A good pair of leather boots makes you look classy and cool at the same time. They don’t come cheap; you have to pay a reasonable amount to get a decent pair of leather shoes. Once you have invested so much in it, it is only natural that you maintain it well, so that they never lose their shine. Leather, by nature, is waterproof. However, this doesn’t mean that they will stay like that forever. The article below helps you to understand how to waterproof leather boots so that you can extend their lifespan.

Using Wax

​When you don’t waterproof your leather boots for a long time, they become very dry and become more susceptible to wear and tear when the moisture content is lost. Here is how you can waterproof your leather shoes effectively using wax:

• Apply a small amount of wax on a soft cloth and rub it gently over your shoes; ensure that you apply wax in all the areas of the shoes. Take care to ensure that you are not too generous during this wax application process.
• Natural beeswax is the most commonly used wax for waterproofing leather boots.
• Allow the wax on the shoes to dry off naturally; this would take at least an hour. Never try to speed up the process by subjecting your shoes to air and heat treatments as it can break them.
• Once the wax gets dried off naturally, use a clean, dry cloth to wipe it off gently.
• You will be thrilled to find the natural shine in your shoes when you complete this process; this waterproofing technique needs to be done regularly (maybe thrice to five times a year) for extended durability

One of best wax for waterproofing leather boots is Atsko Sno-Seal Original Beeswax Waterproofing Leather Protector

Using oils

​If you aren’t comfortable to treat your leather shoes with wax, you can use mineral oils, mink oil or neatsfoot to give your shoes natural waterproofing quality. Here are some points you need to remember while using oils:

• Never use too much of oil (irrespective of the type you choose) as it can cause discolouration in your shoes
• Pour little oil on a soft, cotton and dry cloth to rub on the shoes evenly; ensure that you give a nice rub to all the areas of the shoes so that they get exposed to the oil
• For a single application, your shoes will receive waterproofing for about a month; therefore, ensure you do this once a month for best results. During the monsoon season, you need to give this oil coating every time your shoes get soaked in water.

Using creams

Natural and oil based creams are one of the most sought-after methods for cleaning, polishing and waterproofing leather shoes. These creams are made from 100% natural ingredients; therefore, you can rest assured about the quality of your shoes. Here are some points to bear in mind while using creams:

• Lanolin (an oil created from sheep’s wool) is one of the best shoe cream for waterproofing leather shoes; this cream has been used for the same for more than 100 years now, which explains its effectiveness
• Never apply the cream on the shoes directly, because when the oils are absorbed by the leather, it can cause discoloration, breakage and separation of leather fibres; always apply a reasonable amount of cream on a soft cloth for rubbing all over the shoes.

Using sprays

​If you have been wondering about how to waterproof leather boots, sprays might be the answer that you are looking for. There are two kinds of sprays used in this process – silicon polymer and acrylic copolymer. Some points to note while using these sprays are given below:

• Leather boots must be thoroughly cleaned and dried before the application of waterproofing sprays.
• Hold the spray bottle at least about 8 inches from the boots and spray with the nozzle pointing the boots.
• A light coat should be applied first all over the boots evenly. Once the boots dry off naturally, you can apply a second coat if necessary.
• Waterproofing sprays should be used at least once in a month for better performance and durability of your leather boots
• Ensure that you cover the floor with a newspaper first before applying the spray, so that the chemicals in the spray don’t spoil the areas around the boots.

Using home-made solutions for waterproofing

​If you don’t want to use the store-bought sprays and creams to waterproof your favourite pair of leather boots, you can use a simple home-made remedy for the same. This remedy consists of making use of very simple ingredients that are natural and effective. It is also cost-effective when compared to the store-bought products. Here is how you do it:

• About 200ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 50gm of natural beeswax, few drops of lavender oil and tea tree oils for the smell are the ingredients needed for this (lavender and tea tree oils should be in the ration of 2:1)
• Pour the olive oil and wax into a bowl and put the bowl in a pan of cold water.
• Heat the pan and continue mixing the contents of the bowl until the wax is fully melted and blended with the oil.
• Take the bowl from the pan and mix the essential oils (optional) into this and continue mixing until the content gets into the consistency of a thick paste. It can take about 15 to 20 minutes for the same.
• Allow the mixture to cool nicely so that it becomes stiff.
• Once it stiffens, it is the perfect time to start using it.
• The highlight of this home-made mixture is that it not only does waterproofing for your leather boots but also other accessories like wallets, belts, hats, etc. made from leather.

From the above, we can understand that waterproofing leather boots, is not such a difficult step, after all, isn’t it? Yes, it requires a few minutes from you regularly (at least once a month). However, it is worth every second, because it lends a lot of durability to your shoes and justifies the big investment that you have made in them.