To get salt stains out of UGGs, brush off the dry white crust first, dab what is left with white vinegar diluted in water, then wipe the whole panel evenly with a barely damp cloth so the treated patch doesn't dry into a ring. Stuff the boots, let them dry overnight or longer away from heat, and brush the nap once they are dry.
SneakerSalt is not affiliated with UGG. The vinegar step is common advice, not UGG's; we found nothing from UGG on vinegar either way.
What a salt stain on UGGs actually is
Pavements and roads get salted in winter. Slush picks the salt up, splashes it onto the suede, and when the water dries off, the salt stays behind as a white crust or a wavy white line along the toe and the sides. Two problems are layered on top of each other: the salt itself, and the edge of the patch that got wet.
That is why a salt fix has two halves. Vinegar deals with the white. An even, whole-panel damp then deals with the edge, the same way you would treat a plain water mark. Skip the second half and you swap a white line for a dark one.
How to clean salt off UGGs, step by step
- Let them dry completely. Don't start on wet boots. Nike's suede advice is not to clean suede while it is wet, and adding more liquid to soaked suede only spreads things.
- Brush off the loose salt. A soft brush, light strokes, one direction. A surprising amount of the white is sitting on top of the nap and comes away dry.
- Mix the vinegar. Start with one part white vinegar to two parts water. If that doesn't shift the marks, go up to equal parts.
- Test it. Low down at the back of the boot, near the heel seam. White vinegar can change the colour of some dyes, so let the test patch dry before you carry on.
- Dab it onto the white marks. A soft cloth, dampened rather than soaked. Light pressure. UGG warns that its sheepskin's surface can be damaged by aggressive scrubbing, so this is dabbing and gentle strokes, not elbow grease.
- Wipe off the residue with a fresh cloth dampened with plain water.
- Even out the whole panel. Dampen it with cold water from one seam to the next, so it all dries at the same rate.
- Stuff and dry. Paper towels inside, a well-ventilated spot, at least overnight. UGG's guidance for drying sheepskin is 24 hours or more, away from direct heat and sun. Not under the radiator.
- Brush the nap once the boot is completely dry, lightly and in one direction.
If a faint white haze appears again as the boot dries, do another round. Two gentle rounds beat one heavy one. The blot technique behind all of this is in our suede and nubuck guide.
Which vinegar ratio?
Sources disagree, and there isn't one correct answer:
| Source | Vinegar to water | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Timberland | 1 to 2 | For salt on boots. Brush off excess salt first, dry overnight, then a suede brush on suede. |
| One Good Thing by Jillee (a cleaning blog) | 1 to 1 | For salt on leather. Notes that vinegar can dry leather, so it conditions afterwards. |
| Clarks | 1 to 1 | For tougher marks on suede. |
Start with the weaker mix. If your pair's dye is going to react to vinegar, better it meets the gentle version first. And skip the conditioner on UGGs: that advice is for smooth leather, and suede care guidance such as Wolverine's says to keep oils and conditioners off suede.
Black UGGs and dark colours
Salt shows worst on black boots, white on black being about as visible as a mark gets. The method is the same. Two extra cautions: test the vinegar on a hidden spot every time, since a changed patch shows just as badly as the salt did, and stick to the weaker 1 to 2 mix until you've seen how your pair reacts.
The bottom of the boots
Salt also crusts on the outsole and along its edge. On UGG's classic boots, that outsole is sugarcane EVA or Treadlite, not suede, so it only needs a dry brush and then a wipe with a damp cloth. Do it before the uppers so you aren't dragging salty water up onto clean suede, and keep the cloth off the suede while you work.
What our foam does with salt
Partly the job, and only partly. Our foam may lift the salt residue sitting on the surface of the suede, along with the general grime that winter adds. It won't dissolve a crusted salt line the way the vinegar step does, and we make no claim about salt that has soaked in. It doesn't protect boots from salt either.
Where it fits is after the salt is dealt with and the boot is dry: one light pump per panel, spread from seam to seam, ten seconds, then blot. On suede we rate SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam "good, blot only", and it stays off the sheepskin lining, which isn't on our tested list.
Next winter
- Deal with salt the same day. Common advice for suede boots is to tackle road salt quickly.
- Brush them once they're dry after a slushy walk, before the crust has a chance to build up.
- Protect clean, dry boots. A suede protector spray helps against the water that carries the salt in. UGG sells its own. It slows things down rather than making the boot immune.
- Dry them properly every night, stuffed, away from heat.
Questions people actually ask
Are salt stains on UGGs permanent?
Often not, if you deal with them soon. Lines left on all winter are harder and may only fade rather than disappear. Several rounds of the gentle method are better than one aggressive one.
Can I just put salt-stained UGGs in the washing machine?
No. UGG says never to machine wash its sheepskin, and a full soak is far more water than suede wants. Our washing machine guide covers what a drum does to shoes.
How do you get salt out of other suede boots?
The same way. Timberland's steps are written for suede and nubuck boots in general: brush, diluted vinegar on a soft cloth, wipe off, dry overnight, then a suede brush.
Does vinegar and water clean UGGs generally?
It's a salt fix, not an all-purpose cleaner. For everyday dirt, UGG's own method uses its sheepskin cleaner diluted half and half on a wet sponge, over the whole boot.
Salt off first, then the winter grime: SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam handles the second part in a few minutes a boot, $24 with free shipping, brush and cloth in the box, and you keep the bottle if it doesn't work for you.
