You Stepped in What?

So Boot Babes, we all know that our boots can get us through darn near anything but what happens when we get in some real bull, mud, muck, or what have you. Well, y'all already know that as women, we get the pleasure of cleaning up more of life's little messes than we can shake a stick at and cleaning our boots is no different. What it is and what kind of boots we are working with will make a little bit of difference in how you clean up what you done went and got yourself into.

First of all, you can't always control what you get into because STUFF happens and Murphy's Law always prevails, what you can do is to pick the right boots for what y'all anticipate gettin' into.  What I am saying here is don't y'all go muddin', to clean stalls, or cut pigs in your $800 Old Gringo boots and then fuss. NOPE. If you know or think you might be doing something that would ruin your gorgeous, made me eat bologna for a week boots DON'T YOU DO IT GIRL. Yeah, you will look good alright but you will hate yourself in the morning.  Pick an all leather boot or even a cute little rubber number for that stuff and leave your pretty boots for when you are cleaned up, NOT for when you know you have a dirty job to do.  Embroidery, exotics, and suede and all of the above ain't friends!

Double D Ranch by Old Gringo

Just Leather Y'all

So on your pretty leather boots, not exotic leathers but pig, goat, cow, yeah those, You still need to clean them to keep them by your side for a good long while. This ain't easy y'all but I promise it is worth it because your boots are an investment.  Before you wear, always treat!  The Boot Babe likes Meltonian leather protector personally. After this, get going and wear them boots.  When you are done finished workin' or playin' brush off what you can, knock off what is stuck to the soles and wipe with your dry rag.  If the sole is not leather, I usually sit it in the utility sink with just a tad bit of water while I clean. I do not soak my leather soles.  For them, I do wet my rag and wipe the sole real good after I am done with the rest of the boot. If the mess is not one to write home about, brush off the excess, and wipe with your favorite conditioner.  That is all. To clean the rest of the boot when there is a big ole mess I prefer saddle soap but I have even used what ever dish soap is on the utility sink.  I use a damp rag and what ever cleaner I have and scrub the mess away.  It is just basic cleaning. Nothing real fancy.

Meltonian 

Saddle Soap

I rinse my rag and then rinse the boot.  Now, if it is a mess of colossal proportions, it will not kill ya or the dang boot to just soak and scrub the whole thing or to spray it off first.  Don't leave life's mess on your boots!  Make sure to get in the cracks and crevices of inlays and around the welt (the thread on the sole), Babes, leaving gunk will cause the thread to deteriorate and we do not want that sort of nonsense.  If you want to make it white or really light again, you can use a little peroxide on a qtip.

Bick 4

The next step is crucial Boot Babes.  Condition the boots, use something like Cadillac or Bick 4 after every time you wear your boots. This is especially crucial after they have been wet.  Even if you do not wear your boots, pull them out and condition them every so often to keep the leather healthy.

Cadillac

If you notice a nick or scratch or scuff, keep buffing with your conditioner and it will help.  If you have oil tanned boots and want to deep condition them, mink oil is your friend Boot Babes!  It can help darken faded spots too but be warned y'all, IT WILL DARKEN lighter leather.

Mink Oil

Embroidery

So you went and ruined your boots? Not so fast! There is hope!  Again bush off all of that excess STUFF and look at the thread.  Before you soak the boot or anything else, you need some cotton balls, qtips, or a light clean rag.  DAB and I do mean dab and blot the dirty embroidery with cold water and nothing else.  If it comes off, great, continue to conditioning and condition around the thread, not on it if you can help it.  If the dang thread is still grungy, try some Ivory soap or Dawn on a wet qtip. Lightly dab, them dab with a damp cotton ball or paper towel to rinse.  If it is still stubborn, try some peroxide the same way.   Then wipe the whole boot with your damp cloth, ALWAYS use cold water on embroidery Boot Babes!  Let the embroidery dry and then condition as usual.

Stetson, perfect for when you know STUFF will happen

Studs and Stones

Well if you have STUFF all caked around your studs and stones, be careful! DON'T WET THESE Y'ALL!   The stones are usually glued or set with metal bezels so the water will weaken the glue and will cause the metal pieces to rust and y'all that ain't pretty!   Boot Babes, here you will bush off what you can gently, then wipe well with a clean and dry rag.  Then use a qtip that is dry to rub around the stones and studs. The next step is to use the rag and ever ever ever so lightly dampen it and wring it out better than you have any mop in your life.  Wipe the boot and then condition but don't let the conditioner bunch around the studs or stones because it is worse than water at rusting and eating glue.  For these, I add maybe a thin dime sized amount on my rag before I dampen it and them smear it all around on the rag as I dampen it, then wring, then use the diluted conditioner and follow with a wipe from another clean and dry cloth to dry any excess water or conditioner. You have to make sure to get around the stones and studs very very well and this is time consuming Boot Babes. It is worth it though y'all because boots with stones and studs are the that ones I bet you spend the most of your boot budget on.

Exotics

Well now ain't you a fancy Boot Babe if you go play in your exotic boots!  For these, again brush off anything and use a WATER BASED conditioner that is made for exotic skins like ostrich and reptile. These are the most fragile and need some boot love even if you don't wear them a lot! Keep them clean, conditioned, and dust free y'all!

Exotic 

Suede

You better hope you listened to The Boot Babe and pretreated these babies with Scotchguard!  Try not to get them wet, in mud, or overall NASSSTY.  If you do and even if you pretreated, they may bite the dust and become your hottest and most expensive work boots!   So, pretreat, be careful, bush away the excess and lightly wipe with the barely barely damp cloth only on the dirty area. DON'T SOAK, DON'T use conditioner. Got it y'all! Good!

Scotchguard

Well there you have my tips and hints to keep your boots safe and how to get them clean through whatever you get into. Even after a night at the bar, the rodeo, or a day at the office, wipe your boots and take the time to condition before you put them away.  Hit the high spots on the steps above each time you slip your boots off Boot Babes! Your boots will thank you!

Love y’all and until next time, let your boots rock your socks!

The Boot Babe