There’s nothing worse than stepping into an icy puddle and getting your shoes wet and soggy—especially in cold weather! Before you venture out into that rain and sleet, waterproof them the easy and CHEAP way, with a candle! Yup, you heard that right, a candle! Here’s how you do it.
LittleThings shows us that waterproofing your shoes doesn’t mean that you need to go out and buy that messy and smelly spray-on bottled chemical. To maintain your favorite pair of shoes all winter long, just follow these three super-simple steps:
Ready your materials
Grab an ordinary tall taper candle along with the shoes that you plan to waterproof. Canvas shoes are used as an example for this hack, but most materials will be protected. Just stay away from using the wax on leather or suede.
Coat the shoes in wax
It may feel strange to do at first, but this is the first step in getting your footwear ready for that wet weather! Simply rub the tapered candle on the outside material so that the wax residue is visible on all areas of the fabric. Don’t worry about the color or consistency — this will meltdown in the next step.
Just add heat
Grab a hairdryer and center it so that it is blowing hot air directly on the spots that you covered in wax in the previous step. After a bit, you should notice that the wax coat transforms to a clear coat. Those white, crusty areas should have melted right into the material, thus acting as a protective barrier between the liquid and the shoe.
Voila! Your shoes are now ready to endure some serious rain and sludge. Just take a look at the before and after. The shoes that have been waterproofed just can’t stay wet—the water beads right off, while the shoes that haven’t been treated look like they need to be dried in an oven.
Watch Little Things video below to see just how easy it can be to waterproof your shoes with candle wax!
Via: tiphero.com