Beeswax Helps Keep Shoes like New
Banish that salt-stained, cracked and unsightly Footwear
Feb 28, 2009
The hounds of spring may be on winter’s traces, but for the time being they may as well be stuck on a icy hillside, or, perhaps, in a pothole. Look forward as we might to wearing nice shoes like those nice soft Italian boots, little black pumps or even sandals, we are still stuck with cold, snow and slop. Our boots are not only graceless; they are filthy.
The Salt Problem
Most cities in the North American snow belt are still using salt to clear roads, sidewalks and other slippery surfaces. Quite apart from the damage it is doing to the water table, other plant and animal life and even our own water supply, salt ruins leather shoes.
An old-fashioned remedy from northern Europe is very a complicated treatment. It involves covering the shoes with white vinegar and letting sit overnight to allow the salt to rise to the surface. Afterwards they are to be cleaned with saddle soap, let stand to dry and then cleaned with boot polish, before a final treatment with a waterproofing agent. Not only is this routine time-consuming and fiddly, the vinegar is just as bad for the leather as the salt. What is to be done?
A Natural Remedy
Just as harmful salt could be replaced by sand as a remedy for ice forming on roads and pedestrian routes, so beewax candles can substitute for harmful paraffin ones made out of petroleum byproducts. Beeswax can also save our shoes from the harmful effects of road salt.
Pure Beeswax
Pure beeswax is readily available in most large pharmacies or stores selling hair care products where it is marketed for the purpose of making more permanent hair braids or other elaborate ‘do’s. It generally comes in small tubs of about 175g or 6 oz. and costs between $3 and $5 Canadian. If you don’t already use this product, it is reasonably priced and easy to find, and if you do, you have another use for something you already appreciate.
How to Apply
First clean your shoes with water and a little soap (or saddle soap) is they are very dirty. Then place a good dollop of the wax on your middle and index finger and commence rubbing into the shoe leather. Keep going until you have covered the whole upper of the shoe and the wax has soaked in. Take a soft cloth and buff the surface until it shines. Now your shoes not only look great but they are waterproof. For extra waterproofing, smear extra wax around the join between the upper and sole.
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