Deodorize Your Shoes With Baking Soda
Another problem your favorite white kicks can encounter is unpleasant odor. Everyone knows funky shoe smell, and it can be embarrassing. Fortunately, baking soda is your friend for both the outside of your white shoes and the inside. Baking soda absorbs odors, something you might already know about from putting a box in your fridge and freezer. It can do the same thing to deodorize your shoes.
- Measure 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda for each shoe. You need enough to cover the entire insole. Bigger shoes may require additional baking soda.
- Pour the baking soda into the heel of each shoe.
- Tilt the shoe forward and backward and shake from side to side to evenly distribute the baking soda in the shoe. Its okay if there are lumps and clumps. Use a liberal amount to ensure adequate coverage.
- Wait a few hours, preferably overnight. The baking soda will kill odor-causing bacteria and absorb odors. Extra-stinky shoes may require 24 hours.
- Over a trashcan or the sink, tap the shoe to remove the remaining baking soda from the inside. Shake to remove as much as possible. If a small amount remains, it wont hurt you or your shoes.
Look for the ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda Shaker that you can keep in your closet to use on your shoes when you notice theyve gotten a little funky. You can deodorize your shoes as often as once per week if needed, but only deodorize leather shoes once per month as the baking soda can also absorb oils in the leather.
Touching Up Your Soles Quickly With A Magic Eraser
Suede Nubuck And Sheepskin Shoes
The Spruce / Taylor Nebrija
The key to keeping suede or any napped surface shoe looking its best is regular care. The surfaces should be kept as dry as possible and cleaned with a soft-bristled brush after every wearing to remove loose dust and soil. Treat stains as quickly as possible.
Sheepskin boots often have shearling linings that get even dirtier than the outside. To keep fungus and odor under control, regularly wipe down the inside of the boots with a cloth dipped in a solution of disinfecting cleaner and water. Allow the boots to air dry for at least 24 hours before wearing.
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Do Not Clean Yellow Soles With Laundry Detergent
You may be tempted to throw your shoes in the wash using laundry detergent. We do not recommend this method for white shoes for a few reasons:
- Your shoes might not be made to withstand the washing machine, causing damage to the shoe
- If the detergent is not thoroughly washed off, it can cause the shoes to yellow further
Detergent can actually be a cause of why your shoes are yellow. If you keep throwing them in the wash, they may look good for a while but quickly return to their yellowed state.
For other color shoes, this is a proven way to get rid of the bacteria. Washing shoes with detergent can help cut down on the transfer rate from shoes to tile.
The shoe to tile or hardwood floor transfer rate is an alarming 90 to 99 percent! It is even more on carpets. So, while we dont suggest it for white shoes, feel free to do it for other colored shoes that are machine washable.
Clean White Shoes With Baking Soda
To clean white shoes with baking soda, combine one tablespoon of hot water, one tablespoon of white vinegar, and one tablespoon of baking soda. Mix until it reaches a paste-like consistency.
Next, use an old toothbrush to lather the mixture onto the dirtied areas of your white shoes. Work in circular motions for best results. Once the shoes are covered, leave them outside in the sunlight until dry. After the mixture is dry, clap the shoes together to remove the paste. Use the toothbrush to remove any of the left over residue.
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Watch: How To Clean White Sneakers
Although a sweet new pair of fresh white kicks look a million bucks when you first wear them, all it takes is that first little scuff and all of a sudden those once-fresh sneakers are looking a little grubby. However, we have some handy hacks that’ll have those white shoes looking like new again in no time.
How To Clean White Leather Shoes
White leather shoes can be easier to clean than some materials because they dont absorb as much water. But you still have to go easy so you dont damage the leather. Heres the best way to clean white shoes made of leather to get them looking new again:
- Remove the shoelaces and the insoles, wash them in the sink with baking soda, rinse, and let them air dry.
- Dampen a white cloth and wipe down the outsides, soles, and tongues to remove dirt and debris.
- Rinse the cloth well and wring it out.
- Use a toothbrush and baking soda to gently scrub away stains.
- Dab your damp cloth on some Ivory soap and gently scrub the outside of the shoes.
- Rinse the cloth and wipe off the sudsy residue.
