Common Questions Asked on Cleaning Your Shoes
Why Wash Your Shoes?
Many people don’t have a good reason to wash their shoes. The main answer why to wash your shoes is to keep them bacteria-free and keep your feet healthy. Many people don’t know this, but you can start to grow fungus on your toenails if you don’t keep your shoes bacteria-free.
Toenails are a great place for bacteria and fungus to start growing and thriving due to the environment that is created in your shoe. When you take the time to get that bacteria out you can see the difference it can make to the smell and healthiness of your foot in general.
Can I Damage the Shoes?
There is always potential for your shoes to get damaged, if you follow the way that we clean our shoes there is a high possibility that your shoes will come out looking just as good as when you bought them.
The material of your shoes can make a big difference. Leather shoes can be a little trickier to clean as you don’t want to get creases in the shoe or ruin the leather. As stated before, if you follow the steps that we take to clean our shoes you should see significant improvement in the smell of your shoes and the health of your feet.
Can I Wash Dress/Work Shoes?
Dress shoes are another tricky shoe that you must be careful with. Due to the material that dress shoes are made of you can NOT wash them in the washer.
If you need to clean these shoes, take a wet paper towel and the cleaner designed for dress shoes and clean them that way. To wash the inside be sure to get the spray that is specifically designed to kill the bacteria that is living in your shoes without damaging the shoe itself. The links are provided below for the shoe cleaner and spray.
- Shoe cleaner: Amazon Shoe Spray $30
- Shoe Cleaner: Amazon Shoe Cleaner $21
Steps to Clean Your Shoes
Prep Your Shoes
- Remove the laces from the shoes.
- Take out the inserts.
- Grab some towels to throw into the washer with your shoes.
- Spray any bad stains with stain remover.
- Spray the inside of the shoes with Oxi Clean.
Cleaning the Laces
- Grab a plastic cup that you feel comfortable washing your laces with.
- Fill the cup with hot water and a little bit of laundry detergent.
- Saturate the laces in the cup and give them a good stir.
- Let the laces stay soaking in the cup for about an hour.
- Rinse the laces thoroughly after an hour and let them air dry.
Cleaning the Shoes
- Place a bottom layer of towels into your washer.
- Scatter your shoes around the washer ensuring that you have layers of towel in between to help them from banging around.
- Add inserts to the washing machine as well –> they do not need to be layered as they are a soft material.
- Clean shoes on the cold setting with the detergent of your choice (keep in mind if they are white shoes, it is best to use Oxi Clean or bleach with them as they will naturally make the whites whiter).
- When the cycle is done do NOT throw your shoes in the dryer –> this can damage the shoes in many ways whether it is bending them in ways that they don’t normally bend or ruining the material on the shoes –> put them in front of a fan or let them air dry.
- Inserts are ok to go into the dryer –> you want to be sure that they are completely dry before you put them back in your shoes, if they aren’t this is what can lead to you getting more bacteria in your shoes and that is what we are trying to prevent in the first place.
- After you are done washing your shoes and they are completely dry be sure to apply a protectant spray and a shoe “deodorant” to keep them looking good and keeping your feet healthy.
- Shoe protectant: Amazon shoe protectant $17
- Shoe spray for after washing: Amazon shoe deodorant $16
If you have any questions or concerns about the condition of your shoes, feet, or ankles, contact our offices in either Oak Creek or New Berlin and let us help. You can also fill out a contact form on our website and we’ll be in touch.