How to Clean Shoes

I have noticed that a lot of people have been wearing white shoes lately. I have also noticed that not a lot of the white shoes are very white anymore. Well, I have many pairs of white shoes, so I know the struggle of keeping them white. Since some of them can’t just be thrown in the washing machine alternate solutions need to be used. I have tried many things and I have finally found a way to get them looking almost brand new again.

The supplies needed to clean the shoes are baking soda, vinegar, magic eraser, toothbrush or scrub brush, towel, washcloth, 2 bowls one with water, and one empty. This is all that is needed to get those white shoes looking white again.

First, lay out the towel on to the counter or table that the shoes will be cleaned on. The towel is placed to make the clean-up a lot easier. Also, the towel is a great way to see the progress of getting those shoes back to white again with drying off areas that have been cleaned. Place the shoes on the towel and remove the shoelaces from the shoes. To clean those I recommend just throw the laces into the washing machine with the towels once the shoes are the rest of the way clean. Or another option for clean laces is to just buy a new pair of them.

Next, grab the washcloth and use it to brush off any loose dirt that may be stuck to the shoes. After all of the loose dirt is off of the shoes use the bowl of water and dip the washcloth into it and wring it out. Use the wet washcloth to get any of the other dirt that didn’t come off previously. It might not remove all of the dirt, but that is okay because that is what the next step is for.

After most of the dirt is removed grab the empty bowl, vinegar, baking soda, and toothbrush or scrub brush. Pour small amounts of the vinegar and baking soda into the empty bowl adding more baking soda to create a paste. Use the brush to mix it. It doesn’t matter the ratio of the two that are mixed as long as it can be brushed onto the shoes it is all good. Then once it is mixed scrub the paste in circular motions all over the shoes.

Then once all of the surfaces of the shoes are scrubbed take the magic eraser and get it wet with the bowl of water. Use that to wipe the paste off and to clean the bottoms of the shoes as well. The shoes should be looking good at this point now. If any stains are still leftover sprinkle baking soda on the stain and then get the washcloth wet with the vinegar and set it on the stain that is covered in baking soda and scrub it. Some stains may not come out, but that is just how some stains work. All that is left to do is to use the towel to dry the shoes off so that they aren’t covered in water.

Lastly, place the clean laces back into the shoes, and bam they are good to go. The only thing that this isn’t too great for is getting the smell of feet out of the shoes. I have not quite found a solution for that problem quite yet!