UKH

Got a pair of La Sportiva climbing shoes made with leather.

These need a clean.

Can they be soaked in warm water with woolwash liquid?

In reply to Flinticus:

I usually just throw them in the washing machine with some non bio, works really well. Must've done it 2-3 times over a year and they haven't fallen apart.

In reply to Flinticus:
Over the years my leather unlined climbing shoes (all Red Chilli if that makes a difference!) have been in washing machine and hand washed many times without any problem using liquid soap.
Max of 30 C, extra rinsing, and slow air drying. BTW one pair has been resoled twice and no problems were reported during resoling.
Edit: extra clarification.

In reply to Flinticus:

+1 for chucking them in the washing machine. I've done this many times with Solutions and Skwama's on 30 degrees with normal detergent and a bunch of towels so they don't get too battered in the drum. Dried naturally with newspaper stuffed inside, they come out cleaner than most other ways I've used.

I've also used a shoe brush with washing up liquid in warm water and hand washed them to great effect. Everytime I wash them I'm shocked at how much grime and dirt builds up in there...good luck

In reply to Flinticus:

Fill with warm water with a bit of bicarbonate of soda and give them a quick scrub inside with a toothbush and dry them slowly with kitchen paper stuffes inside - seems to do a good enough job - no need for a full on soaking and it's the inside that really needs the attention from time to time, not the outside.

In reply to Flinticus:

Also, after going through the washing machine the rubber is insanely sticky!

In reply to Flinticus:

Thanks all. Cleaned now via 30c wash with woolwash liquid. Looking fine and no longer black on the inside.

My feet were getting a rash from them!