Why Shoes Left Unworn for a Long Time Get Broken Easily When Finally Used?

Submitted ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨counselwolf@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

Why Shoes Left Unworn for a Long Time Get Broken Easily When Finally Used?

I normally experience this with leather (or fake leather) shoes (men’s and women’s).

And is there any way to mitigate this problem without regularly using said shoes?

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Witchfire@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Pleather is just shitty plastic lined fabric. Its lifespan is only a few years tops. It’s less likely to happen with reap leather.

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- No_Ones_Slick_Like_Gaston@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  [cries in American freedom]
  
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empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Leather dries out over time when left to sit and becomes brittle. It must be treated with some thing like a leather oil rub or “saddle butter”. Fake leather is similar.

When you wear them regularly the sweat and oil from your skin goes a long ways towards keeping the leather pliable.

Artificial fabrics obviously don’t have this problem.

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- FireRetardant@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’ve used mink oil on some of my leather items (belts, knife sheathes) and I found it softened them up quite a bit
  
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  - solidgrue@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Linseed oil is good too, but be careful disposing of the rags. 🔥
    
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  - PP_BOY_@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Mink oil is good to have but I’ve never found anything to top Bicks #4 conditioner. It took me years and several thousands of dollars of leather products to cave and buy a bottle and I’ll never use anything else. If you’re serious about leather care, I’d recommend it highly
    
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CobblerScholar@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Suppose that depends on what exactly you mean by broken. I’m a shoe cobbler, as the name suggests, and broken means a lot of things to me lol

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- 0xb@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Probably not what he meant, but it has happened twice now to me that I wear shoes that had been stored for a year without use, but in good condition. After I used them for half an hour or an hour, the rubber sole crumbles literally in little pieces.
  
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  - Cheskaz@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Also the sole completely detaching
    
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  - CobblerScholar@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Well if it does that then it isn’t actually rubber its a synthetic material that has a shelf life. It will happen over time regardless of what you do but keeping them in cardboard or plastic shoe boxes will accelerate the problem especially with those silica packets still in there.
    
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- counselwolf@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  When I say broken I probably meant unwearable (removed heel, sole, etc.)
  
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southsamurai@sh.itjust.works ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
You just have to maintain the material.

Others have already covered it, but I figure a repeat is part of why people crowd source answers.

For leather, it’s easy. You just use one of the many leather conditioning products. Oils are the norm for that. Leather will otherwise dry out and harden.

For other materials, you run into more difficulty because they tend to not to have many options.

Fake leather, only PVC has any options at all afaik. You just have to find PVC moisturizer. Other types (polyurethane is going to be the only other one you find commonly), there’s nothing at all. However, you may have some degree of success with mineral oil. And that’s not going to be much success PU pleather is a shit material for anything.

Truth is, though, the fake leather absolutely will degrade over time, no matter what you do. It’s inevitable because the plastics used just aren’t robust. They have to be flexible, so it limits how tough they can be (don’t ask me to explain why, I got this from a guy that works in plastics). You really can’t store them and expect them to last more than maybe a year or two in normal conditions.

Even the best fake leathers have a life span that’s much lower than real leather. If nothing else happens, the bond between the plastic and whatever fabric underneath it will degrade.

What’s worse is that using (wearing) the shoes isn’t going to make it any better. You still get the chemicals degrading, and now you’re adding wear and tear. So your best bet is to just wear them and save up for better shoes while they last.

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FuglyDuck@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Leather needs to be maintained with conditioner - over time the oils dry out, leading to cracking.

Polish helps protect conditioned leather (as well as putting a shine on it.), but it’ll still eventually dry out. Look up guides on YT for how to recondition leather

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LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
It’s a common problem. just throw them away and buy new shoes.

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jahashar@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Polyurethane (PU) will gather humidity by hydrolysis in storage if not used regularly, especially if stored airtight, and will crumble in half an year.

It’s used as sole material in sportswear, Scandinavian outdoor and military gear, and several Indian shoe manufacturers. Especially the military boots are funny, because they literally crumble off the shelf.

Also used as vegan / synthetic leather and has to be dried properly if wet.

Take good care of your gear.

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gregorum@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Fast fashion is disposable garbage not made to last

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