How to Get Stains Out of Leather Shoes: 10 Types and Best Solutions!

Last updated on May 12th, 2024 at 09:21 pm

Leather shoes are not the only place where stains can appear but some stains can be harmful to shoe fabric if not removed. Also, these do not look good on the shoes. It depends upon you how fast you identify and remove those stains because the longer you wait, the harder it will be to remove.

According to Grand View Research, the global leather footwear market is growing gradually, from $166.53 billion (in 2018), and between 2019 to 2025 it is expected to show 2.8% growth. This simply means in parallel more people will face stain issues with their shoes.

Some stubborn stains like coffee or tea stains or metal stains etc. may have come on your shoes accidentally or intentionally but it is necessary to get them out quickly. Although it can be removed at home but sometimes due to any small mistake, the situation becomes worse.

Now the question is how to get rid of this?

That’s why this article comes in front of you, where I have told you the 10 most effective ways how to get stains out of leather shoes. Also, I have taken care in this that I should tell you about the solution of those all common and stubborn stains that people often face.

Without wasting a second let’s begin,

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How to Get Stains Out of Leather Shoes

1. Soil or Grass Stain

If you are roughly using your shoe like in running or jogging then soil or grass stains are common to appear. Soil stains stick easily to the shoes and it is not very difficult to remove also.

• If the stains are wet then first make them dry because that will be easier to remove.
• Next, rub the shoe with a brush to remove as much dry dust as you can.
• Take a bowl of water and mix some detergent powder. Apply it with a cloth on the surface and rub until the marks are not gone.
• Make the shoe dry and use it as you always.

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2. Oil or Grease Stain

Oil or grease marks are not easily visible if you are using a dark color shoe like black, or brown but the situation gets worse for white shoe users. A chemical called dispersants can easily break down oil and grease compounds.

Some examples of dispersants are soap, formaldehyde, etc. But in this, the simplest solution for oil or grease stain removal is soap water.

Apply soap water (1 part soap and 2 part water) with a cloth to the affected surface and gently rub it to wipe out the marks.

You May Also Read: How to Remove Mold Stains from Leather Shoes

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3. Paint or Dye Stain

A paint stain is one of the stubborn stains that give you a headache when it dries on the shoe. Also when you try to remove wet paints by rubbing, it spreads out. So, follow the below steps,

• To remove wet stains, do not rub them, just keep a cloth on the stain and press well to remove excess color.
• Now take another cloth and dip it into the kerosene oil or isopropyl alcohol.
• Again without much rubbing with the cloth just clean the painted area. You need to follow step3 and step4 two to three times.
• To remove dry paint from shoes, take any sharp object, and without hurting yourself scrape the color as much as you can. Now follow steps 3 and 4.
• In a dry paint stain case, you need to rub the area with a little more pressure. Take your time and remove this completely.

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4. Metal Stain

Metal stains are rare to appear on the shoes but when it comes, it becomes very difficult to take out. Because liquid or molten metals easily get dry and make the spot very stiff. Sometimes, you have to cut the surface and replace it with a new one.

• Take a kitchen knife and carefully with its sharp edge remove the metals as much as you can by scraping. Try to smooth the surface of the stain.
• Remember it is a time-consuming process so have patience.
• After removing maximum parts of metal still, you notice stain is noticeable.
• Believe me, you cannot remove it completely but can hide the same.
• Use any good leather color kit as per your requirement if black then black color, and apply the color to hide.
• But make sure you clean the shoe well with alcohol and make that dry before start coloring.
• Also, color the entire shoe not just on the mark to avoid color mismatch.

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5. Cement Stain

The sand and cement mixture marks on shoes look like a bug makes their nest on your shoe. Apparently, cement stains will not bother you unless you have visited any construction site.

However, it can be removed completely but a long time of rubbing is needed.

• With a brush rub the area to remove all small pieces of cement and sand.
• Now it is time to remove the spot made by the cement.
• Take a bowl of water and mix home-used white vinegar (in a 2:2 ratio).
• First, make the stain to soak the solution for just two to three minutes.
• Now with a wet cloth just rub the spots and after drying it, you will not notice the spots again.

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6. Coffee or Tea Stain

One of the most common and stubborn stains is coffee or tea stain which normally happens in daily life.

