Care and Maintenance of Shoes
You should wear your sneakers confident that most stains and scuff marks can be removed.
Imagine a new approach to shoe care where you take the time to clean and appreciate your collection. Cleaning your shoes can be a great time to unwind and clear your mind after a long day. It helps you disconnect for a little bit from the world around you and de-stress. Relax into the experience and try to tell me that you didn’t enjoy rubbing that little scuff mark over and over until it disappeared?
The key to keeping your shoes looking their best is regular cleaning twice a month. Over time the stains and dirt that build up on your shoes can harden and set in, which makes cleaning difficult. If you want your sneakers to last a long time then you have to take care of them.
Sneaker Protector
Good sneaker care starts soon after purchase with the application of a strong sneaker protector. Spray from a good sneaker protector will help repel dirt and stains, but the main focus is on their ability to protect from and repel liquid. Problems can arise if you don’t use a sneaker protector that is safe for shoes so test first on a small part of the material. Check instructions for how often to reapply but be ready to add coat sneakers with a new layer of shoe protector at least monthly.
Shoe Cleaner
The only two ingredients that you need is a strong shoe cleaner and a toothbrush or medium bristle shoe brush. Take your time working around the different materials on the sneakers and take care to avoid over scrubbing the shoes and making a mark instead of removing one. A top sneaker cleaning kit is key.
New Laces
People forget how good a new pair of shoelaces looks on your sneakers. It also is often surprising how differently you can make sneakers look by putting a different colored shoelace on it. Treat your shoes to new shoelaces regularly and lace them up gently. Alternatively, you can wash your old shoelaces by hand in warm soapy water.
Odor removal
If you wear your sneakers often it is good to be on the lookout for shoe odor. Our feet sweat a lot and even with good socks it is inevitable that shoes pickup some odor. Kids’ feet sweat even more frequently. An easy tip is to stuff newspaper in your shoes after a long day to help them dry out. Newspapers stuffed in the toes can also help reduce toe creases. Check out the Best Deodorizers for Shoes if you need a more powerful solution to foot odor and Athlete foot problems.
Storage
It is best to take shoes off your feet and into the shoebox instead of storing them around the house. The air carries dust with it that is likely to settle on shoes that are exposed to the environment. Over time this dust will accelerate the yellowing of white shoes. One of our favorite shoe storage boxes is this Nike Shoebox bag. There are lots of awesome shoe storage options.
Also consider that shoes should be alternated regularly so that they can fully dry.
Can I wash my sneakers in the washing machine?
No, the washing machine is not gentle enough for shoes and the material is likely to rip or tear. A washing machine will also submerge the shoes in water which can weaken stitching and fade colors.
It is ok to wash removable insoles in a washing machine.
What materials are my shoes made out of?
Shoes can be made from a variety of materials that might each respond differently to your shoe cleaner. Use caution when cleaning your shoes and test the cleaner on a small piece of the material first.
Shoes are commonly made out of leather, canvas, knit, suede, or nubuck. Sneakers will commonly be a blend of knit, canvas, and leather.