Product care

Regardless of the model of footwear by MERRELL you have purchased, it will definitely require care. If you take good care of your footwear and follow the instructions, they will serve you for years. The main mistakes people make in footwear care include drying footwear close to a source of heat, which may cause the leather to crack, and keeping footwear wet. The three main stages of footwear care are cleaning, drying and conditioning.

• Cleaning – Remove any dirt using a soft brush. You can use warm water and mild soap if your shoes are very dirty. Make sure you rinse off all soap residues from the material.
• Drying – Remove the insole and laces, fully open the shoe if possible, and dry at room temperature. Do not use extra heaters, such as radiators.
• Conditioning – It is recommended for more effective protection of the material and construction.

Care Products Recommended for Footwear by MERRELL:

Upper and outer leather: Biwell, Boot Guard, NikWax Paste Wax, NikWax Aqueous. It is important to use silicone based products for GORE-TEX® models to prevent the membrane pores from becoming blocked.
Nubuck: NikWax for nubuck
Textile/leather: Leather details and inserts should be treated with products meant for leather. Textile parts – Tectron, Zepel, Scotchgard, NikWax for textile/leather
Pigskin: As the pigskin used in the models of footwear by MERRELL have a stain repellent and water repellent cover, conditioning is not recommended.

Care Instructions for footwear by MERRELL with GORE-TEX® membrane:

GORE-TEX® membrane keeps your feet dry. For 100% performance of the membrane, it requires proper care, the material needs to be kept clean and dry. The membrane itself requires no extra care, just be sure to take care of the top layer. No modern footwear care product can damage GORE-TEX® membrane.

General Principles for Footwear Care:

Cleaning – Clean gently using a soft brush. If your leather shoes are very dirty, it is best to wash them with warm water and then brush lightly. Shoes with textile outer layer should be washed using a soft sponge and warm water. If the material is very dirty, you can also use mild soap or soap solution with warm water. Make sure to rinse off all the soap when finishing washing.
Drying – It is best to dry shoes with GORE-TEX membrane at room temperature and away from any devices producing heat. Before drying, remove the insole and laces and make sure that the shoe is exposed to as much air as possible.
Treatment – It is not recommended to moisten the outer surface of the material excessively as it will inhibit air circulation. To avoid this, the top layer should be treated with special water repellent treating agents. To maintain breathability and remove effectively any fumes, we recommend using products labeled with the trademark GORE (the creator and manufacturer of GORE-TEX membrane) and products by other manufacturers who hold the license. Treating agents should not contain silicone to avoid a skin forming on the top layer of the material. Also they should not contain abrasive agents that can damage the porous structure of the membrane.