Water streaks and stains on shoes in leather or suede is a common issue that most of us have experienced in various ways. Here I go through how to best prevent your shoes from having stains from water, both ahead of, during and after use, but also how one best remove them in the case they still occur.
Why do waters stains occur on leather shoes
Water stains on leather occur because when water is absorbed into the porous material, it can dissolve and redistribute the oils, salts, dyes and other components within the leather. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind these concentrated deposits, causing discolouration and potentially also slight changes in the leather fibres.
Big water stain. Light coloured leathers will always be more sensitive than dark ones. Picture (also top one): Reddit (banner image: Liberty Leather Goods)
How to prevent water stains on shoes ahead of wearing them in rain
The best ways to treat shoes to make them withstand water streaks and water stains is classic shoe care. Worth noting here is that it differs how regular smooth leather and embossed grain leather is to be treated, compared to suede and nubuck. Leather shoes are to be treated with shoe cream and ideally also wax polish. The wax in these products will go into the pores of the leather and create a natural barrier towards water. Do apply several thin layers, and it’s only positive that you continue to regularly build up the layers with your shoe care routine, it makes the protection stronger. That’s why one shouldn’t strip off old cream and polish too often.
Leather shoes treated regularly with shoe cream and wax polish have a relatively good protective barrier towards water.
Important to note is that if you have proper full grain leather, you should not use waterproofing sprays. Even if this makes shoes more water resistant it hinders necessary nourishing ingredients in especially the shoe cream to go into the leather next time you are to polish them, and may risk the leather drying out over time instead (read more about that in this article).
For shoes in suede and nubuck, the waterproofing sprays are to be used. Here you don’t have pores that can be clogged, and no grain area that one want to remain supple. This also means that in general it’s easier to have really good waterproofing on suede shoes, and due to this they are less sensitive to rain, contrary to what many still believe.
With a good waterproofing spray, stains like these are less prone to happen. Picture: Ashley Poskin / Apartment Therapy
How to prevent water stains on shoes during and after use in rain
Also during the actual wear when you end up in harsh weather, you can do a lot to hinder water marks to occur. A very common type of water stain, especially on smooth leather full grain leather, is small round marks from rain drops that have been laying still on the shoes for longer time. Mainly happens when it rains just a little, and if you make it a habit to wipe off your shoes on the back of your leg the drops don’t gets to stay in the same place and cause stains. Just to move around the water is enough, you don’t have to get it fully dry (you can read more about this type of water stains here).
Many small water marks from rain drops.
If it rains more heavily and / or you happen to step in puddles and you have parts of the shoes more or less soaked, it’s a bit of a different story. It’s common that that causes larger water streaks and sometimes whole areas of the shoe becomes discoloured. It may feel contradictory, but the best way to prevent that type of stains is to make sure that you soak the whole shoes when you come home, either with a very wet dish cloth or simply by having it under running water. When the whole shoes are wet you don’t risk differences between areas in the same area, and decrease the risk of bad looking stains.
Classic water stains on light coloured leather shoes, where the toes were soaked and not the rest of the boots, resulting in these really bad streaks and changes in colour. Picture: Stridewise
How to get rid of water marks and water stains on shoes
Even if you follow all of the above sometimes you may still have water stains occurring, and if you miss doing some or all, they can be pretty bad if you are unlucky. In many cases you can at least over time get rid of the stains, or if nothing else make them look better. First of all, make sure you let the shoes dry properly. If they are soaking wet, it can be good to first stuff them with newspaper, then insert wooden shoe trees once a bit more dry. If only a little wet you can insert shoe trees straight away. Should the shoes have leather soles, let them dry laying on the side. Only in room temperature, not close to any heat source.
Once the shoes are completely dry, if needed you can use a gentle cleanser, especially if for example chrome salt has come loose and you have salt stains. Next is to condition the leather thoroughly, since it’s been through tough times and often are a bit dried out afterwards. It also makes it ready to take the next step.
Shoe cream in a similar colour as the shoes is the best way to revive and remove stains on smooth full grain leather.
If it’s shoes of smooth or embossed grain leather, go over them with at least three thin layers of pigmented shoe cream. Hopefully also the stained areas can now absorb the cream well, and if you finish off with some wax polish they may look all good again. Sometimes though, as mentioned, it will take some time with repeated shoe cream and use to make it less visible.
If the shoes are in suede or nubuck, after potential cleaning, use a nourishing waterproofing spray with colour, to do the same thing as the pigmented shoe cream does. Condition and recolour. Discoloured suede usually is more safe to have covered with new colour, so chances are good you can revive the shoes well.
Pigmented waterproofing sprays can do wonder on suede shoes.
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