Currently, the demand for shoes in general and boots, in particular, is increasing. Anyone might have at least a pair of boots for work or parties.
And they also need to memorize a few tips for cleaning and polishing the boots to keep them always shiny because wearing a clean pair will give users much confidence.
Except for specialized polishes, what materials can help you polish your boots?
The truth is, you won’t need to search far as these products are easy to buy, even already available in your own home. Let’s follow the ultimate methods for how to shine boots at home with us today!

Identify Your Boots’ Materials
The most prior thing to do before you shine boots at home is to classify their materials, such as velvet, leather, fabric, synthetic, etc. This is very important because each material will be influenced by different types of detergents as well as the polishing methods, so if you know them in the first place, you can apply suitable treatments to your lovely boots without wasting much time and effort.
How Frequently Do You Need To Shine Boots?
It’s recommended to shine boots at least every other day. Especially, if you are using them daily and getting them wet or dirty, frequent gloss truly protects them.
In case you are not wearing them more often, you can clean and polish them once a month. Going with that, don’t forget to preserve the boots properly to keep them always shiny as new.
How to Shine Boots Properly at Home?
How to Shine Leather Boots
Leather shoes are the easiest shoe to polish. There are many ways we can choose: use polishing wax, banana peel, vegetable oil, etc.
Let’s take a closer look!
Using shoe polish
This may be considered the most common, but not everyone can be familiar with the steps. To start this method, you will need:
- Old newspaper or towel
- A brush
- A dry cotton cloth
- Skin cleanser / oil
- Shoe polish and/or polishing wax

Polishing shoes is like painting something, which is easy to stain or get dirty, so be very careful. You should also use old newspapers or towels, however, it is better to use a towel as it can be reused next time.
Once you have all that, follow the instruction below:
- Step 1. Before polishing your shoes, you need to brush the boots thoroughly one time. This helps to remove dirt and other stains from the shoe surface.
Gently brush back and forth evenly until the dirt is gone.
- Step 2. Next, we prioritize the use of cleanser/shoe condition first.
Even if your shoes aren’t too dirty, we still recommend using these products at this time. They not only make the skin soft but also increase the longevity of your shoes.
- Step 3. Now, it’s time to polish your boots. You can use a small brush or any kind of soft fabric to do this action. In fact, our preference is soft cotton because it offers better control over the amount of polish you will need.
Make sure to use a cream color that closely matches your shoe tone. If your shoes have an unorthodox color, choose a neutral cream shade. When using poker, remember to hit evenly to avoid hitting dark, light, uneven color.
- Step 4. Then, wait for the polish to dry completely.
- Step 5. After the wax dries, grab the brush or dry soft cloth to polish the shoes. Swipe evenly until your shoes reach the shine level you want.
Use vinegar and olive oil
What if you don’t have shoe polish available in the house?
Don’t worry, we have a few home remedies that can help you shine boots effectively. One of them is to use a combination of vinegar and olive oil to buff your shoes.

Specifically, you’ll need to mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/2 cup of olive oil. Next, put the mixture in a spray bottle and shake it vigorously so that it blends. Then, spray on the dirty areas on the boots and wait 5 minutes for the solution to fully absorb into the skin. At that point, it will remove the stains on the shoes. Finally, use a clean towel to dry the shoes.
Use dish soap
Another tool to shine shoes you can easily find at home is dish soap. The soap doesn’t contain harsh chemicals to harm your leather, but it even makes your boots look new like before. Besides soap, you also need a brush or toothbrush to complete the process.
- Step 1. Mix the dish soap with water with a ratio of 1:3.
- Step 2. Take a piece of cloth and dip into the soap solution, then rub it on your leather boots gently until the pair becomes clean and shiny.’
- Step 3. Leave the boots dry naturally.
Use Tartar cream and lemon juice

If you have tartar cream at home, perfect, we can use them to shine the boots, too! However, bear in mind this procedure applies to light-colored leather boots only.
- Step 1. Firstly, mix tartar cream and lemon juice in an equal part as long as you have a thick paste.
- Step 2. Then, take a toothbrush to apply the paste evenly all over the boot and leave them to dry for 30 minutes.
- Step 3. Remove the paste gently with a damp cloth.
- Step 4. Dry the boots outside in the sun.
Use banana peels
Okay, it might be quite strange but true, banana peel does help to make your shoes look shiny and new again.

