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FAQs

Care & Maintenance

How should I care for my boots?

Watch this helpful video.

Clean your boots when they get dirty. Mud and dirt left in crevices can damage leather and even encourage rot.

Don't leave footwear out in direct sunlight or under fluorescents for prolonged periods of time. Leather can be bleached and dried by prolonged UV exposure. A dark area is best for storing.

Apply conditioning/polish about once or twice a month.

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How do I clean/polish my HAIX® boots?

Watch this helpful video.

Using a soft shoe brush and warm water, gently scrub clean the boot's surface and crevices. Do not use a detergent or saddle soap – plain water and a mild dish soap is fine. Air-dry. Using a fan is fine, but do not use heat like a hair dryer or radiator.

Apply our HAIX® silicone polish to condition the leather and preserve the sun-reflect elements and breathability of the leather. A professional silicone-based polish is also fine.

After the polish is applied evenly across the leather's surface, buff to a matte shine with a soft brush. We do not advise using wax or petroleum-based polish, because it clogs the pores of the leather, reduces breathability, and reduces the sun-reflect efficiency.

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What about cleaning napped leather, like the Protector Series or Missoula?

If you don't want your napped leather to look oiled, you can forego the polish. The nap can be fluffed up again after washing and drying using a soft brush.

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Should I polish my boots after receiving them?

Basically, our boots are pre-treated with care when they are delivered to you. Depending on the conditions you will subject them to, or even if you just want some additional shine, you may decide to polish the boots again before first use.

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How important are good socks?

Watch this helpful video.

HAIX® Functional Socks are the perfect complement to HAIX® footwear. A good pair of high-tech wool blend socks is your first line of defense for dry, comfortable and, most importantly, blister free feet. High-tech socks can be a big improvement over cotton socks.

It is recommended when trying on footwear that you wear the socks you intend to wear with that footwear.

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I hear rubber boots are easier to decontaminate than leather boots, is that true? How do I decontaminate my boots?

A 2009 study by W. L. Gore & Associates provides evidence that after normal wash and air-dry decontamination procedures, leather boot materials actually retain substantially lower amounts of contaminants at the matrix level than rubber boot materials.

Both leather and rubber are clean of contaminants at the surface level after thorough washing and drying.

This means that while the chemicals were equally removed from the material's surface, Rubber actually allowed the contaminants to penetrate deeper, and the chemicals remained inside the rubber itself after cleaning, while leather allowed significantly less.

Please refer to this page for guidelines on decontaminating your HAIX® footwear.

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How do I lace my front-zipper boots and care for the lacing system?

Thread the shoelace through the "start" eyelets from the rear. Continue to lace upwards, to the top of the zipper system and tie a knot at the back of the uppermost eyelets. Download our helpful instruction guide for additional assistance or watch this helpful video.

Use a hard nylon brush to clean the zipper teeth. Do not use a wire brush. If the zipper grip gets stuck, it can be released easily using a few drops of silicone or sewing machine oil. Do not cut or remove the cable tie between the bottom two eyelets. This helps stabilize the zipper and avoids uncomfortable deformation that can occur in the toe flex area.

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