Leather Shoe Stretching Guest Post on 26 Jan 2010 06:16 am
How To Stretch Leather Shoes With A Shoe Stretcher Spray
If you’ve bought new shoes before, you’ll know that occasionally you can make a poor choice. Sometimes you like the style of the shoes so much you are willing to overlook that one shoe has a snugger fit than the other in the shoe store. Sometimes a change of stockings reveals that the fit was tighter than you first thought when trying the shoes on. Fear not, the shoes don’t need to be discarded. You can easily rectify the situation with some gentle shoe stretching.
Leather shoe stretching is inexpensive and easy. You can get a whole range of shoe stretcher sprays on the internet that can be used independently or with a traditional wooden leather shoe stretcher. If you haven’t got the time to buy a shoe stretcher spray on the net you can even attempt to make a home-made shoe stretcher liquid.
Leather shoe stretch spray tends to be alcohol based for quick drying without staining or leaving watermarks on leather. It is simply applied to the tight spot on the shoes and then you wear the shoes in to stretch the leather to the shape of your foot. If the shoes are really too tight to wear, you can apply the shoe stretcher spray right across the surface of the leather. Then use a set of wooden shoe stretchers on the shoes overnight or when you are not wearing them to gently relax the leather to a suitable fit.
If you need emergency relief and can’t possibly wait for an internet delivery of shoe stretcher liquid, you could try a home-made stretching spray. Be careful though, there may be side effects. As previously mentioned, shoe stretcher liquids tend to be alcohol based, so you have to replicate this at home. Many people swear by a cheap or old bottle of cologne as providing a satisfactory alcohol spray, the obvious side effect is the smell it will leave on your shoes. Alternately any other alcohol based liquid will do the job but might leave you smelling a little.
Both the home-made remedies could be made to work with home leather shoe stretchers, you needn’t buy a set of traditional wooden shoe stretchers for the job. Simply roll up some old newspaper into balls and wedge the balls into the shoes as tightly as possible. Alternatively stuff the shoes with as many socks as you can to induce some gentle stretching overnight.
If you are trying to dampen the leather of your shoes to allow stretching, never be tempted to us water if you don’t have a stretcher liquid or a home-made spray. Water can damage the shoe by leaving watermarks and stains and in any event they won’t dry off as quickly as an alcohol solution.
Tags: boots, shoe stretcher spray, shoe stretching, shoes