How to #DoMore with your Shoe Care

Cat Footwear may be built to last, but it helps to know and follow the basics of shoe care to ensure you get the most out of every pair of shoes that graces your closet.
Read on for everything you need to know about taking care of your shoes so that they can #DoMore for you every day!

Protection

There are a number of things you need to protect your footwear from if you want them to have a long lifespan. The most common of these are moisture, heat and dust and dirt – here’s how to combat them.

Moisture

Shoes and moisture are not friends. This is because sweat – the most common moisture that shoes have to deal with – encourages the growth of bacteria, which can cause certain of the shoe materials to break down more easily over time.

The general solution to this is to wear breathable footwear. This would be shoes made of materials that allow air and water vapour to escape and allow cooler air to enter. This type of circulation prevents a build-up of sweat inside the shoe – which also protects your feet from fungal or bacterial infections, over and above protecting the shoe itself. Read about how your shoes relate to your foot health in our blog: Podiatrist Simran Kalyan’s Guide to Good Shoes. 

So, if breathable footwear is the question, the Cat Footwear Leverage Buckle is the answer! This stylish boot has a soft, breathable nylon mesh sock lining with our signature CLEANSPORT NXT™ antibacterial layer that also works to reduce odours.

Over and above this, its cement construction adds to the shoe’s water resistance, further shielding the inside from moisture accumulation.

Heat & Direct Sunlight

Whether your shoe is leather or not, extreme heat or direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time can cause cracking and crumbling. Heat creates steam and water vapour within, which impacts the shoe upon cooling.

So to save your non-leather and leather footwear from becoming brittle or hardened, it is best to be aware of where your shoes are at all times and avoid this unnecessary risk.

Shop one of our leather bestsellers with the iconic Bruiser 2.0.

Dust and Dirt

It goes without saying that clean shoes look and feel better.

But did you know that excessive dust can lead to a loss in the shoe’s natural colour and can make your shoes look far older than what they actually are?

This kind of dust build-up tends to happen seasonally when, for example, we leave our summer sandals or winter boots unattended for 3-4 months at a time.

Try to regularly dust the area that stores your footwear to avoid this.

Dirt, on the other hand, is unavoidable. We buy shoes to use them – and Cat Footwear takes pride in creating shoes that work just as hard as you do.

But what you can do is develop good shoe habits by cleaning them after every use – and this doesn’t have to be a long or gruelling process:

Simply tap your shoes together outside so that any loose dust can fall off; if you’ve had a particularly murky day you can wipe down the uppers; and use a dry paintbrush or thin sticks to remove dirt stuck in the grooves of the soles.

You can simplify this cleaning process even more with Cat Footwear’s distinctive Street Shield technology. Some of our popular shoe styles come with this wipe-off water and stain repellent to protect footwear from everything from winter salt stains and rain storms to happy hour mishaps – because we believe shoes shouldn’t have to be brand new to look new.

Storage

The way you store your shoes has a far greater impact on them than you might realise.

As you’ve learned by now, shoes need proper air circulation. So the ideal storage solution is to keep your footwear on shelves – this means taking them out of the box when storing. If you would like to cover them, then opt for thin shoe bags made from breathable fabrics.

This might also be useful if shelves aren’t an option for you and you need to keep them on top of each other in a drawer or cupboard. Using shoe trees in this instance will ensure that the natural shape and texture is maintained, but if you can’t find these, stuffing newspaper inside the shoes will work just as well, too.
Think it’s time to upgrade your shoes to that sweet shelf life? Read our blog on DIY Shoe Storage!

Maintenance

Leather Creams & Polishes
Once your leather shoes are clean and well looked after, you can look at conditioning and polishing to keep them really healthy and happy.
Because leather is a breathable material, you can help them breathe even better with the right shoe creams or leather feed.

Get the low-down on how to rejuvenate your shoes and add months to years of extra wear with our blog: Leather Care Tips.

Are you ready to step into the new year with new and improved shoe-care habits?
Shop online with Cat Footwear for shoes that are built to last.