After buying a brand new pair of sneakers, the worst thing you can do is to find a scuff on the first night out. A pair of dirty or scuffed shoes can ruin even the best-looking outfit.
Let’s step back for a moment and talk about some essential tips that you can use to spruce up your kicks in a jiffy before we dive into specific sneaker materials.
- The first step is to clean any visible dirt.
Clean towels, toothbrushes, or even your hand will do if you are pressed for time. It will help you prevent buildup and save some severe headaches if you wipe your shoes after putting them away every time.
- The second step is that you should wash your shoes’ soles.
You’d be amazed by the amount of dirt stuck to a pair of shoes even while walking on a relatively clean surface. To remove it, hose them off. I think this should be done, but it doesn’t have to be too complicated.
- The third step is to remove any large stains with a spot cleaner.
Taking a soft cloth and blotting the stain with soap and water should remove it if it is large enough. The following section will focus on releasing those pesky stains, but a quick spot clean-up will save you a lot of time later.
How to clean different sneaker parts
Clean the Outsole
Sneakers’ outsoles and bottoms are more likely to get dirty than any other shoe part. Why is that? Whether mud, concrete, grass, dirt, or sand are all outside elements, it interacts most directly with them. There is some general maintenance you can do to reduce the messiness of this area, while it’ll never be entirely clean (unless you want to spend your time in plastic bags all the time).
Take a brush to the sole of your sneakers every week. Using a clean cloth, wipe the dirt off with liberally applied warm water and detergent mixture.
Clean the Midsole
While you can get away with not maintaining your midsole and your outsole, you cannot do the same for your outsole. Sneakers have a visible section that is ideally bright white, so you should keep it clean regularly. A yellowed midsole can ruin the whole look of a shoe, even if the rest of the shoe is perfect.
You can quickly solve this problem by using a Magic Eraser. It’s not the most elegant trick, but it’s a simple one that can brighten up a rubber sole and keep grime at bay.
Clean the Tongue
If you’re going to clean your shoe, don’t forget the tongue. It can make a big difference in how your shoe looks. The language must be handled based on the fabric it is made from. Suede tongues need brushes, while canvas tongues need soap.
Clean the Interior
It is equally as essential to remove noxious odors from the interior to clean up the exterior. While there is no hard and fast rule as to how to clean the inside of a shoe, we like to treat it much the same way we do the outside. Insoles should be removed (if possible) and washed with a mixture of water and dishwasher detergent or vinegar and water. Generally, we recommend detergents or shoe cleaners for general cleaning and vinegar for odor control.
Ensure the interior of your sneakers air dry for a few hours after you’ve scrubbed the interior thoroughly with the sponge or towel. They can either be left out typically or turned upside down to speed up the drying process.
Clean Sneaker Laces
Last but not least, don’t forget the laces! Please put them in the washer with your regular load after removing your shoes. When you’re done, they’ll be like new. In the case of lazy people like us, they’ll buy new ones since they’re cheaper and older ones have endless uses.
How to Keep Your Sneaks Clean
Let’s round off this guide by pointing out some tricks you can use to maintain clean sneakers.
Every time you get home, spot-check your shoes. Taking stock of your kicks before putting them away may seem like a hassle, but it will help you keep them clean. Also, using a sports shoes cleaning kit allows you to clean your shoes easily. It’s essential to clean stains right away. When dirt, gunk, or debris gets on your sneakers, it’s easiest to disrupt them immediately, so be sure to clean them as soon as possible, even if it’s just with soap and water in the bar bathroom.
Finally, protect surfaces with appropriate coatings. Sneaker materials such as leather and suede do not require these kinds of sprays and rubs, but some do, such as leather. There you have it, folks! Check out our favorite no-show socks on the market if you want some socks to match your fresh-looking sneakers.
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