The rain had poured overnight, pounding the items left outside on tables in back of one of my favorite auction houses. Which meant that all of the box lots were soaked, including about 50 pairs of ladies sandals, boots and dress shoes still in boxes.
Some auction houses don’t bother to cover outside items because they’re usually the dregs, the junk. So why throw on a few tarps to protect the merchandise?
By the time we arrived at midday, the sun had come out and it was fierce. Several pairs of shoes appeared remarkably dry (from the sun’s relentless rays, I assumed); others sat in full boxes of water. It looked as if the rain had played tornado, touching down on some boxes, drenching them, and sparing others. I’m sure, though, that even the dry-looking pairs were damp.
One auction-goer asked me about the damage. After all that water, I told her, wouldn’t they be warped. Leather tended to get hard when left wet, and ended up cracked or wrinkled. I’d left leather shoes to dry naturally before and I remembered the outcome.
I didn’t hang around to see if anyone bought the shoes (or if they were sold). I suppose you could go for the dry ones and dry out the wet ones, since there are ways to do it. You can stuff them with balled-up newspapers overnight (or repeat the process over a few days until they dry). The newspaper apparently absorbs the moisture. Stay away from heat or light. Once dry, sprinkle in a little baking soda to absorb any odor or smell.
You can do this for leather shoes, running shoes or any other shoes that are wet.
I found on the web a 4-minute video discussion and demonstration on how to dry fine men’s shoes with leather uppers and soles. A cedar shoe tree, with the shoes turned on the side to prevent mold or mildew from developing on the sole.
For mildew on shoes, another site suggested alcohol, which I use to remove mildew from old cameras that have been exposed to moisture. Not sure if that works on leather soles, though.
The shoes at the auction were far from being fine leather. These were regular shoes, nothing fancy, and most were sandals. Maybe they’d be easier to dry. Sit them in a cool dry place and let nature take over. Then, look them over to make sure they’re in proper shape and sell them as used – like just about everything else at a flea market.
If all looks well, do you have to tell a flea-market buyer that the shoes had been soaked in a rainstorm? Or should you sell them as used? How honest should you be?
