With the weather the Midwest has endured this past week, Illinois was one of the states that was affected by heavy snow and ice.

With these extreme conditions, there was one thing on every student’s mind — snow day. But more fashion conscious students may have been thinking, “How in the world am I going to clean my shoes from all this snow and salt?”

The aftermath of these recent winter storms has not been ideal for people in the Champaign-Urbana area, and it is making students and faculty at the University uneasy. Students have had to walk to class stepping ankle-deep in piles of unshoveled snow, and it is often hard to avoid the deep puddles of melting sleet and salt.

These conditions are very harmful for shoes and sometimes can permanently damage them. The resulting stains are often difficult to remove and leave the shoes looking unappealing and worn down.

Instead of throwing the damaged shoes into the back of the closet or buying a new pair, there are ways to fix damaged footwear at home without having to get them professionally cleaned. These at-home remedies could be a helpful money-saver, as well as an aid to keeping shoes lasting longer and looking like new.

Melissa Wiener, sophomore in LAS, has her own at-home prevention system.

“When I bought my boots, I was told to spray them with water resistant spray before I wore them outside for the first time,” Wiener said.

“But I have just decided to be on the safe side, to spray them weekly, and it seems to really work,” she added.

This water and stain repellent is normally used for suede and sheepskin shoes and prevents water from soaking through the suede and damaging the interior and exterior. It is recommended to spray suede shoes at least once with this repellent spray. It also keeps the original color from fading.

“Occasionally, my boots will have some salt stains. In that case, I just take a bit of water on a sponge and gently dab the stain,” Wiener said. “It usually disappears.”

For suede and sheepskin boots, like the popular UGGs, it is important to spray them before first going outside to prevent stains and fading. These sprays can be purchased at any shoe repair store as well as the UGG website, where they have spray specifically designed for the popular boots.

For those who already have salt and water stains on footwear, methods that seem to work for cleaning off those winter stains are using a toothbrush with soap and water, or a sponge with milk and sandpaper to sand the tough salt stains right off.

Another problem that can occur in winter weather is that footwear gets soaking wet. Not only can this fade the color of boots, but it can also leave the insides smelling similar to a wet dog.

Wiener said that this problem can be fixed with an overnight remedy of baking soda and corn starch.

“This is the best way to deodorize winter boots,” Wiener said. “I found this method online, and it works like a charm.”

The remedy consists of taking a little bit of baking soda and a teaspoon or two of corn starch. Hold the boot closed at the top and shake the boot so the powder can get everywhere. Then, let the boots sit overnight and dump the powder out in the morning. This should leave them smelling normal again. Of course, you could spray a little Febreze to make them smell extra fresh.

Nancy Rayyan, employee at Joseph Shoe Clinic in Chicago, Ill., said that cleaning leather or suede winter boots can cost anywhere from $35 to $50.

“It depends of the severity of the salt stains,” Rayyan said. “Sometimes we will have customers who stain their boots in winter and then bring them in the summer for cleaning. The stains are more set in and are a real pain to get out, so it costs more.”

If you’re looking for somewhere a little closer, Concord Custom Cleaners at 410 S. Neil St. in Champaign offers shoe cleaning services.

Winter boots have it rough, trekking through deep snow and muddy sleet. But with these at-home remedies, boots will be looking like new in no time.