Can You Put Boots In The Dryer?

Can you put boots in the dryer?

Don’t walk around in wet boots! Cold feet are the fastest route to getting a serious cold. You can also sustain blisters easily.

It is recommended that you air-dry your shoes. However, when the boots get wet and you have to wear them the following day, you don’t have enough time to air-dry them.

So can you put boots in the dryer? You can use a specific type of dryer for your boots. It is designed in such a way that it goes into your boots and it warms the air around the boot. This causes the moisture to evaporate. It simulates air-drying and therefore it has no side effect on your boots.

This question could also be intended to find out whether you can dry boots in a regular dryer that you use for your clothes.

You should not.

Even if you have a big dryer, it is not recommended. If you must use it, make sure you add an element on which you can hang the boots so that they do not hit against the dryer walls.

How to dry boots quickly

If they stay in contact with water too long, leather boots are apt to absorb water. Therefore, if you planned to wear them the following day, you might want to know how to dry them fast.

You can use a few effective methods for getting the boots dry enough to wear the following day. Here, we shall look at them, starting with a dryer.

Rub the shoes with a dry towel

This is the first thing to do when your shoes are completely soaked. At first, do not even rub the shoes with a towel.

Just wrap them up so that the towel can soak up the excess water. Once it is damp, remove it and use another towel.  Do this until all the excess water is gone.

You might want to clean out any mud on the shoes lest you make your towels too muddy. Actually, the first thing to do is to remove the superficial dirt.

If the boots are soaked through anyway, you might even want to clean them up properly in running water, and then dry them overnight.

How to use a dryer to dry boots

On the rare occasion, you may use a regular dryer to dry your leather boots after they have soaked through. After all, air-drying may not work fast enough.

The first thing to do is tie the laces onto the shoes. The reason for this is that you are going to tie the shoes to the dryer door.

If you do not do that, they will bang so hard against the dryer and it will get quite noisy inside. The shoes can also cause damage to your machine.

The dryer is going to do a fast job of drying your shoes. It can take a short time, say, about 2 minutes only to get the shoes dry. That way, even before you go to sleep, you will know that the boots are ready to wear the following day.

Can you dry all boots in a dryer? Well, it is recommended that you do not dry leather shoes that way. The reason for this is that they dry up too hard and they can start cracking easily. They may not start showing cracks immediately but later, they might.

However, when you have no other option, toss the shoes in the drying machine and then remove them after about 90 seconds. After that, you can apply a thin layer of leather conditioner to prevent cracking.

You may check with the manufacturer of the boots to see whether you can toss them in the dryer. First, check whether there are cleaning and drying instructions on the boots.

If there is one, it is usually located on the heel area. If it is not there, check on the manufacturer’s website.

Dry your boots with rice

This is one of the underrated shoe drying techniques out there but it is very effective. The reason for it is that one grain of rice can absorb a lot of water.

You need a big container that can fit one or both boots. Pour some rice into the container, an inch or two and then place the shoes on the rice. By morning, the rice will have absorbed all of the moisture from the boots.

If the boots are so soaked through with water especially if you have been standing in water too long or you have been caught in a drench, use the towel method that we have discussed here to soak up the excess water first.

Use a boot dryer

Apart from the regular clothes dryer, boot lovers can thank their lucky stars for there is a specific one that is made for drying boots. The truth is that using this special dryer for shoes is much easier, and more effective than using a regular dryer.

When the shoes are clean, just hung them on the dryer and leave them overnight. What this dryer does is that it warms up the air around the boots. This is warm air and so there is no risk of having your leather shoes develop cracks.

If you buy from a good brand, you can even get a lifetime warranty on this machine. You will probably leave it intact even by the time you are too old to wear boots.

If you wear work boots daily and work in water-laden areas, you would do much better to invest in this machine.

You will also love that this machine cannot warp the shoes as direct heat would.

Can you put leather boots in the dryer?

Leather boots should never see the inside of a regular clothes dryer if you can avoid it.

There is a good reason for this.

First, they are too heavy. They can damage the drum of your dryer because they keep hitting against it.

Secondly, leather has its own natural moisture. When you expose it to direct heat, this moisture evaporates! The leather loses its suppleness. It becomes stiff. With time, it will start cracking.

Thirdly, most shoes are joined by glue in some parts. The direct heat of the dryer compromises the integrity of this glue. The shoes will start falling apart sooner than later.

In some “emergency” cases, you might tie the shoes to the door of the dryer. But don’t let them stay inside too long. Better yet, don’t make it a habit to dry your leather, converse or other shoes this way.

Remember, air-drying, and sometimes in the shade when the sun is too hot, is best!

Can boots go in the dryer?

Boots can go in the dryer, that is, if you are asking about whether they can fit in. But they should not!

Overall, it is a bad idea to dry any types of shoes in the clothes dryer. It can make the gum holding the uppers to the soles to start falling apart sooner than later.

Work boots are expensive. It is only fair to have them last as long as possible. To get the most out of them, you have to take good care of them.

Air-drying them after cleaning them is part of the care. Also, if they are made of leather, give them a nice touch with a leather conditioner.

That way, they will retain their suppleness and they will not become stiff and start cracking soon.

If you have to dry your boots fast, order a nice boots dryer from Amazon. This one does not apply direct heat. Rather, it heats the air around the boots and the moisture evaporates into the warm, dry air.

You could put boots in the dryer when you must dry them in a matter of minutes. However, don’t make a habit of this.

Conclusion

Can you put boots in the dryer? You can use a specific boot dryer rather than put them in a regular clothes dryer.

Generally, at WorkPlaceSafetyShoes, we recommend you do not put your shoes, or boots in the dryer. The heat from the regular dryer tends to compromise the integrity of the gum used to join the shoes.

As you have seen here, using a regular dryer is a risky especially for leather shoes, and so you should only use it for emergencies.