Description and operation of dryers for ski boots. Description and operation of ski boot dryers How to dry ski boots
The operations are understandable, but, according to the questions that arose at the lectures, are not obvious to many.
First of all, we wipe the outer boot from the outside, just so as not to get dirty. The inner lining (aka “boots”) must be taken out, checked for safety and degree of wear.
If you have not taken it out for a long time, following some recommendations to avoid removing the liner, sometimes it happens to find life forms on it that are not provided for by the rules of operation. Frequent removal of felt boots really leads to scuffs on it, but this does not seem to me to be a global evil. In the end, paste over the rubbing places with tape. There are shoes with a very hard shell, putting them on the foot with a previously worn felt boot, much easier than pushing the foot into the assembled boot. And nothing - the owners of such boots do not complain about some kind of excessive wear of the liner.
Drying
Remove the plastic insole and other parts from the plastic shell of the boot, turn the boot over and make sure that no water flows out of it. If the boot was not dried, dried only on a radiator or a dryer-heater for shoes, most likely it will leak. Why is this happening? Moisture during drying is removed from the boot in the form of water vapor. There is only one exit from the boot and the air circulation in it is minimal, even more so for the air inside the porous material of the liner. When the boot is heated, the moisture turns into steam and for the most part remains inside it. With further cooling, it condenses on its colder part - the outer walls, and flows down them. Good drying can only be achieved by using forced air dryers or by removing the liner from the boot.
With any method of drying on trips, upon returning from each, it is very desirable to remove the liner and dry both parts of the boot well separately.
If the liner smells of musty feet, it most likely means that you neglected to wash your ski/snowboard socks daily, or used "regular", non-sports socks. This smell is formed as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms that feed on secretions from our body. Socks for alpine skiing and snowboarding have the ability to remove moisture well. There is a lot of moisture coming from your feet, but it does not flow off your feet, but is filtered through the fiber of your socks. Therefore, it is moisture that enters the liner, and not our secretions. The manufacturer, as a rule, gives antiseptic properties to the liner itself. In all my years of wearing boots, I have never noticed any odors.
If there is a smell, or there are any circumstances that require additional hygiene (for example, shoes were not dried for a long time after use, or a fungus was found in the one who used them), the liners can be washed.
How to get ski and snowboard boot liner.
Question: the liner cannot be removed from my ski (snowboard) boots!
Answer: The liner can be removed from any ski/snowboard boot. To do this, spread the front of the boot as far as possible, grab the top of the back of the inner boot with your hand, as in the photo, and vigorously pull it forward and down, holding the outer boot with your other hand.
To insert the liner into place, you need to put your hand inside it. Be careful, make sure that the bottom part is not wrinkled or wrinkled, after putting it on, this can cause discomfort or even pain in the leg.
Wash
Is it possible to wash the lining of ski and snowboard boots - a fairly common question. Washing them is perfectly acceptable. Actually, they are already constantly in moisture during use, and nothing bad happens to them. Because many liners are thermoformable, use only cold or lukewarm water when washing - no hotter than body temperature. The procedure is similar to washing sneakers or slippers. Don't do anything to the liner that you wouldn't do to your running shoes. Wash them by hand, pre-soaking in detergent. Do not expose to strong mechanical stress - for washing, deformation of the felt boot is not required at all, good circulation of the washing solution is needed. After washing, rinse well with plenty of water.
Can it be washed in a washing machine? There is nothing wrong with using the right washing machine setting. Of course, you need to be sure that the washing machine will not heat the water above 40C, and that it will only use a gentle wash, so read the instructions for it. Googling, you will find quite a few reviews of people who did this without any damage to the internals. And not a single one - from those who ruined the shoes in this way. What you should not do is wring out in the washing machine. Let the water drain and the insides dry themselves.
Attention! The author does not have any official information from the manufacturers of ski and snowboard boot liner on the issue of their washing and proceeds only from personal and public experience. It is quite possible that there are liners for which washing is fatal. I do not give advice to wash them, but only report that the multiple performance of this act by me and people known to me did not lead to damage to the product. Try to wash socks, not liner! It's easier and more logical.
