Standing in the water all day means that you’ll acquire some dirt, grime, and muck on your fishing gear. Caring for your equipment is essential to ensure its effectiveness and increase its longevity. Your wading boots receive the brunt of the damage because they have the most exposure to the water. Follow these fishing boot care tips on how to clean your wading boots for the best results.
Scrub
If you have experience washing your dishes, you’ll be in a good position for the first step in the process. You’ll want to acquire a strong-bristled brush and put that forearm and elbow to work, diligently scrubbing your wading boots.
Timing is of the essence. Thus, you’ll want to take your boots off as soon as you possibly can to start the scrubbing. Your brush will eliminate all of nature’s elements off your boots, getting them pristine for the next trip to the river.
After the scrubbing, examine your boot’s tread, laces, and seams to guarantee that they are squeaky clean. Once you feel satisfied, give them one final rinse and shake them dry. Then, you should be all set to move on to the next step.
Disinfect
You never know what types of diseases and infections can spread from organisms floating in the water. Hence, disinfecting your boots is critical for keeping a clean bill of health for you and other people who visit your local fishing hole. In fact, most states have specific regulations for how they want you to disinfect your boots to keep everyone safe.
The best strategy for eradicating all the bacteria and mold from your boots is to dump them in hot water for around five minutes. The water must be at least 140 degrees to kill the germs, so boiling a pot of water and pouring them over your boots may be the way to go. If the temperature of your faucet water can go that high, you can use that instead.
If you don’t want to kill germs with scorching hot water, you can also freeze them out by sticking your boots in a freezer. Placing your boots in the freezer for two days kills any unwanted organisms on the boots. Just put your boots in a garbage bag, stick them in the freezer, and take them out a few days before your next adventure.
Drain
Once you complete the cleaning process, your boots will still be soaking wet. Therefore, you’ll need to let them completely dry out before putting them away. Setting them outside with the sun beating down on them will speed up the process. But make sure you don’t keep them out there too long, or they can become damaged. If it’s a cloudy week ahead, you can always place them in your clothes dryer—just be careful!
If you need a quality pair of wading boots, visit Ed’s fly fishing shop online to find them! Once you do, be sure to follow out fishing boot care tips on how to clean your wading boots
