• Leaving them outside in the sun (UV breaks down odour molecules)
• Washing them gently with an amount of baking soda - YMMV on this one
• Hand-wash the shoes with a little of your regular detergent, then add a little fabric softener, which may help break down the odour

I would give the outside-in-the-sun method a try for 24 hours, then the fabric softener or baking soda method. I'm not too keen on getting caustic bicarb near to skate shoes though

Mix a little detergent (like Fairy / Dawn) in some cold water, not too much as it will leave its own residue.
Dip a soft cloth / J-cloth / thick tissue paper in it and gently blot / dab over the stained areas.

DO NOT SCRUB as this'll take the dye out of the shoes along with the salt marks

Let the shoes air dry afterwards, and if the marks are still there repeat the process. Use a suede brush to gently lift the nap of the fabric up again (if you want to). Then, spray with some suede & nubuck protector Use white vinegar at your own risk, I've heard of some people having problems with a vinegar/water mix where the dye fades afterwards.

Let me know what you decide on doing and whether it works or not, I'm interested to know how you get on! If you're not sure, SPOT TEST on a less obvious area before you do the whole shoe. Nothing worse than spending an hour cleaning shoes only to find you've irreparably damaged them!

I have red Etnies (Fader is the sub-brand name) which I made the mistake of wearing on a rather long trek through a rather harsh storm over here in the States. They were *gasp* not protected in any way prior to doing this... against my better judgment.

Thankfully I got them at a very low closeout sale price wherein they just happened to have my size, so even if they're a loss it's not that big of a deal.

Anyway, they are mostly clean aside from the salt-stains on them, and I was wondering if you have any thoughts on how I could remove said stains using what's available to me over here? I thought about trying your vinegar/water combo, but I figured I would ask first if you thought this would be a good idea.

Do note as I mentioned before, I'm in the U.S. and would rather not have to pay to import some kind of specialized cleaner, and because I didn't pay a whole lot for the shoes I don't mind if the suede takes a little bit of damage in the process of removing the salt stains. (The dye fade you mentioned also occurred a bit, onto my socks and feet after said trek... oh well. )

Thanks for the help!

Franklin Benjamin Richards

What's happened to the leather - has it discoloured or has it just dried out? (I've never tried what your wife's done!)

Your best bet might be to speak to an expert professional cobbler about this

In terms of stain removal, it should be fairly similar to cleaning mud - a very gentle mix of water and vinegar/bleach, although be aware of course that your shoes will probably lose a tiny bit of their dye from this.

Alternatively there are some shop-bought solutions; there's a product called Saphir Winter Stain Remover which can apparently handle salt, stain and perspiration from leather, nubuck and suede - it's about €8 plus shipping (a French site, Valmour.com, has it here for €7.58): http://bit.ly/7hjRNB

What colour are your shoes? Different techniques might work depending on their colour / makeup / age etc.