These infamous boots, a mixture of thick sheeps wool exterior and equally soft suede exterior have sold in their millions worldwide. Due to the delicate materials that are used, unfortunately these pricey shoes do stain and get dirty relatively easily. Ironic that a winter boot is so unfit for purpose, right? Anyway, they are super comfy and warm so the regular cleaning is the price we pay. There are many official Ugg care kit products available and this guide is meant to add to those, not be used instead of. When you have invested a chunk of money in the boots, it really is worth buying the products that have been developed specifically for their maintenance, to avoid any other unwanted chemicals ruining them.
When you are handed your boots over the counter, make yourself and them a promise that you will regularly clean them. If you try to leave them months at a time and then carry out a mass restoration project the results won’t be as impressive as if you just give them a bit of tlc every few weeks.
So, to start with, worst case scenario you get an oil or grease stain on your boots. Rather than madly panic, carry out this little life saver. Take a piece of white chalk and ‘colour in’ the stain. Allow this is to rest overnight as the powdery substance soaks up the stain. In the morning, dust off gently with a clean paintbrush. The stain that you thought was sticking around forever, will have vanished.
For dirt or salt stains, that are inevitable from the road grit in winter, a simple pencil rubber is the answer to your prayers. Brush the boot in the same direction, using a suede brush and use the eraser to gently ‘spot rub’ the mark away. Some suede brushes have the rubber tool on them, but a normal eraser from your local stationary store is fine too. To follow this up wet the area with clean water (if you wet too much of the boot the product will spread to areas that doesn’t need treating so be careful her). Use a drop of the ugg cleaner on a soft damp sponge and rub the boot in a circular motion. Rinse with clean water and we’re sure the dirt or salt stains will be long gone.
For the boots woolly interior, hold the boot upside down and comb with a plastic wide toothcomb. If there is any loose debris, this way it will fall out of the boot instead of become nestled back in the thick sheeps wool. If you notice your boots have become a little pongy why not try a table spoon of baking powder to deodorise them. Once the powder is in the boot, hold the to securely and shake vigorously. Leave this to sit overnight and empty any loose powder out in the morning. Clean and fresh as the day you bought them!
There are some no-no’s with regards to cleaning your boots.
- Don’t dry Clean your Uggs
- Don’t wash in a washing machine/ Dry in a tumble dryer
- Dry by a heat source as they become distorted in shape and colour
Get them too wet, you can’t ever restore damage that severe