The first snowflakes have started to fall in many areas. With this is the advent of the winter season. This season, with its wet and freezing temperatures, brings about a whole set of obstacles when it comes to shoe care.

Here are some time tested tips for shoe care during this season of snow. It is still after all cheaper to maintain rather than purchase new shoes.

1) Before bringing them out of storage, see if they fit.

Many winter outfits are put in storage so that they are out of the way. So when winter time comes around, you have to bring out all the accessories for winter shoes specially designed to handle the wind chill yet provide adequate warmth and comfort. Before bringing them out of storage, see if they still fit you from the last time you had worn them. Having a comfortable fit is key to walking in the snow, so having too tight a fit would only cause discomfort and pain.

2) Check if they are intact or if not repairable.

Check first the condition of the shoes that you bring out of storage. See if the soles are worn out or if there is an actual pair still to be found. If there are holes or it needs mending then see if it is still repairable. If yes, this would be great savings on your part. But if the shoes are beyond repair, it would be best that they be thrown away so that you are not tempted to wear them. If you choos to use shoes needing repair, then the risk of injury from slipping and falling would be greater especially on icy sidewalks.

3) When wet with snow, allow to dry naturally.

When walking in the snow (since they make contact on a surface with higher temperature), then the ice melts naturally and becomes water on the shoes. Thus, the water then seeps into the shoes. The instinct is to have the shoes immediately dried off and thus you put the wet shoes near the radiator vent. This is not a good way of caring for shoes as the heat would dry it up leaving the pair brittle. The correct way to dry shoes is to hang them and let natural air or room temperature to dry them off. In this manner, the water evaporates rather than is burned off from the shoes.

4) Avoid slush snow.

There is hard snow and there is slush snow. Slush snow is one that is cold as ice yet with the consistency of melting snow. This kind of coldness seeps into the pores of the shoes when exposed to them either by walking or being splashed on by passing vehicles. And then when this kind of snow is still provided in a cold environment, the water that has seeped into the cracks expands thus damaging the shoes. So it is best that you avoid contact with slush snow altogether to avoid damage to the shoes and also to the feet.