How to condition boots after they get wet

Wait until they are completely dry, then condition. Not while they are damp, and not next week. A soaking does not damage leather by getting it wet. It damages it on the way out: as the water evaporates it carries oils with it, and the boot ends up drier than it was before it got wet.

What a soaking actually does

Leather is a fiber structure kept flexible by oils and fats between the fibers. Water moves into that structure freely, and when it leaves it takes a share of those oils with it. One soaking is negligible. A season of soakings, especially with salt in the water, removes enough that the fibers stop sliding past each other - the leather stiffens, and the flex point across the toe cracks.

That crack is permanent. There is no product that closes it. Everything on this page is about preventing it, which is why the ten minutes after a soaking is worth more than any amount of attention later.

Why not while they are damp

Two reasons, both practical. Conditioner is oil-based and the fiber spaces are currently full of water, so it cannot get in - you end up with a greasy surface and untreated leather underneath. And sealing a damp boot slows the remaining moisture from leaving, which is how you get a boot that stays damp inside and starts to smell.

1. 01

   Get the salt off first, if there is any

   Salt keeps drawing moisture through the leather and keeps stripping oils for as long as it is there. Conditioning over it seals it in. Deal with the tideline first, then dry, then condition.

2. 02

   Dry them slowly, away from heat

   Loosen the laces, pull the tongue forward, take the insoles out and stand them somewhere with moving air. Not a radiator, not a wood stove, not a hair dryer: Atsko states force drying with heat causes leather to harden and shrink, and Blundstone says never to dry boots by an artificial heat source. Heat drying does the same damage as the soaking, faster.

3. 03

   Check they are actually dry

   Press the inside of the boot near the toe with your fingers, and feel the tongue lining. Leather that is still cool to the touch is usually still damp. Boots that feel dry on the outside are routinely still wet inside - which is why the sensible test is done from the inside.

4. 04

   Apply thinly, and work it in

   Small amount on a cloth or your fingers, worked into the leather in circles. Cover the flex creases across the vamp and the welt area generously - those are where the leather works hardest and cracks first. A thin liquid conditioner soaks in rather than sitting on top.

5. 05

   Let it absorb, then buff off the surplus

   Give it a few hours somewhere warm - warm, not hot. Then buff off anything that has not gone in. Conditioner left sitting on the surface attracts grit and does nothing useful; the only conditioner that counts is the conditioner that was absorbed.

6. 06

   Re-proof, if they had been proofed

   A soaking and a clean strip the water repellency. Once the conditioner has absorbed, re-proof for the material - wax for smooth leather, a water-based spray for suede, nubuck or membrane-lined boots. Proofing goes last because it blocks liquids from entering, conditioner included.

If they have already gone stiff

Stiff, hard leather that has been repeatedly soaked and force-dried needs more than a routine conditioner. A heavy grease, or mink oil paste, will genuinely bring it back supple - at the cost of permanent darkening and some loss of structure. On boots that would otherwise be finished, that is a good trade. The comparison is in mink oil vs leather conditioner.