Can you clean suede shoes without ruining them?

Yes. Suede is handled dry or low-moisture with specialist brushes, which is exactly how we avoid the water marks, matting, and stiffness that soaking causes. We finish with a protector to help repel future marks.

Can you get water marks out of suede?

In most cases yes. Water marks and rings respond well to careful suede cleaning that re-sets the nap evenly. We'll tell you in advance if a deep, set-in mark won't fully lift.

Do you apply a suede protector after cleaning?

Yes. Suede and nubuck pairs are finished with a protective treatment as part of the Clean 'Em package, helping them resist water and stains going forward.

How much does professional suede cleaning cost in the UK?

The flat £60 Clean 'Em package covers suede and nubuck, including specialist dry cleaning methods, stain treatment by type, nap restoration, a protective finish, a free authentication check, and free tracked shipping both ways.

Can you remove oil and grease stains from suede?

Often, yes. Oil and grease need a different treatment from water marks: they're drawn out of the nap rather than brushed. Fresh oil stains respond best; old, set-in grease can usually be improved significantly even when it won't vanish completely. We assess and tell you the realistic outcome before we start.

Why shouldn't I machine wash or wet clean suede at home?

Soaking is what destroys suede: it flattens the nap permanently, leaves tide-line water marks, stiffens the hide, and can separate glue lines. Most of the badly damaged suede we receive was damaged by home cleaning, not by wear. Dry and low-moisture methods exist precisely because suede can't tolerate what other materials can.

Can you restore the colour of faded suede?

Cleaning alone revives colour that's dulled by dirt, because lifting the grime and re-setting the nap lets the true colour show again. Genuinely faded dye is a different problem: that's where the optional re-dye (£10) comes in for suitable pairs, and we'll advise whether yours is a candidate.

Do you clean suede trainers as well as boots and shoes?

Yes. Suede Nike Dunks, New Balance, Clarks desert boots, suede Chelsea boots, nubuck shoes, and mixed-material pairs with suede panels all go through the same specialist process. If only part of the shoe is suede, each material still gets its own correct method.

Suede & nubuck

Suede & Nubuck Cleaning Service

Suede and nubuck are beautiful but unforgiving, marking with the slightest water or oil. Our Clean 'Em deep clean uses specialist dry and low-moisture methods to lift stains, restore the nap, and protect the finish on suede trainers, boots, and shoes, with a free authentication check included.

Free authFree postUK-wide

Service details

What we handle, typical problems we fix, and how we care for your footwear.

Suede trainers and sneakers
Suede boots (Chelsea, desert, ankle)
Nubuck shoes and loafers
Suede accents and overlays on mixed pairs
Men's, women's, and kids' suede footwear

Shoes & brands we clean

Specific care guides for the suede & nubuck we clean most often.

Real results from real orders

Every pair below went through the standard Clean 'Em deep clean. No filters, no tricks. Drag the slider to compare.

Trainers before professional cleaning, covered in mud and ground-in dirt

The same trainers after the Clean 'Em deep clean, restored and bright

BeforeAfter

Pull the slider to reveal the clean result

How professional suede cleaning actually works

Suede is leather with the surface buffed into a soft nap of fine fibres, and that nap is why it looks beautiful and why it's so easy to ruin. Water flattens the fibres and leaves tide marks, oils bind to them, and aggressive scrubbing tears them. Professional suede care works with the nap instead of against it.

Our process starts dry: specialist brushes and suede-specific erasers lift dry soiling and surface scuffs while re-lifting the flattened fibres. Stains are then treated by type, because suede stains are chemically different problems: water marks are re-wetted in a controlled way and dried evenly to erase the tide line, oil and grease are drawn out with absorbents, and salt from winter pavements is neutralised before it dries the hide out permanently.

Only where absolutely necessary do we introduce tightly controlled moisture, and the pair is always dried slowly at room temperature with the nap brushed back up as it dries. The finish is a suede protector that coats each fibre and makes the pair meaningfully more resistant to the next spill or shower.

The suede damage we can fix, and what we'll be honest about

Water marks and rings are our most common suede job and usually lift well. Matted, shiny patches where the nap has flattened respond well to re-lifting. Everyday dirt, mud, and general dinginess clean up dramatically. Salt stains improve significantly when treated before they've burned the hide.

We'll be straight about the hard cases: deep oil that's had months to soak in can improve but rarely vanishes; nap that has been worn away entirely (bald patches) can't be regrown, only blended; and dye fading is a re-dye job, not a cleaning job. Every pair gets an honest assessment at intake, and if the realistic outcome doesn't justify the cost, we'll tell you.

One flat price for every suede pair, UK-wide by post

Whether it's suede Nike Dunks, a pair of Clarks desert boots, suede Chelsea boots, or nubuck loafers, the price is the same flat £60, including the specialist suede process, a protective finish, odour treatment with UV sanitisation, a free authentication check, and free tracked shipping both ways to any UK postcode. Standard turnaround is 7 days from when we receive the pair; suede is never rush-dried because slow, even drying is part of what protects it.

Cleaning prices at a glance

One flat price for every pair, whatever the brand or condition. No quotes, no surprises.

Service	Price	What's included
Clean 'Em deep clean	£60	Deep clean, stain removal, odour elimination, leather conditioning, suede protection, UV sanitisation, free authentication check
New Laces	+£5	Fresh laces to finish the look after a deep clean.
Re-Dye	+£10	Even out faded panels or colour blocks where the material allows.
Sole Paint	+£10	Brighten midsoles and rubber sidewalls on suitable pairs.
Fast-track turnaround	+£15	Around 3-day turnaround instead of the standard 7 days
UK tracked shipping (both ways)	Free	Prepaid tracked label to send your pair in, tracked return delivery to your door
Reading pickup & drop-off	Free	Skip the post entirely if you're in the Reading area

Each pair is priced at the Clean 'Em package rate. Free tracked shipping and complimentary authentication included.