You are on the website of Progress-Ski - the first and only school that provides a tuition guarantee. This guarantee is made possible by the Progressive Ski and Snowboard Training System.
Disinfection
And the final question of this topic is disinfection. As mentioned above, ski and snowboard boots are a closed structure, inside which moisture easily accumulates. Often, after skiing, they remain insufficiently well dried, and during transportation after skiing, they can completely remain without drying for a day or two. Obviously, the risk of colonies of microorganisms in them is increased.
If you value your feet, disinfect them before storing them. However, it is useful to carry out such manipulation with the rest of the shoes.
The procedure is completely similar to the treatment of shoes in the fight against fungal diseases and the same means can be used. I can advise chlorhexidine bigluconate as the most accessible, inexpensive and convenient to use. This is the same chlorhexidine that is sold in bottles as an antiseptic for wound care and other medical purposes. But in a pharmacy it is sold in an aqueous or alcoholic solution of 0.05%, and for disinfection you need a 1% solution - 20 times more concentrated. You can't buy it in most pharmacies, but it is readily available in medical stores, in particular, you can order it online for delivery. In this photo, he appears in a 20% solution under the name Dezin.
It must be remembered that a concentrated antiseptic requires careful handling. A substance that kills microorganisms in shoes can harm anyone who cares about it. Processing is carried out in a well-ventilated area, preferably on a balcony, wearing rubber / latex gloves. Contact of the substance with the skin is unacceptable. Apply the solution to the swab and wipe the felt boots. Leave the moistened gauze inside the boots and tie them in a sealed bag for a day. Take out and ventilate well. Everything.
There is another available method for the destruction of harmful organisms, including fungus - ultraviolet radiation. As you know, with a sufficiently long exposure, it kills everything. And there are special UV lamps. Unfortunately, “UV” shoe dryers with blue LEDs are just a dummy of such a lamp. If they create UV radiation, they are only formally unsuitable for the purposes we need. You can easily check it with the help of a large bank note, on which an additional security pattern is visible under ultraviolet illumination (thanks to Vladimir Korpusov for adding this useful information).
Read also:
- How to choose boots for skiing or snowboarding, so that both control is good and it doesn’t hurt excruciatingly.
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Any skier needs a dryer for ski boots, regardless of where he lives - at a specialized recreation center or in the private sector. In any case, you have to choose a method for drying shoes. The accessory can be individual, designed for one pair of shoes and stationary, where you can dry from 8 to 60 pairs of shoes at a time. Ideally, it should be as efficient as possible, economical in terms of energy consumption.
Specialized units are heavy, designed for drying several pairs of shoes at once, they are large in size and weight. In principle, any shoes can be dried on them. A dryer with long tubes is excellent, through which dry warm air is supplied to the insole, quickly removing moisture from the hygroscopic internal materials of rubber, tarpaulin, PVC boots. Just like the materials of ski boots, they require strict adherence to the thermal regime.
Public dryers consist of:
- electric heating element hidden in the rack;
- several rows of hollow tubes on which boots and boots are put on;
- an ultraviolet element that allows you to disinfect shoes, getting rid of an unpleasant odor;
- regulator of intensity of heating and forcing air.
In some models of general use, you can find an operating time timer. This is a good option for drying boots at night.
With equipment drying at the equipped bases of ski resorts, athletes will not have any problems preparing for a new day of active recreation on the slope. For those who came to the mountainous regions as a savage, the question of bringing boots into working condition remains open. On central heating radiators, it is almost impossible to dry shoes with high quality in a short time.
Attention! When using gas stoves, ovens, wood stoves, there is always a risk of damage to the materials used to make shoes.
