The last thing you would want in your workplace or at home is to see your work boots getting soaked. Work boots might get soaked or wet due to excess sweat, rainwater, or conditions in your workplace. When your work boots get wet, they can cause serious discomfort. Also, wearing soaked work boots for too long can cause cold and even mild pneumonia.
Thus, you must know how to dry work boots if they get soaked. Thankfully, work boots with leather upper will be highly resilient to water. Thus, it is highly unlikely that your entire boot will be soaked in rain or drenching water. But, excess sweating can still make the boots wet from inside, which you need to deal with properly.
Thankfully, there’re ways to dry your wet work boot easily. You need to remove the insole and footbed to air dry it, remove the laces and dry it in the air, condition the upper leather, and clean the boots properly. Also, you should avoid direct sunlight or a heating source to maintain the work boot in better conditions.
You can use newspaper, boot dryer, hairdryer, old towel, or even keep them under a running fan or close to a dehumidifier to dry the wet boots.
So, let’s jump into the steps and tips to dry your soaked leather work boots soon.
Why You Should Never Wear Wet Work Boots:
When your feet sweat a lot, your work boot might become sweaty or soaked from inside. It might happen even if your boots have proper ventilation with membrane design. Also, it might get fully wet due to rainwater or a drenching workplace.
Whatever may be the cause, you should never wear wet work boots for too long. Or else, you might face the following consequences.
- If the inside of the work boots gets soaked due to excessive sweating of your feet, it can cause loose skin in the long run. Also, you will see your feet’s skin turning pale and white due to the excess sweating and wetness. At the worst, you might even experience your loose skin peeling off, much like you experience in winter.
- When you wear soaked boots for too long, you can get cold. If you have asthma or a poor immune system, it can be truly dangerous. Many workers even develop mild pneumonia due to wearing wet work boots for an extended period.
- When the inside of your work boots remain wet for too long, viruses and bacteria can grow easily inside. It can hurt your feet, and you might experience swelling. Also, flu viruses will find the wetness of the work boot as their perfect breeding place.
- If you wear soaked boots for an extended time, your feet will become smelly soon. It happens if you sweat too much also. Thus, it can be frustrating and embarrassing.
- Lastly, you will feel serious discomfort at the workplace with wet work boots on your feet. It will make you inattentive and reduce your productivity.
All these points show that you should dry out your soaked work boots as soon as possible. So, how do you dry your wet work boots?
The following steps will help you know it better
How To Dry Work Boots If They Get Soaked
When your work boots get soaked, you need to start their drying process ASAP. However, you can’t do it at the workplace. So, when you return home, follow these steps to dry and clean your wet leather boots.
Step 1: Remove Your Work Boots And Clean Them:
When you return home, you must remove the work boots first. Then, clean and dry your feet. Ensure your feet are fully dry to avoid further discomfort and consequences. Also, clean the socks if you have any.
Then, turn your focus on the soaked work boots. Since wet boots might have mud on them due to dust accumulation, you need to clean the dust and mud from them. Use a good-quality boot brush to clean off it’s upper and inside properly.
Gently brush off the mud from the boot so that the stains can’t damage the leather further. You can use soft cloth for better safety from the muddy stains.
Step 2: Take Out The Laces:
Although many work boots have waterproof leather, their laces can still become drenched and wet. So, remove the laces and hang them somewhere safe to air dry them. You can also wash the laces before drying them. It will help you in maintaining the work boot laces better.
Also, when you remove the laces, it becomes easy for the heating source or air to pass through the eyelets of the work boot to dry it faster.
Step 3: Remove The Footbed And Insole Of Possible:
Many manufacturers make their work boots with removable cork footbed and insole. Thus, if your work boots support insole and footbed removal, you should take them out soon. Then, clean them and let the insole air dry.
Also, when you keep the insole and footbed outside, it will get fresh air and heat. Thus, it will also eliminate smelly odor and any bacteria build-up on them. It boosts your healthiness with the work boot footbed and insole since these two parts will connect directly with your feet.
Furthermore, removing the insole and footbed allows the heating source and air to enter all the hidden parts inside the boot. So, the work boots will dry faster and more efficiently.
