Maintaining Walking Boots After Muddy Coastal Walks

Why Coastal Mud Is Harder on Boots Than You Might Think

There is something particular about a coastal path in winter. One mile you are on springy turf, the next you are sliding through grey clay that seems intent on taking your boot with it, and by the time you reach the car your footwear is a mixture of mud, sand and salt spray. That combination is tougher on boots than mud alone.

Grit and sand work their way into stitched seams and flex points, where they act like grinding paste every time your foot bends. Salt is worse still: it draws moisture into leather and holds it there, so boots that dry stiff and pale are often suffering from salt as much as mud. On fabric boots, a layer of dried mud clogs the weave and stops the whole thing breathing, so your feet end up clammy even when the weather is cold. A little effort after each walk keeps all of that from shortening the life of a good pair.

Clean the Mud Off Before It Sets

If the mud is dry, knock the worst off outside before you go anywhere near a sink — bang the boots together, or use a stiff brush over a bin. If it is wet and claggy, deal with it the same day. Leave wet mud to dry in a warm hallway and it will set like concrete in every seam.

• Take the laces out and open the tongue right up so you can reach the inside of the collar and the space under the eyelets.
• Use cool or lukewarm water. Hot water strips oils out of leather and can soften glues in the sole unit.
• Work with a soft brush or an old nailbrush, small circles, gentle pressure. Never use a pressure washer — it drives grit deeper into seams and can force water through the membrane.
• Pay attention to the welt, the rand and the crease lines where the toe bends. These are where mud collects and where boots fail first.
• Rinse until the water runs clear. For leather boots, wipe rather than soak; a leather boot never needs to be submerged.

Don't use washing-up liquid neat on leather, and avoid detergents on any boot with a waterproof lining. A little mild soap in lukewarm water is plenty.

Dry Them Slowly, Away from Direct Heat

This is the single most common way people ruin boots. A radiator, an airing cupboard, a boiler room or the back shelf of a hot car will dry leather too fast. It shrinks, cracks, goes brittle, and the cement holding the sole to the upper can soften and let go. Fabric boots suffer too — heat can damage the membrane inside.

Instead, stuff each boot loosely with crumpled newspaper, right down into the toe. Change the paper after an hour or two, then again the following morning. Stand them upright in a well-ventilated room at normal temperature, out of direct sunlight. Pull the insoles out and dry them separately, and leave the laces off so air can move through the whole boot. Expect 24 to 48 hours in a damp British autumn, sometimes longer. Never bag them up wet in a rucksack or a car boot for the drive home.

Reproof Leather and Fabric Differently

Once boots are clean and bone dry, they need feeding. Skipping this is why so many otherwise sound boots start leaking at the flex point after a season of coastal walking.

• Leather boots: use a wax or cream conditioner. Warm it in your hands, apply sparingly with fingers or a cloth, and work it into the creases and seams as well as the surface. A little at a time is better than a thick layer. The leather should end up looking dull and supple, not greasy.
• Nubuck and suede: brush the nap up once dry, then apply a spray proofer in two light coats, letting the first dry before the second. Don't soak the surface.
• Fabric and synthetic uppers: spray-on or wash-in treatments work well, but only on clean boots. If the outer fabric wets out quickly, the lining cannot do its job, because a soaked outer layer stops the boot breathing.

Reproof outdoors or somewhere well ventilated, and give treatments time to cure before you wear the boots again.

The Bits People Forget: Laces, Insoles and Welts

While the boots are drying, deal with the small parts. Wash laces in a bowl of warm soapy water, rinse and hang them to dry; replace them once they look frayed, because a broken lace halfway along a clifftop path is an unnecessary annoyance. Scrub insoles and dry them flat. Check the metal eyelets for green corrosion and wipe them clean, and look along the stitching and the rand for small splits. A dab of repair glue or a professional stitch now costs far less than replacing a boot later.

A Ten-Minute Routine That Pays for Itself

Rinse and brush, stuff with paper, dry at room temperature, then reproof every few weeks of heavy use. Stored loosely laced in a dry cupboard rather than a damp shed or the back of a car, a well-kept pair of boots will give you several seasons of coastal walking, and can usually be resoled when the tread goes. Looked after properly, they will carry you along many more muddy miles — which is, after all, the whole point of owning them.