This has probably been discussed before, but new techniques may be around.
How do you dry out your boots or shoes when they get wet? including really wet.
was doing some work around some water and got my leather(?) shoes wet, I mean I was working in the water. (yea, I should have been wearing my rubber, but sometimes that doesn’t happen) didn’t plan on being in the water, but slipped in and then well I was wet anyway.
air drying takes a long time.
Replies
wear them till they're dry... keeps them from getting stiff, and they dry faster that way due to your body heat.
if you can't or don't want to wear them, stuff them with newspaper and place them in a warm room. Changing the newspaper periodically will help them dry faster.
Never tried the electronic boot dryers...
i like the wear them idea and just want to add that if you put on some plastic bags over your socks and put boots on carefull so as not to break plastic your feet won't soak up water from boots.
you may still need to change socks and plastic at lunch or so, otherwise feet get wet from sweating inside plastic.
Newspapers are the best for drying out leather shoes/boots. If you air dry them, I find the leather cracks easier.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I put my wet shoes/boots in front of my a/c return air grill. Loosen the laces and pull out the tongue. This is easy to do if the grill is in the floor or in the wall but not in the ceiling.
You want a Peet shoe and boot dryer.
http://www.peetshoedryer.com/
Cost about $40 at Cabelas, I recomend the glove attachment also.
simple
My dad always left his workboots on top the electric water heater. Worked good for work or hunting boots. Even if they weren't wet, they were nice and warm on a cold morning. Don't know how well it would work on a newer insulated tanks though.
You guys are soooo lucky, I have to leave my Redwings outside. I believe my wife and children have redwingitis (a rare asmatic problem).
If you have a vacuum pump and a big enough chamber, pulling a 500 micron (1/2 Torr, 0.5 mm of Hg absolute pressure) for an hour or so dries everything out good and no harm to cloth or leather - no temperature applied.
A big old pressure cooker works well as a vacuum chamber for boots.
Not too good for the oil in the vac pump though.
LOL. You've always got the best suggestions. just boil the water off.
if you're in the backcountry and don't have a vacuum chamber or an electronic boot dryer, you can heat up some sand to just above body temperature -not too hot- and pour warm, dry sand into your boots for the night. zak
"so it goes"
i learned from a friend of mine who was an archaeologist in honduras that filling your boots with newspaper while loosening your laces works quite well. the newspaper soaks up the water pretty fast. it works faster when you change out the newspaper too.
-nickt.-
Chiming in with the others here: bunched up newspaper, replaced often. The paper will draw out much of the moisture.
First remove footbeds, loosen laces and pull out tongue. Once the papers stop drawing water, leave empty so air can circulate freely. Putting them near a source of warmth (not heat) will speed things up without hurting the leather.
Once thoroughly dry, apply a leather conditioner/waterproofing.
Your question reminds me of some old traveling days, staying in rooming houses in winter. You could tell where the best warm air was, all the construction guys would have their boots lined up there at night. If the boots were really wet, we'd leave them out and let them freeze first, seemed to speed things up.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match