• Take a bowl of lukewarm water and mix some detergent powder and white vinegar.
•  Apply this solution to the stain directly and with a cloth try to clean the marks.
• It is not a one-step process. You need to repeat the process three to four times to get satisfactory results.
• If your shoes are made of fabrics like clothes then use normal water instead of warm water. Also don’t rub the coffee or tea stain in a big radius to avoid spreading the marks on the whole body.

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7. Rust Stain

Metals that have been damaged by exposure to air can cause rust stains on shoes. Reddish color marks are mainly caused when you throw away your shoes after using any dark store room.

You only need soap and water to remove rust stains completely from shoes, just apply it and clean with a cloth. Like you clean normal grass or mud stain by using detergent water.

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8. Ketchup Stain

Ketchup stain is the combination of tomatoes and different spices so, not a difficult task to eliminate the marks. On the other hand, if this stain appears on your casual or sports cloth finish shoe then it is not so easy.

• Take a bowl of soap water and clean the stain and scrub gently. But if the shoe is cloth finish type then avoid scrubbing and keep that soaked for 2 minutes.
• Now rinse the marks with a cloth dipped in the vinegar solution.
• In my case, I noticed that the ketchup stain is still a little visible even after trying this method.
• But as soon as I tried this method two or three times, I got good results.

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9. Glue Stain

As per my experience in the industry when glue sticks to the metals, removing it with a chemical called acetone is the perfect treatment. But here we are talking about the shoes and by the way, acetone is not easily available at your nearest market or an online platform.

But one thing I hope is present in your home all the time is isopropyl acetone or nail polish remover.

• Apply a clean cloth directly to the glue stain soaked in the nail polish remover.
• Scrub the marks gently and reapply the chemical after a while until the marks are removed completely.
• Make sure when you soak a cloth in the chemical as soon as possible you apply that because in the air the chemical flies away.

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10. Detergent or Water Stain

Most of you have a question right now,

How detergent can be a stain as it is a stain remover in some cases?

Whenever you clean shoes with a detergent solution, if you use more amount of detergent than water then it leaves some white stains on the shoes. However, it is not a headache at all.

Also, you can notice water stains on leather shoes if the water you are using has excess minerals like iron. In such a situation, the shoe cannot absorb the minerals, hence we see white stain marks.

• Make sure you always use 1 part detergent or soap and 2 part water and do not use caustic soda instead of it.
• Whenever a detergent stain is noticed just clean it with just water and a cloth nothing much.
• Make the shoe dry and apply good shoe polish or conditioner.

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How to Prevent Stains on Leather Shoes

I think you have successfully learned how to remove different stains from shoes. But, imagine if we do something so that the stain never gets on the shoes.

Quite interesting, right?

• Always before and after wearing shoes clean them with a good quality conditioner.
• Some stubborn stains like coffee, metal, etc. are quite hard to remove. So, take care of it and when it comes to your shoe identify and remove it as soon as possible.
• Use a shoe bag when you are not using it to avoid dirt stains.
• When you are visiting any construction site then wrap your shoe with a shoe cover so, that the stain will not disturb your shoe.
• After the shoe treatment always make your shoe dry because water or detergent stain is also a problem.

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How to Remove Stains from Tan Leather Shoes

• Firstly, clean the dirt from the upper part of the shoe with a dry cloth.
• Brush for 2 to 3 minutes with a horse hair brush to remove stubborn dirt stains.
• Now in a bowl take 5 to 6 ml coconut oil and rub it in a circular motion on the shoe with a cloth for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Now again remove the oil from the shoe with another dry cloth.
• Check the stain if it gets removed or not, if yes then further move to the next step, and if not follow steps 3 and 4 again.
• Take a liquid polish and apply gently on the shoe and keep it for some minutes.
• With a horsehair brush take a pinch of leather cream polish and apply on the shoe for 4 to 5 minutes in a circular motion.
• The stain marks now completely removed and you are ready to go.

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Final Thoughts on How to Get Stains Out of Leather Shoes

The stain never looks good on shoes and at the same time, it also spoils the appearance.

Removing stains from shoes is not a very difficult task if you know the right strategy. However, some products are there that can easily do the same in less time but at the same time, they are costly as well as not available everywhere.

There are also some demerits of removing stains from shoes, such as the fabric of the shoe can be damaged, the color may fade, or maybe the shoe can tear. So, you need to be careful when you are removing stains from your shoe.

If you are reading this that means you read the article completely so, I appreciate your patience and willingness to learn something. You can ask questions regarding this in the comment section, I would love to answer those.

Thanks…..

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FAQ on How to Get Stains Out of Leather Shoes