- Use a damp Magic Eraser to get the soles white and bright, then let your shoes air dry.
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How To Clean White Suede Sneakers
Suede sneakers are undeniably cool, especially those with clean white uppers. If your athletic trainers or fashion tennies are made of suede or nubuck, youll want to be mindful about preventing stains. The soft, velvety material is prone to water damage and discoloration and can be tricky to clean.However, its not impossible, as long as you have the right supplies and know what youre doing. Vionics Shoe Care Kit for leather and suede footwear has everything you need. It comes with the Leather Cleaner & Conditioner we mentioned above, plus a nylon bristle brush, a bottle of Rain & Stain protector spray, and our Footbed Cleaner.
To clean white suede shoes:
To protect your suede shoes and sneakers from future stains, apply Rain & Stain. It creates a breathable repellent barrier that safeguards your shoes from liquids, grime, and weather damage. And our Footbed Cleaner keeps your kicks fresh from the inside by eliminating stains from the inserts.
How To Clean Canvas Sneakers
Canvas shoes like Chuck Taylors and Supergas can be difficult to clean because grime works its way into the shoes fabric. However, canvas can generally withstand a substantial amount of scrubbing, so most stains can be removed with a bit of work.
After mixing some dish soap and water, clean your shoes by scrubbing them with a toothbrush in small, circular motions. When youre done, wipe them down with a damp towel to clear off any remaining suds.
Let your shoes dry between rounds of cleaning. You wont be able to tell how much dirt remains if theyre still wet.
If your sneakers still have stains, try using a stain remover like Tide or OxiClean. Apply the stain remover, and let the liquid sit for about five minutes before dabbing with a damp cloth. I was initially hesitant to try something this aggressive, but sneaker-cleaning legend Jason Markk said its okay, so Im fine with it.
Into the washing machine?
A hotly debated topic is whether you should toss your shoes into the wash. Some have done this successfully. But dont discount stories of shoes disintegrating in the washing machine . So proceed with caution because its not a gentle process.
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How To Clean Rubber Soles Like Magic With One Ingredient
Its inevitable. Ive never had a pair of white soled shoes that didnt turn dingy, dirty and anything-but-white in less than a month. And, I promise, Im really not the type to walk through dirt or mud on a regular basis.
After I realized I had a pile of shoes that I never wear because they look so run down and filthy, I went on a hunt for the easiest, laziest way to clean them. I knew I wasnt going to do anything that required unlacing them or using the washing machine. I mean, come on! Thats way too much work.
I ran across this super easy tip on Pinterest that seemed at first to be too good to be true, but I thought What the heck, I have nothing to lose. So, I rolled up my sleeves, grabbed a few cotton balls, and grabbed the one thing I always have on hand in my bathroom cabinetNAIL POLISH REMOVER!
Yep, thats right. Nail polish remover. Makes sense, right? If it can remove nail polish, I dont see why it cant remove scuff marks and dirt off of white rubber soles.
Simply soak a few cotton balls with a generous amount of nail polish remover, and scrub the white rubber soles of any shoes until they look nice and white. Trust me, theyll look brand new!
However, DO NOT use the nail polish on the canvas or fabric part of shoes because that might cause discoloring. I simply wiped the fabric part down with a really warm wash cloth and it seemed to do the trick. I didnt even bother with the laces, but you can place them in a bleach solution to whiten them as well.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
However, it is worth noting that prevention is always better than cure. The best thing you can do to keep your white shoes clean is by treating them with a stain and water repellent treatment the moment you get them home. Most shoe shops sell leather protectors or fabric protectors, just ask when you hit the checkout.
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Seven Ways To Clean White Canvas Or Fabric Shoes
Contents
We pulled together 7 simple, yet effective methods to make your white shoes look like new. Its pretty common sense, of course, before any cleaning process, do simple preparation work: remove laces and brush dirt, mud, green grass off your sneakers over a trashcan or outside your house.
It is a good idea to test any solution on a small area of fabric before you apply it any further on your shoes just to avoid weird discoloration that technically should not happen but might be the result of the wrong solution application.
