There’s nothing more exciting than finally wearing the sneakers you wanted for a long time. But imagine buying shining white sneakers only to have them get dirty after less than a week of wear. Troublesome, right? Now the question arises: Is it possible to enjoy your favorite sneakers and keep them fresh simultaneously?
While you can’t prevent your shoes from getting dirty, you can make sure they get proper maintenance regularly. Whether cleaning or protecting, taking care of sneakers is a must if you want them to last longer. Though it may look quite daunting at first, the process is super easy, and you only require a couple of products.
So, if you’re looking for some easy tips to keep your sneakers clean, you’ve come to the right place. Here are six tips to keep your sneakers clean and new.
Keep your sneakers clean with these tricks
Treat Them Well From The Beginning
The easiest and effective tip is to take care of the shoes since they are new. For this, you can prevent stains and wrinkles on your shoes. Whenever you purchase a new pair of sneakers, give them a good coat of shoe protector. Also, if you had to go out on a rainy day and, unfortunately, your shoes are drenched in rainwater, make sure you stuff newspaper in them to soak all the moisture.
Make A DIY Shoe Cleaning Solution For Your White Shoes
If you want an effective yet affordable solution to treat stains, try this DIY cleaning solution. Just mix equal parts white vinegar with equal parts water. Now apply the solution to the shoes and gently scrub away with a cloth. This formula will work wonders if the stain is not permanent and hasn’t seeped into the shoe yet. However, this method can work well with any material but is most effective on leather.
Don’t Throw Them In The Washer
As comfortable and appealing it may sound, washing your shoes in the machine can ruin them. Machine ruins the sneaker material and loosens the stitches. Therefore, make sure you never wash your shoes in the washing machine.
However, if you have fabric or fly knit shoes, you can wash them in the machine. But before tossing them, put them into a mesh bag or pillowcase. Always use a delicate cycle for shoes and do not put them in the dryer.
Store Your Shoes Properly
Sure, storing sneakers in a closet seems like a good idea. But is it reasonable to store your shoes in a closet? You may not notice it, but dust and dirt are floating around everywhere, especially in enclosed spaces like drawers and closets. With time, certain shoe materials like suede, mesh, and knit can collect these dust particles. As a result, your shoes will look dirty.
You can store your shoes in a shoe bag or shoebox and keep them in your closet to prevent this.
Don’t Scrub Your Shoes
Many people believe that the harder you scrub, the cleaner your shoes get. But, in reality, just the opposite happens to your shoes. If you scrub too hard, it will damage the material of the shoe, giving it a worn-out look. To clean your shoes, get a soft bristle brush or use a toothbrush and brush with light, soft, and gentle strokes. This way, it won’t damage the shoe fabric while helping the cleaning solutions to penetrate better.
Deep Clean Your Sneakers Regularly
It’s essential to clean your sneakers consistently deep. For example, if you wear your sneakers three times a week, it’s advised to get them deep cleaned every two weeks. Deep cleaning ensures there’s no dirt and dust build-up in your shoe.
The Bottom Line
No matter how careful you walk, your sneakers will end up getting dirty after a few wears. After that, though, you won’t have to give in to dirt and stains. You can keep your sneakers clean and new with all these tricks mentioned above. If you’re willing to cover that extra mile, you can also buy waterproof pouches for rainy days so your shoes won’t get stained and wet.
