With BootRescue, your footwear will last longer & look better

A handy kit makes it easy to clean, protect, and maintain boots and shoes of all kinds.

One of the great frustrations of northern winters is that slushy, salty sidewalks ruin boots in no time. You start the season with great-looking footwear that quickly ceases to be recognizable, covered in white salt stains that do not come out easily and only get more stubborn as time passes.

But if you have the right tools for the job, you can reverse this! Enter BootRescue, a Canadian company whose mission is to help you wear your favorite leather and suede footwear for much longer by cleaning it and protecting it from the damaging elements. Regular readers will know that we're fans of caring for our belongings to prolong their lifespan, so BootRescue's mission is right up our alley.

The company sells a range of products, including cleaning wipes, protector spray, all-natural shoe wax, and suede brushes. I realize that disposal wipes are something we do not like so much here at TreeHugger (and have frequently criticized for their sewage-blocking, microfibre-shedding potential), but for occasional semi-annual use that results in extending the number of years you can wear a pair of boots, I'd argue that, in this particular case, the tradeoff is worth it. The protector spray uses “NANO technology to create a breathable barrier… and does this without any nasty fumes, so you don't have to go outside to use it.” The wax is made from a blend of beeswax and coconut oil, but has no scent at all. It's applied using a soft cloth. These products can be purchased individually or as part of the ShoeRescue Kit ($42.50).

© BootRescue

Since BootRescue sent me a kit to try, I sat down and began scrubbing away at years' worth of stains on several pairs of footwear. It was satisfying and fun, and the transformation was immediately apparent, making me wonder why I hadn't cleaned any of my boots before. That same night, I was able to wear a pair of heeled black boots to dinner with my husband that I never would've picked had they not been cleaned; it felt like I'd gained a new pair of boots.

You can check out everything that BootRescue has to offer here.