White Vinegar And Baking Soda To Clean White Sneakers
Another home remedy to clean white shoes is one of the most powerful and effective. Vinegar is an antibacterial and bleaching agent which not only keeps your whites whiter, but is very useful in removing bad smells. This is why vinegar is a product used for many different home cleaning tasks, being just as good at cleaning textiles as it is hard surfaces. Check out our article on how to clean your washing machine with white vinegar for more info.
Baking soda is also helpful in cleaning, but acts more specifically in removing fatty or oily stains from white trainers. Combine these two powerful ingredients to clean white tennis shoes using the following method:
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Use Of Magic Eraser For Whitening Of Yellowing Shoes
Magic eraser is a DuraFoam sponge that is capable of vanishing all kinds of stains from clothing. Without any added detergents.
Why Magic Eraser is used to Whiten Yellowing Shoes and Soles
The magic behind this material is simply a high abrasive material called Melamine. It is a foam-like material that is a mixture of carbon, hydrogen, and a rich concentration of nitrogen. This is the main material behind the magic of this eraser.
Melamine foam acts like very fine sandpaper to gently remove stains. With such a high abrasiveness, melamine foam in magic rubber can remove stubborn stains when mixed with the water.
The melamine foam is like an open-cell foam that has extremely hard and abrasive microscopic filaments. This abrasiveness plays the role of trip-off stubborn yellow-stains from the white shoes. Moreover, there are air-pockets between foam filaments that aids in pulling the dirt and stains when damped.
Other than melamine, magic rubber has two more substances i.e. sodium bisulfite and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde provides additional strength to rubber, and sodium bisulfite acts as an antimicrobial agent that enhancing the cleaning properties of magic rubber.
Steps for Removing Yellow Stains from White Shoes and Soles using Magic Eraser
Here are the following steps that you can follow to remove stains from your white shoes.
Using Laundry Detergent And Lemon
Laundry detergent with lemon is another shoe soles whitener. Lemon can disinfect, clean, and give shoes with rubber soles a pleasant smell. The combination of laundry detergent and lemon will be perfect for cleaning your shoe soles.
- Step 1: Mix a teaspoon of detergent with a little lemon juice, making sure the mixture is solid. If it feels liquidy, add more detergent.
- Step 2: Using a brush, wipe this mixture all over the shoe soles.
- Step 3: Let the mixture sit on the shoes for 5-10 minutes before rinsing them with warm water.
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How To Clean And Restore Converse Shoes
Recently, I found some size 13 Converse shoes in a thrift store for one dollar. As large size shoes are quite difficult to find on the second-hand market and old Converse shoes can’t be bought from stores anymore, I just had to buy them.
The fabric was in quite a good shape – no damage or unwashable stains. However, the white soles and laces didn’t scream new anymore.
In this Instructable, I’ll show you how to clean old Converse shoes to make them look like new again.
How To Clean White Shoes
First things first: Prevention is key. Before you even put your new shoes on for the first time, experts recommend that you treat them immediately with a spray-on stain-and-water repellent. Repeat the spray-on process every few weeks to keep your shoes protected no matter where you plan to wear them or what type of weather, spills, or grime you come in contact with during your day.
Another wise tip: Make spot-cleaning a habit. It may seem tedious, but regular spot-cleaning will lend a huge hand while you learn how to clean white shoes completely. To do so, wipe off any stains or scuffs as soon as you see them with a gentle cleaning agent or wipe. Otherwise, they might sink into the fabric, and your task of getting them perfectly white again will be that much more challenging.
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How To Clean White Shoes Laces
Dont forget to give the laces a clean as well. You can wash these by hand with warm soapy water, or alternatively they can be machine-washed in a mesh bag, using a cold wash on a gentle cycle. Dont put them through the dryer though as this can melt the plastic ends. Instead, leave to air dry.
If you want to whiten them, you can also soak shoelaces in bleach. While wearing gloves, mix three tablespoons of bleach to one gallon of water. Secure your laces in a mesh lingerie bag, then submerge them in the water. You may need to pop something heavy on top to hold it down. After five minutes, chuck the mesh bag into the washing machine and run a cold wash on a gentle cycle. Alternatively, wash thoroughly by hand, then leave to air dry.
