Before restoring your shoes, the first step is always cleaning. If you’ve been keeping up with regular maintenance and your shoes are free of stains, a thorough brushing with a horsehair brush followed by a wipe with a damp cloth should suffice. However, if your shoes have stains—even water stains—or if it’s been a while since your last shine, using a quality leather cleaner is essential to remove dirt and prepare the surface for polishing.
After extensive research into shoe-care guides, manufacturer recommendations, and in-shop testing by experts, Fiebing’s Saddle Soap stands out as the best balance of effectiveness and value. This trusted cleaner removes all but the toughest stains, preps leather for conditioning and polishing, and offers great longevity—one 12-ounce tin, priced around $10, lasts for approximately 40 shines.
Saddle soap was originally designed to clean leather saddles, but its effectiveness extends to all leather goods, including shoes. While each brand has its own proprietary formula, most saddle soaps follow a similar composition—a mild soap that acts as a surfactant to lift dirt and a blend of oils and greases that help replenish some of the moisture lost during cleaning. After reviewing 15 different saddle soaps and multiple shoe-care guides, we found that Fiebing’s Saddle Soap remains a top choice for both cleaning and conditioning leather.
Using a soft-bristle brush and a bit of water, Fiebing’s Saddle Soap creates a rich, pale yellow foam that gently lifts away dirt and old polish. After a quick wipe with a cloth and a detailed inspection, it became clear that the soap effectively cleaned the leather without stripping its original finish—unlike some harsher cleaners like Saphir Réno’Mat, which, while effective, can remove the factory-applied finish. This makes Fiebing’s Saddle Soap an excellent choice for routine leather care and maintenance.
I gently traced my fingers along the side of the shoe cleaned with Fiebing’s Saddle Soap and noticed a smooth, well-conditioned surface—not overly dry or tacky. This was a promising sign that the soap had effectively cleaned the leather without stripping away essential oils (as Réno’Mat does) or leaving behind a sticky residue (like Lexol Leather Cleaner).
Réno'Mat has its place in the shoe-care world, but that place should most likely not be your home.
Réno’Mat is a powerful cleaner that acts as a reset button for leather shoes, stripping away old polish, stains, and even some of the finish to prepare them for a fresh coat. While it excels in deep restoration, its potency—marked by strong fumes and a tendency to dry out leather—makes it more suited for professional use than everyday home care.
Lexol Leather Cleaner, on the other hand, had difficulty removing the old polish that had built up on the shoe. It did an adequate job dealing with small stains on the surface, but only with some serious working by Mayes did it manage to lift a nominal amount of the old polish. Removing old polish is an important step, as old polish can suspend dirt and other grime that then gets sealed underneath a new polish layer, where it can rub against the leather. The Lexol cleaner was gentle, as promised, but it also produced a noticeably tacky feeling on the shoe, meaning that it left behind some residue.
The Lexol cleaner left the finish intact but did little to eliminate surface stains.
