Shoes are meant to cover and protect one's feet, but they are incredibly fragile and can get damaged quickly if not handled with care, especially if branded. If one owns several expensive shoes, one should take special care of them. If top-quality branded footwear gets damaged, repairing or replacing them is quite costly. Therefore, it is essential for shoe owners to avoid making certain common mistakes while taking care of their pricey footwear. Exposing shoes to water and drying them in the sun Leather shoes can be quite expensive and are prone to damage. It's important to avoid exposing them to moisture, especially when they are wet. Water can be a harmful element and cause the leather material to deteriorate. Unfortunately, many shoe owners still make the mistake of exposing their shoes to water and sunlight, thinking it will dry them faster and prevent mold formation. However, this process can cause more harm than good. Exposing leather footwear to sunlight does not dry them faster and causes them to become deformed. It is best to avoid washing them with water on a regular basis and exposing them to harmful sunshine, as this can result in significant damage to the shoes within just a few months or years. Not deodorizing shoes Shoes are exposed to various unclean and dirty surfaces several times throughout the day. Bacteria and fungal matter tend to stick to them, which eventually causes them to emit bad odor. Additionally, foot sweat can make the footwear smell bad if it is not deodorized for days. Therefore, it is important to deodorize shoes on a regular basis. Smelly shoes can be a sign of poor hygiene and bad taste in fashion. For this reason, it is essential to keep shoes smelling fresh all the time to leave a lasting impression. Wearing the same shoes daily Shoes are made from living materials like leather and rubber. If they are used continuously for weeks and months, they tend to wear out progressively with time. Additionally, if shoes are not given a much-needed break from time to time, they will inevitably get damaged. Therefore, it is advisable for people to own more than a single pair of footwear and wear them in rotation to avoid wearing the same pair for more than three to four consecutive days at a time. Shining leather shoes without cleaning It is important to follow a proper process while cleaning expensive footwear. Firstly, one should remove any dust and dirt particles from the surface of the shoes before shining them. Shining any footwear before removing these particles can cause them to stick to the surface and cause damage to the upper layer of the shoes. This can result in the shoes losing their sheen and having a shorter lifespan. Improper cleaning is a major cause of footwear eventually having a lower shelf life. Besides, some other common mistakes people make include improper shoe polishing, lack of dedicated storage space for shoes, and using the washing machine to clean branded footwear.