- Step 1. Prepare yourself a banana peel.
- Step 2. Rub the inside of the peel on your shoes and watch as the scuffs disappear.
- Step 3. Use a soft cloth to remove any residue. Tada! You’ve finished!
How to Shine Suede Boots/Velvet Boots?
Suede leather, derived from cow, goat, or sheep skins, is now widely used as the material for boots. Around the 70s, the trend of suede products started to thrive and this is seen as a material for trendy, high-end boots so they are never as outdated as jeans.
However, suede is easy to get dirty and especially moldy, so if you have a suede boot, be extremely meticulous with your “baby”!

- Step 1. Use paper to pad the inside of the boot pair.
- Step 2. Cover the boot with a thin towel.
- Step 3. Take the dryer at a moderate heat and dry it into a thin towel to help avoid heat influence on the boots and dry the boots inside. The padded paper will have the effect of absorbing moisture inside the boot.
- Step 4. Take out the padding paper and put a shoe tree inside to keep the boots in form.
- Step 5. Brush the boots lightly again.
- Step 6. Take a little dry tea into a towel or a small piece of paper, tying it, and putting it in the boots to deodorize.
- Step 7. Finally, cover the boots with padded paper, put them in the box, then store the boot box in a dry place.
Some other great tips for suede boots
- Suede boots are stained with oil and grease? No worry, just use warm water to remove grease stains.
- If there’s gum stuck on your suede boots, apply ice to the piece of gum. When the gum is hard, it will shrink and you can take them out of the boots easily.
- Use the activated carbon desiccant package to dehumidify the boots when you are not using them.
- Spray waterproof products to protect the surface of suede boots when going out.
How to Shine Faux-leather Boots
Faux-leather, or Simili, is an industrial material woven from polyester fibers combined with plastic, and then machined to create embossed real leather and dyed according to be smoother.

This material will be much easier for you to clean and shine. First, you need to thoroughly wipe the shoes with a damp cloth to remove all the dirt. If possible, put moisture in boots to prevent mold during storage. Then, use shoe polish to increase the shine of the pair.
How to Shine Patent Leather Boots
Patent leather is tanned, dyed, and treated like other normal leather, but coated the entire surface with an extremely high gloss chemical to create a bright look like a mirror.

To keep this beautiful shine, we should use a cloth soaked with warm water (add a little soap if needed) to clean. In addition, using silicone spray or specialized detergent is also effective for products bearing this material.
How to Shine Full-grain Leather Boots
Full-grain leather is the skin that has not been sanded and polished to remove scratches, natural scars, mosquito bites, etc. Therefore, the material will retain all the most natural features.
However, to find beautiful full-grain leather (fewer scars, scratches …) only falls between 10 – 15%, as the result, the price of products made from this type of leather is also among the most expensive.

To commensurate with their high values, we should have a standard attitude of care, especially hygiene.
A smart user will never use silicone or liquid polishes to clean a pair of boots with this material, instead use a dry cloth to gently wipe the dirt, then blot warm water again. again and in particular never be exposed to direct sunlight.
Conclusion
When you love your skin and always wear sunscreen every day, the skin of the boots also needs the same care. If you have spent a large amount of money to buy a pair of genuine leather boots, do not hesitate to invest more effort to clean and polish the shoes regularly.
If the boots are already stained, you should treat them as quickly as possible. Every time you go home, the first thing to do is remove the leather boots and use a brush to wipe away the dirt.
If the boots get muddy or stains that are difficult to clean, you can use a laundry detergent or baby shower gel diluted with water, then use a rag dipped in this solution and wipe the boots until clean, then dry the water naturally.
Don’t forget to apply some good polishing products to give them a better shine.
Hopefully, these tips on how to shine boots above will be useful to you. Goodluck!