Now that you know all about the best that the online marketplace has to offer when it comes to boot dryers, here is a comprehensive buyer's guide section to help you buy one.
Why Do You Need a Boot Dryer?
First thing's first, let's kick off the doubts about this impending purchase! Here are three reasons that make boot dryers essential:
Shoes that last
Do you know that water is terrible for your shoes? Whether you've got a pair of leather boots or something that's a combination of fur and suede, your boots will soon turn to dust if you keep exposing them to water. By simply drying them off on a dryer after slogging through wet surfaces, you can greatly improve their lifespan.
An impression that lasts
No one likes sharing a desk at work with a guy whose shoes stink like a skunk. This bad odor is because of a combination of two things. Number one, it is due to the overall exposure that your shoes get in the form of dirt and what-not.
More importantly, it is due to a large number of sweat glands on your feet. This moisture buildup can cause your boot's insoles to stink. Not to mention, shoes with too much moisture buildup can also cause infections to break out on your foot. So, isn't it great that you can knock this issue out of the park by investing in a good boot dryer?
What Are the Different Types of Boot Dryers?
Broadly speaking, there are two types of boot dryers:
- Temperature coefficient boot dryers
- Forced hot air boot dryers
Let's now take a closer look at the features that set these two types apart:
Temperature coefficient boot dryers
Temperature coefficient boot dryers are meant to be placed inside your footwear. It sits there like a foot and chugs out heat from all sides to give your boot a full 360-degree drying experience. This makes them more compact and travel-friendly. However, the heat settings on these bad boys aren't that good.
Forced hot air boot dryers
When it comes to long-term investment for the home, you should look no further than a forced hot air boot dryer. Larger and a lot more powerful than their temperature coefficient cousins, these types of boot dryers utilize the principle of convection to spit out heat from their tubes. You can hang your shoes on them and expect a perfect drying job each time.
Factors to Consider When Buying Boot Dryers
Now that you know all about the two types of boot dryers, here are two key things that you must consider when in the market for these devices:
Capacity
When you're buying forced hot air dryers, you can opt for ones with the capacity to dry more than one boot. Such devices will have more than two rods or come up with attachments. This is great if both you and the spouse need their boots dried off for the next day. You can even utilize the extra rods to dry off your socks, hat, or gloves.
Size
The size of your dryer matters as this will determine what type of boots you can dry with it. Hunting and rain boots tend to be a bit taller when stacked up against your regular work or casual ones. Bigger boots will require taller rods that you can hang the boot over.
Drying time
A quick journey through your new boot dryer's product description will enlighten you about their drying time. This is a measure of how long it takes for your boots to dry off completely on normal heat settings and you must go for one that meets your needs.
Buying Tips for the Best Boot Dryers
Noise
Your boot dryer is supposed to suck out the moisture from your footwear, not wake the neighbors up. So, we recommend going through some customer reviews to get a better idea of how quietly your new dryer functions.
Timer
If you tend to leave your boots on the dryer overnight, it is worth investing in something with an auto-off function to prevent overheating and excess power usage. Ones with timer settings are also great for this purpose.
Safety
On the safety side of things, you must consider whether your new boot dryer is compatible with the type of shoes that you normally wear. So, for example, if most of your boots have fur on them and the dryer you're considering has customer reviews that talk about burnt or damaged fur, ditch that boot dryer.
