Looking for work boot care tips and tricks? Wondering how long your work boots typically last? Well, the longevity of your work boots isn’t a straightforward answer. It varies based on factors such as the job environment, maintenance practices, and frequency of use. While you can’t completely avoid everyday wear and tear, there are effective tools and techniques available to extend the lifespan of your boots. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll share valuable work boot care tips and tricks to help you keep your boots in optimal condition for as long as possible.
Our experts have curated the following list of tips and tricks to help keep your boots in good condition through maintenance and cleaning:
Work Boot Care Tips to Avoid “Dry-Rot”
There may be times when you receive a voucher for a new pair of boots even though your current pair is still in good condition, this makes it tempting to put the new boots away and wait until you’re ready to throw out the old ones but it is actually harmful to both pairs of boots.
Most work boots use a rubber compound in the outsole. This compound is very durable, soft, and resists high temperatures. But as the saying goes “use it, or lose it!”. Rubber, whether natural or synthetic, is a polymer and its chains of molecules are vulnerable to many of the same factors that affect all polymers — in the case of safety shoes darkness and lack of movement or flexing. This type of decay is commonly knon as “Dry-Rot”.
While it is not literally rotting away, if it goes unused the rubber will eventually harden and lose its flexibility causing it to fall apart. By the time you pull that new pair of boots out of your closet they might not be in good condition to wear to work.
It is helpful to wear new boots as soon as you get them, you break them in faster, the material stays healthy, and by taking turns wearing both the old and new pair you are prolonging the life of both!
Clean Them Regularly
Your shoes go through a lot, and depending on the type of job you have they probably end up with residue from the materials or chemicals you encounter throughout the day. Cleaning your boots regularly is a great habit to have in order to avoid build up, cracking, and deterioration due to these elements. There are plenty of leather specific soaps you can use but these are our two favorites:
This soap is good to use on any type of leather, this of it as shampoo for your shoes.
Cowboy Up
This one is our version of saddle soap. It cleans, softens and preserves smooth leathers while removing wax build-up on smooth leather.
Perform Routine Maintenance
Take some extra time to focus on the small details that’ll make your boots look and feel new for as long as possible. Think of your boots as a car, sure a car will keep running if you forget to do the oil change but eventually things will start breaking and at some point the car will stop running and you’ll need to replace it. Here are our top product picks:
We talked about shampoo for your boots, this one is the conditioner. It conditions, protects, and preserves all oil-tanned and waxed leather. Renewing the appearance of your boots and restoring oils to the leather.
Boot Lovin’ Oil
This is our version of Mink Oil. This product will protect smooth leather and vinyls against stains, drying, and cracking.
If you work in wet conditions this one is a life saver. This product is liquid silicone and it will help with the prevention of water penetration on smooth leathers and waterproof materials.
Your boots do a lot for you, they protect your feet and keep you comfortable throughout the day so it’s good practice to take care of them and keep them in good shape for as long as possible.