An alternative to modular dryers is lightweight mobile equipment, consisting of a low-power heating element and a fan, hidden in an attractive case. It is this plastic element that is at risk of damage during transportation. An important option when choosing a dryer is a deodorizer - an ozonizing or ultraviolet element that is responsible for eliminating unpleasant odors and destroying the bacteria that cause it.
Popular Models
Portable dryers for one pair of shoes are made taking into account the shape of the sock, which is important when caring for leather, leatherette shoes, but also for rubber boots, ski boots, which do not face deformation when overdrying. This modification makes it possible to place the dryer in the most inaccessible places for the circulation of warm air, ensuring a uniform distribution of heat.
Despite the general similarity, there are differences between light dryers:
- antibacterial with ozone and a sliding body, which makes it suitable for equally effective drying of shoes of small and large sizes;
- RJ-52C, RJ-49C and DiCiER HXQ-2012A - models with heating up to 70°C (without additional options);
- Timson 2422 with UV;
- EOO 21/220 - the heating element is hidden in a twisted aluminum case.
The only type of shoe dryer that is not suitable for ski boots is self-assembled mats.
Approximately the same level of heating, but with constant forced air circulation through the pipes and the inner space of the boots, is provided by stationary industrial dryers:
- Octopus H-8, designed to accommodate 8 pairs of shoes at a time. The weight of the unit is 4100 g, it operates from a standard household power supply - 220V, 2 modes, maximum heating 70°C.
- The H-10 octopus differs from the previous model in quantity, the shape of the pipes - a square section, a stepped arrangement of rows. Weight - 25 kg.
- Octopus N-20 is an improved model, supplemented with a disinfecting module, weighing 45 kg. It is possible to use the unit with connection to a heating boiler, which reduces the dependence of the dryer on the presence of the mains.
- Octopus N-30-N is a dryer designed for connection to an autonomous heating system. The location is wall-mounted, weight 33 kg.
- Octopus H-54 - 108 ski boots, 54 pairs can easily fit for turbo drying on a rack 170 cm high. Equipped with a UV module, weight - 55 kg, powered by household power. There is an analogue version for water heating. On request, it can be equipped with a programmable sensor for turning the system on and off.
For any living conditions at a resort, a training base, you can choose the most suitable dryer according to the method of providing air heating and its supply inside wet shoes.
What does an electric shoe dryer give?
There are many ways to dry shoes, but for drying ski boots, electric dryers are the best choice. Their advantage lies in the stability of heating, which ensures high quality drying without the risk of melting fasteners, synthetic inserts. There is no direct contact of wet surfaces with live parts - they are hidden behind plastic cases. This reduces the risk of a short circuit, and the shoes become dry, warm in a strictly programmed period of time.
When using electric mobile dryers, as well as when placed on stationary ones, it is not necessary to remove the insulating insert. This is a guarantee that no additional creases will appear on them, which means that skiing on any day will be comfortable, not overshadowed by inconvenience, rubbed feet.
How to dry your shoes the traditional way
Despite all the devices offered by the industry, they may not always be at hand at the right time. Here the question arises of how to dry ski boots with the help of improvised means. You will have to use the grandfather method, for this you should:
- Take out the warming sock.
- Get the insole.
- Place on a central or autonomous heating radiator.
- Pour out water from a plastic boot if it has accumulated under the insole.
- Having moved the tongue as far as possible, the boot must be installed upside down on a warm battery.
In the absence of water radiators, an oil cooler can be used as a heat source. In extreme cases, air circulation will be provided by a fan heater installed on a continuous cycle of operation in a fixed position at the level of the top of a lying boot. How much dry air will enter the boot depends on the humidity in the room.
Attention! With enough heat, steam will come out of the boot for a while. Its absence does not mean the complete displacement of moisture from all materials. Just wet materials, regardless of the thickness of the layers, warmed up to the same temperature, evaporation became less intense.
When oil radiators or open flames are running, the air quickly becomes dry, but the amount of oxygen there becomes less. Drying ski boots properly in the room and not experiencing any discomfort is a great success. To dry shoes, you need to take a separate small room.
