains on the surface, we can simply and carefully rinse the outside of the boots with clean water and dry them in a cool and ventilated place. ←This can effectively prevent the stains from drying up and requiring unknown efforts to solve them in the future.
For example: If your rubber boots are used frequently, then regularly using a clean and soft rag dipped in an appropriate amount of olive oil or special rubber protective agent to wipe the boots in a circular motion every three months or six months can effectively prevent the rubber boots from drying and cracking.
Another point to note is that it is best not to try to use alcohol to wipe and disinfect rubber shoes. Perhaps a small amount of alcohol will not cause any problems, but long-term contact with high concentrations of alcohol will cause the rubber to age or even deform.
Proper storage: When taking off frequently worn boots, they need to be kept away from direct sunlight and placed in a cool and ventilated place. Some rubber boots that are not often worn can be placed in a shoe box or bag after cleaning, which can avoid dust and frost easily at high temperatures.If your rubber boots have a long shaft, do not bend the shaft when storing them. You can also stuff the shaft with some old newspapers to keep it in shape.
▶The purpose of rubber shoes is to keep our feet dry and comfortable in bad conditions, so getting dirty is the inevitable fate of rubber boots. As long as we take some care to keep it in the best condition, it will be our best partner on rainy and muddy roads.
