Mar

How to Clean Your Shoes and Make Them Smell Like New

Running all day long around the city with your favourite pair of shoes could be a true disaster for them. Muddy pools, grass and all kinds of obstructions can leave your shoes in an unimaginably bad condition. You have to wear your shoes with moderation. Wearing them every day can only make their life shorter. But we all like to wear our favourite shoes most of the time and it’s obvious why. They are beautiful, new, comfortable; why on Earth would anyone stop wearing them? But you know, every now and then, you have to clean them and you have to know how to take proper care of them. Let me explain to you the rules of keeping your shoes safe and clean, they are not difficult to follow and they will only make your life easier. In this article, you can also find great tips on removing unpleasant smells from your shoes.

Know your types of shoes

You have to know that different types of fabric have to be cleaned and treated in different specific ways. That’s why determining the material that your shoes are made from is the first thing you have to do before you start cleaning them. Just give them a good look. Is there any leather, is it synthetic or not? Do they have heels, how are they attached to your shoes? Are they glued or are they maybe are a part of the platforms of your shoes? These are the questions you have to ask yourself before you put them in the washing machine and slam the door. Some shoes, in fact, have to be cleaned only by hand.

For example, imagine what kinds of sounds your washing machine would make if you put your favourite shoes with 12 cm. heels? It’s going to sound like a broken washing machine and it would be no surprise if the machine actually breaks.

How to clean your shoes?

There are always cleaning services that provide different types of cleaning, but giving your shoes to a professional cleaner, really? Does it sound right to you? Neither to me, so let’s get to the cleaning. First things first, take off those shoes and put them on the counter. Some shoes, like sneakers and other types of sports shoes can be machine washed, but for all the other types you should check the label or just clean them by hand, to be safe. Prepare the cleaning products, an old toothbrush and liquid dish soap would be great. Apply a bit of the detergent on the toothbrush and gently brush inside and outside the shoes. Use only mild cleaning solutions or you would be putting your shoes in danger. You could never know if the material that your shoes are made from can withstand the detergent. So stick to the liquid dish soap, if you haven’t stepped on something really bad, you won’t have any problem cleaning your shoes. If there is a bubble gum stuck to your shoe, leave it to harden and remove it with a plastic knife. And if your shoes stink, well, there is a solution to this, too:

Basic smell remover for shoes

Wash your shoes. That’s the least you can do about that awful smell. Remove the shoestrings from your shoes and place the shoes in a pillow case. Put some mild detergent on them and get them in the mashing machine. Choose the type of cycle you have to use to clean them by following the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are not sure, run the shoes trough a normal cycle with hot water. If your shoes are white, you can add some bleach-based detergent, but be careful. Bleach is toxic and it could harm you, as well as destroy the colour of your shoes. You can also use a homemade solution of water mixed with white vinegar that provides quick results in just minutes. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray it on the shoes. Hopefully, after a couple of minutes, there will be no trace of the odour.

Deodorizing you stinky shoes

For you, baking soda and vinegar may be just cooking materials, but in fact, they are amazingly good cleaners, too. And they can provide long-lasting results with removing smells from shoes too. Fill each shoe with one cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar. This may cause some bubbling, but it is absolutely normal. Let the cleaners do their job and soak in the shoes’ fabric. Wait about 30 minutes and then wash and rinse your shoes according to the instructions above.

Smelly feet problems

Sometimes the problem is, in fact, your smelly feet, not the shoe material. If you have smelly feet, you have to use special odour removing products. Usually, the problem with smelly feet comes from fungal infections. But don’t worry, there are a lot of medicaments that can help you remove the smell. Get a sanitizing gel and apply it on your feet every night before bed. Eventually, after a week or two, there will be no trace of the fungus and the stink.