Step 4: Dry The Inside And Upper Of The Work Boots:
Once you have removed your work boots’ footbed, insole, and laces, it’s time to initiate the most important part to dry your soaked work boots. You need to dry the inside and upper part of the boot without damaging it.
So, how do you dry work boots? The next section discussed the top methods to dry wet boots.
Top 9 Tips to Dry Work Boots Inside:
You would never enjoy wearing wet boots in your workplace. Naturally, people look for ways to dry work boots fast and quickly. If you are one of them, you can see these methods to dry soaked work boots fast and successfully.
Apply Boot Dryer:
The best and fastest way to dry any boots is to use a good-quality boot dryer. A garment and boot dryer is affordable and works with 2HP capacity only. All you need to do is insert its pipe inside the boot and move it to reach every nook and cranny of the boots. It will force warm air to go inside the boot and dry it.
Usually, a boot dryer takes 1 to 2 hours to dry and freshen up your work boots entirely. It also helps you dry different fabrics.
Use Hairdryer:
If you don’t have a boot dryer at home, you can use the hairdryer as a good alternative to it. You should set the hairdryer at a medium setting and start drying the boot. However, move it carefully when you enter the hairdryer inside the boot.
Or else it might damage the upper leather. Plus, moving the hairdryer inside the work boot can be tough for many people. So, we don’t encourage using the hairdryer and heat to dry the boot unless you don’t have other options.
Insert old Newspaper:
If you have the time to wet and let your work boots dry overnight, using old newspapers can be a good alternative. Also, if your work boot is entirely drenched in water and is wet like hell, you can insert the newspapers to dry the boots faster and better.
Insert the old newspaper inside the work boots and keep them close to a fan. It will speed up the drying process. The newspaper will soak the moisture from the boot and also remove odors.
Use An Old Towel:
Many homes might not have old newspapers as we have shifted to reading newspapers online. Thus, you can use old towels or rags instead of the newspaper. Just insert the towel and leave the work boots under a running fan.
The towel will work the same way old newspapers. So, you should get dried work boots overnight and wear them in the workplace the next day.
Apply Cat Litters:
Do you have cats at our home as pets? If yes, then you must have cat litter at home too. Cat litters are designed to soak moisture. Thus, you can insert cat litter inside the work boot to help it soak the moisture and wetness.
Once you have filled the work boots inside with cat litter, you can leave them overnight. However, we suggest you fill the cat litter inside the boot on paper. It will help you remove the cat litter easily the next morning.
An Alternative Method:
Instead of cat litters, you can also fill the work boot inside with rice. Once you have filled the work boot with rice, it will soak the moisture. You will also need to air dry the work boots. However, it is not a good way to waste rice. So, we discourage this method.
Use Shoe Inserts:
Shoe inserts are famous for their moisture-wicking characteristics. Thus, you can easily insert the shoe insert in your work boot and leave them overnight. It will soak all the wetness from the inside of the boots. Then, it will present you with a dry and fresh pair of work boots in the morning.
Anyway, dry the boots appropriately using a fan to remove any trace of moisture. It will increase your comfort throughout the day.
Use Fan To Dry Boots:
You can keep the soaked pair of work boots under a running fan overnight. When you go to sleep, turn on the fan and keep the boots close to it. The fan will remove the moisture from the boot’s inside; it just does to dry wet clothes.
You need to remove the laces and insole of the work boot and leave them under the fan. It will take a couple of hours for the fan to dry the boots entirely.
Use Your Dehumidifier:
If you have a dehumidifier at home, you may put the boots close to it. Then, set the dehumidifier at the highest setting, and it will soak all the moisture from the boot. Also, the dehumidifier releases slightly warmer air. It also helps in drying the boots faster, just like the fan.
Dry The Work Boots Using Sun And Air:
When you have cleaned your work boots, you can keep them on your balcony or an open place with access to sun and air. It will dry the boots. However, you can apply this method in the daytime only since you won’t get any sunlight at night.
Also, leaving the work boots for too long under direct exposure to sunlight might discolor them. So, be aware of it.
Conclusion
Drying soaked work boot isn’t any rocket science. You need to follow our steps and tips on how to dry work boots if they get soaked. Also, ensure you remove the mud and stains from wet work boots to maintain them in better condition for a longer period. It will ensure comfort and peace of mind in the workplace.
