Winter woes, wow to effectively remove annoying salt stains from your boots at home

Have you come home only to discover the characteristic white stains on your boots? Unfortunately, these are often the result of the salt sprinkled on sidewalks in winter. Not everyone, however, knows how to remove them effectively. It turns out that everything you need for a clean-up can be found at home.

The simplest solutions prove to be the best most times. But not everyone knows where to start. That's when time-tested tricks, often passed down from our grandmothers, come to the rescue. They too often had to grapple with white stains on their shoes.

In this situation, time is crucial. The sooner you clean the dirtied footwear after returning home, the better. Delaying this can allow the salt to penetrate deep into the shoe material, making the stains more difficult to extract.

To begin with, clean the boots of mud and other stains. Once done, you can focus entirely on the salt traces. You'll need some warm (but not hot) milk and a clean cloth. Soak the cloth in the milk and gently rub your shoes with it.

In a few moments, the stains should disappear, leaving behind clean and tidy footwear.

There are several other tried-and-true methods for removing white stains. The milk trick isn't the only option at hand. If there aren't too many stains, a piece of bread crust will do the job. It may surprise you, but it has great absorbent properties, making it effective in absorbing the salt.

Gently rub the soft part of the crust against the white stains until they disappear from your shoes. Don't apply excessive force against the shoe material, but be sure to rub energetically. Timing remains an important factor in stain removal—the longer you wait, the harder it becomes.