Making a dryer with your own hands
The cheapest, lightest fan heater is comparable in cost to a pair of specialized shoe dryers, which you have to constantly monitor during operation, and the drying speed leaves much to be desired.
Taking the fan heater as a source and a warm air blower, it remains only to supplement it with two polypropylene tubes 40-50 cm long. For the constant use of the heater as a drying device, you will have to sacrifice the integrity of the grill behind which the fan is hidden. Two holes are cut out in it, equal to the outer diameter of the pipes + 0.5 mm, equally distant from the center. Having inserted the tubes into these holes (without deepening them inside), the second ends are brought out inside the boots.
At the end of the season, before sending the equipment to the mezzanine, the boots must be properly prepared:
- take out, wash the boot-insert;
- outside, inside, wash, dry the plastic base of the boot;
- having brought together both components, it is necessary to fill the shoes with crumpled newspapers.
After completing the three mandatory steps, you can be sure that mold fungi will not spoil expensive shoes, and thanks to a tight insert, deformation is also not threatened.
Mezzanines in a room or corridor are the best place for storage, the sun's rays do not penetrate there, which can damage the outer paint layer. Changes in temperature, high humidity in them also have nowhere to come from.
With high tops of ski boots, it is problematic to dry them well near the battery. The question of how to dry is of interest to many skiers. A dryer will help with this.
Its direct purpose is compact storage and drying. Depending on the type, it is used at the same time to properly dry one or more pairs of shoes. At the same time, the temperature regime and the time interval are set at your discretion.
The dryer for alpine skiing boots - works by the principle of compulsory circulation with use of heated air. Its supply is carried out through the nozzles, which are located on the base of the duct.
With the help of a pump, the liquid is heated in the electric boiler, its circulation begins. As a result, the heat exchanger is heated, the air to which is supplied by means of a centrifugal low-noise fan. The control device is two-level. It controls and maintains the optimal temperature for drying.
Advantages:
- will not harm sports shoes - it dries only from the inside of the model, so damage to the outer layer of leather or other material is excluded;
- safety - humidity contributes to the development of the fungus, which does not threaten when using the device, the result of its work is constantly dry shoes;
- duration of the process - it is possible to dry in an hour.
Various drying methods can be used, but the effect of complete drying cannot be achieved from any of them.
Types of drying devices
There are 2 types of dryers for skiers. This is a portable - small-sized installation that dries sportswear with high quality, even in the rainiest weather. And stationary - - able to dry at the same time: - a pair of boots, a hat, gloves and overalls.
They differ only in form, the principle of operation is similar.
We make the device with our own hands
You can make a drying device yourself with your own hands. If it is not possible to use a dryer, you can dry your ski boots with a conventional wind blower. This is a conventional heater that is equipped with a fan. Shoes should be placed in such a way that jets of hot air fall on them.
The best result can be achieved if you put a crumpled newspaper in the bootleg. It absorbs moisture well. Such a device requires the replacement of newspapers in an hour. If you combine these 2 methods, the result of the process will be noticeable after 2-3 hours.
Another device, the basis for its manufacture are case fans. For manufacturing you will need:
- insulating tape;
- crimp connectors;
- 12 volt AC adapter;
- case fan — 2 pcs.
Connect the adapter wires to the fans using crimp connectors. After connecting, check the operation of the fans. The structure is ready. Drying is carried out by introducing fans into the shaft. In this case, it is necessary to create conditions for good air circulation.
To keep the athlete's feet dry and safe, there are rules for drying shoes.
Drying rules:
- Before the process and after each ride, remove the liners.
- Dry only with soles up.
- Use high temperature drying only in exceptional cases.
- It is strictly forbidden to dry sports equipment on the battery.
- Store with fastened clips on weak divisions.
By following these simple rules, ski boots will last for many more years.
The dryer is a solution to one of the urgent problems in the care of sports shoes. Using it, the skier gets: a reliable, durable, safe and efficient assistant.