How to Maintaining Shoes

Coat new leather soles with castor oil or linseed oil to preserve them.  Store your shoes and boots away from direct sunlight.  Touch up scuff marks on shoes with a felt-tip pen or a wax crayon.

Common Problems

Stretch Tight Shoes: Stuff wet shoes and boots with newspaper to speed the drying process.  Stretch tight shoes by stuffing them with wet, crumpled newspaper and letting them stand overnight.  Stuffing rolls of newspaper into boots will help them to keep their shape.

Muddy Shoes: Let the shoes dry thoroughly, then scrape off the mud with a blunt knife or a piece of wood.  Sponge any marks with a damp cloth, and stuff with newspaper or shoe trees to keep the shoes in shape.  Polish when dry.

Polish Substitute:  If you run out of shoe polish, try using a similarly colored furniture polish instead.  Buff well.

Heel Preserver:  Paint the heels of new and newly repaired shoes with clear nail varnish – this prevents scuffing the finish and will keep cork heels from being damaged.

Shoe Deodorant: Sprinkle baking soda liberally into smelly shoes.  Let stand overnight, then shake out the baking soda before wearing.