27.04.2026

Care and maintenance of suede shoes

Impregnation determines how your shoes will look

The first thing you need to do after buying suede leather shoes is to impregnate them. And that's even before the first use. The impregnation protects against the absorption of liquid dirt, as well as the penetration of dusty dirt into the shoes, which would subsequently be very difficult to clean. With impregnation, you will not only keep the nice new look of suede shoes for longer, but also extend their service life. It is important that you impregnate clean or cleaned shoes.

In a shoe store, ask for an impregnation agent designed directly for suede leather, most often it will be in the form of a spray. On the contrary, do not use waxes and polishing agents for this type of shoes, the shoes would lose their nice polished look. For the impregnation injection itself, choose a well-ventilated place, preferably directly outside or on the balcony, and impregnate from a distance of approx. 20-30 cm from the sprayed surface. The impregnation is thus spread more evenly over the surface. Leave the impregnated shoes to dry in a ventilated place and you can repeat the process one or two more times.

We recommend stuffing the shoes with paper or stretchers before impregnation, so they keep a nice shape.

Cleaning and care

If the dirty shoes are dry, you can clean them by brushing. Typically, it will be dust or dried mud. However, it is important that both the dirt and the shoes are really dry, otherwise you will just spread the dirt on the surface of the shoe and make cleaning more trouble than good. If the dirty shoes are wet or damp, get rid of coarse dirt with a damp cloth, especially around the rubber perimeter of the sole.

Then let the shoes dry and clean them with a brush. The brush for suede leather is of two types, either bristle or rubber, and is sometimes combined in one tool. Start with the bristle part and finish with the rubber part for a nice look. In addition to impregnation sprays, there are also special cleaning agents for suede leather, thanks to which you will be able to better clean deeper dirt. After cleaning and drying the shoes, we recommend impregnating the shoes again.

OrthoLite® shoe insoles can also be washed in a washing machine

Leather shoes cannot be washed in a washing machine, they would be destroyed. However, this does not apply to the inner liner. In case of heavy soiling, you can easily wash the OrthoLite® insoles that we use in our shoes in the washing machine. We recommend the gentlest possible program, low temperature and also low spinning speed. Afterwards, dry the inserts spread out in the air and be sure not to use a dryer when drying. Thus, they will retain their appearance and all the comfort they provide to your feet.