Summarize the following:
Fill a small bucket or bowl with warm water and a few drops of liquid soap or dishwashing liquid. Take a dishwashing brush, shoe brush, or toothbrush and scrub the soles with the soapy water to remove dirt, grime, mud, and anything else you've stepped in. Wipe the soles off with a damp rag when you're finished. This will make the cleaning process easier, and give you a chance to clean the laces. Swirl the laces around in some soapy water, and give them a scrub if they're dirty. Rinse them under clean water, ring them out, and hang them to dry. With a shoe brush or old nail brush, carefully brush off dirt, dust, and dried mud from your Docs. Be sure to get into all the hard to reach places as well, such as where the stitching is and inside the tongue. If you don't have a shoe or nail brush, you can use a clean, damp, lint-free cloth to remove dirt and dust. If you have any scuffs or polish build-up on your Docs, you can remove both with an acetone-free nail polish remover. Apply some nail polish remover to a clean rag or lint-free cloth. Gently rub at scuffs and polish build up until the scuffs wear away and the polish comes off. When you're finished, rub the shoes down with a damp, clean cloth and allow them to air dry. Don't rub too hard with the nail polish remover, otherwise you may damage the finish. Because leather was the skin from a living animal, it needs to be moisturized and conditioned (just like human skin) to prevent it from drying, cracking, and losing its durability. Rub your Docs with a cloth or sponge to massage a conditioner into the leather, making sure to get the hard to reach places as well. Let them dry for about 20 minutes afterward. Popular leather conditioners include: Lemon essential oil (not olive oil, which can cause oil damage) Mink oil Wonder Balsam, which is a product made by Dr. Martens that contains coconut oil, beeswax, and lanolin, and which is designed to help protect against water and salt While saddle soap is often recommended as a conditioner for leather, the lye it contains can actually cause your leather to dry, crack, and deteriorate faster
Clean the soles. Remove the laces. Brush off dust and dirt. Take care of scuffs and old polish. Condition the leather.