Many of us have been collecting things, and regardless of why, you need to know how to keep them prime. Knowing how to store leather shoes to prevent mold is just one of the things there is to learn.
The reason your collection may be out of curiosity, as a reward system, stress-reliever, or just as a hobby. There’s definitely a good reason why you need to max out not just increasing their number but keeping their quality as well.
There are dozens of types and designs of shoes out there, and each one has its own suitable environment for use. If shoes are the things you chose to collect, then you might have noticed that not only are their services different, some of them also need special maintenance and storage.
One of such special shoes is leather shoes. While they’re comfy, durable, and an absolutely outfit-completing item, leather shoes need more than just a rack for them to keep their shape.
Steps For Mold-Free Storage Of Your Leather Shoes
Leather shoes are basically made with rarer material than your beloved sneakers, and that is why they invite trickier things. If you’re prepping to store away your leather shoes, here are some steps you can take to keep the molds out.
Step #1. Cleanse the shoes
Whether you’re storing the pair for a short or a long time, storage should start with removing dirt and anything else that is possibly sticking in footwear’s surfaces. Of course, the extent and depth of the cleaning you need to do would depend on how often you use this pair and how long you intend to put them away.
If you’re only placing them in storage for a short period, like less than a week, then a brush on a top surface and scrub with soap and water for the bottom surface should suffice. However, if you only wear those particular shoes on special occasions and store them for months, you’ll need to clean them up thoroughly, including the insides.
The cleaning process will also depend on what kind of leather your shoes are made of, so make sure that you figure that out first. Note also that the dirt left on your shoes is one of the things that could inspire mold growth, especially when there are spores mixed on it, so you really need to take them off.
Step #2. Dry the leather pair thoroughly
After cleaning your leather shoes, you need to dry them properly. Wet shoes are beloved by molds, so you need to pay extra attention to this step.
If the type of leather used to make your shoes allows it, you can apply some conditioner into your boots before drying them. You can also spray some commercial mold-repellent, again if your shoe allows it.
You can dry the shoes by consecutive contact with dry and clean paper towels, in combination with air-drying
Step #3. Place water-repelling packs and shape supporting structure in
Now that the shoes are clean and completely dry, you can start packing them in. You can use some silica gel packs as moisture control to mitigate molds, especially inside your shoes.
With the silica, you add a shape-supporting set inside the shoes like crumpled paper or shoe balls to keep the shoe’s shape while and after storage. After which, wrap the pair in acid-free sheets before placing it in a box.
Step #4. Store the shoes in a conditioned cabinet
The previous steps were detailed for individual pairs of leather shoes, and if you have more than one, you might want to consider grabbing some durable footwear cabinets. If your boots are made chiefly with particular fabric types, that is more reason to get quality storage.
You should pick something that can be sealed well for the cabinet, has enough space for each pair, and is water-repellant. Before storing your shoes in, make sure you place some moth and bug repellent inside the cabinet and check that it doesn’t build up moisture, humidity, and temperature.
Why do leather shoes get moldy?
Leather is made mainly with animal hides and processed plants which are organics that molds need to grow. Mold can grow on these materials quickly when the raw materials are not dried and conditioned well to kill off residual fungus and bacteria.
While high-quality leathers don’t suffer in such conditions. If your shoes have gotten wet once or their storage is insufficient, they will also likely catch some mold spores.
Other than shoes, here’s how you can remove mold from canvas bags.
How to keep moisture from leather shoes
Leather shoes, especially the aged ones, can lose their protective layer against the water with time. When that happens, not only are they not resistant to it, most leathers can retain the moisture really well, which is practically an invitation for molds.
To keep that from happening, keep your shoes away from water and regularly check the weathering of its coatings. As mentioned above, you also need to store them well.
Beyond the cabinets, here’s what causes mold in apartments, so you can double up on your mold protection.
Conclusion
You’ve now thoroughly soaked how to store leather shoes to prevent mold, with all the necessary steps you need to take. We hope you can now wear and keep all pairs of your shoe collection well!