How to wash white soles on sneakers from dirt and stains

Many people like the white sole, but they often have to refuse the purchase because it quickly gets dirty. In our article you will learn how to properly clean white soles without damaging them.

Shoes with white soles are always in fashion and are in great demand, but after walking down the street, especially after rain, they become dirty and unattractive. If you take care of such shoes in a timely manner and do it competently, then your sneakers or sneakers will always be beautiful and the material will serve you for a very long time.

Reasons for color change

The color of the sole can change for a number of reasons. If the color has changed due to ingrained dust and dirt, then you can return the snow-white shade at home without much difficulty.

But sometimes it is impossible to restore a yellowed sole with cleaning agents - if the change is associated with structural changes in the polymer material. This happens if the polymer is constantly exposed to ultraviolet radiation. In this case, it will not be possible to remove the stains. The only way to restore the appearance of shoes is to use special shoe paint. Such products are available in shoe stores.

Machine washable

Fabric sneakers and sneakers can be machine washed. In this case you need:

1. Select the most delicate mode. This will help prevent damage to the steam and drum of the machine.
2. Check the shoe label to see what temperatures it can be washed at.
3. Remove the insoles and laces.
4. Place the pair in a special laundry bag - this is a small mesh bag with a zipper.
5. Before starting the selected mode, remove the spin cycle.
6. For completely white shoes, you can use bleach along with the powder.

Important! Shoes are dried on a horizontal surface away from radiators and heaters. Fabric shoes absorb water well, so drying will not be very fast.

Machine washing is effective, but only for high-quality models; low-quality pairs are more likely to tear than wash. In addition, you should not resort to washing often, there is a danger that even high-quality models will begin to come apart. And if you dry them incorrectly, they will lose their shape, this does not depend on the original quality.

Professional care products for white soles

You can purchase ready-made professional shoe care products. These are special brushes, erasers made of porous rubber for erasing stains, and soft sponges.

In addition, you will need foam cleaners, shampoos and stain removers. The range of products is wide, for example, you can use:

• COMBI PFLEGESCHAUM . A universal cleanser that provides additional care for sole materials.
• SHOE CLEAN is a product for intensive shoe cleaning containing lemon oil.
• PURE ONE – cleansing shampoo for sportswear and shoes, also suitable for cleaning soles.

Of course, other means can be used. The main thing is to choose an option designed to care for the sole material.

Tips and tricks

10 tips for caring for white sneakers:

1. Unpleasant odor is removed using shoe deodorant. The insoles can be pre-washed with a soda solution or wiped with an ammonia solution.
2. Wearing white sneakers is not advisable for walking in the rain, walking through puddles or running on the grass.
3. Light-colored shoes should be protected from fading and the appearance of yellow stains.
4. Dirt that appears during a walk can be removed with a damp cloth.
5. When cleaning Adidas sneakers, it is advisable to not rub them too vigorously, otherwise scratches will appear.
6. For cleaning, use only a soft-bristled brush.
7. Washed shoes should be wiped with a dry cloth or napkins.
8. It is better not to clean dirty products in a hurry - in a hurry you can damage or scratch them.
9. It is not recommended to wear white shoes every day for several weeks or months.
10. You should machine wash your sneakers as rarely as possible; they may become deformed during the washing process.

Available means

You can clean and whiten the soles of sports shoes using improvised means, which are found in almost every home.

School eraser

This product, which every schoolchild has in their pencil case, is suitable if a stain from grass or tar has formed on the soles of sandals or sneakers, but the shoes themselves are not very dirty.

The tool is used like this:

• wipe shoes with a damp cloth;
• dry;
• Rub any stains that remain on the sole with an eraser.

This product removes fresh stains well, but if the stain is ingrained, the eraser may be powerless.

Cleansing sponge

A melamine sponge is a convenient household device; it can be used to easily clean plastic window sills and furniture walls. This product is also suitable for shoes.

The sponge “works” on the principle of an eraser, that is, it erases dirt in the same way as with a regular school eraser. You can easily clean the sole with a sponge, removing dirt and getting rid of yellowness.

Toothpaste

This product is probably in every bathroom. In order to clean white soles, it is better to take a paste with a bleaching effect, and always without colored inclusions. In addition to paste, you will need a brush, you can take an old toothbrush.

Procedure:

• wash the sole with soapy water, wipe with napkins to remove drops of moisture;
• apply paste to the brush and rub the sole;
• leave for 20 minutes;
• rinse off with warm water.

Air dry your shoes; under no circumstances place your sneakers on a radiator.

Soda

Rubber or polyurethane white soles on sneakers can be wiped off with soda to remove gray dust deposits. This substance acts as a fine abrasive. This product cleans well, but does not scratch the rubber.

Procedure:

• wipe the sole with a damp sponge;
• sprinkle with dry soda;
• clean with a brush, periodically moistening it with water;
• if necessary, add more soda;
• rinse with water and wipe dry with napkins.

After cleaning, air dry the shoes well. You need to dry it in the shade with good ventilation, this will prevent the development of pathogenic microflora.

Citric acid

The product will help restore the color of the sole if it has turned yellow or covered with a gray coating. You need to use powdered citric acid and an old toothbrush.

Cleaning goes like this:

• the sole is wiped to remove dust;
• the brush is moistened with water, then dipped in citric acid powder;
• rub the sole, periodically rinsing the brush and again collecting powder on it;
• leave for a quarter of an hour, then wash off the remaining acid with water.

Wipe shoes with a dry cloth and dry.

Soda and vinegar

Another effective remedy that will help get rid of yellowness. You will need table vinegar (9%), water, an old toothbrush and baking soda.

Necessary:

• clean the sole from dust by wiping it with a damp sponge;
• prepare a vinegar solution by mixing one part vinegar in three parts water;
• wipe the cleaned sole with the prepared solution;
• immediately sprinkle the sole with baking soda;
• wait until the hissing stops;
• clean the surface with a brush.

After such cleaning, you need to rinse the sole with water and dry it.

Acetone

To remove stains from white soles, you can use pure acetone or nail polish remover. However, this method is not suitable for all materials; acetone can destroy some types of polymers. Therefore, you first need to apply a drop of liquid in an inconspicuous place and see what happens to the material after a day. If no changes occur, then you can use this product to remove stains.

To work with acetone, you can only use cotton pads or a white cloth. You cannot take colored rags, as the dye can leave indelible marks on the shoes. The cloth is moistened with liquid and the dirty areas are gently wiped.

Washing powder paste

The powder can be used not only to wash the textile part of sports shoes, but also to clean the soles. For cleaning you should take equal parts:

• washing powder, it is better to take a detergent for washing white clothes;
• table vinegar;
• hydrogen peroxide solution.

Apply the resulting mixture using a brush to the sole, cleaned of dust. Leave for a quarter of an hour, then rinse with water and dry the shoes.

Bleach

You can also use fabric bleaches. It is important to make sure that the product does not contain active chlorine. Only oxygen bleaches are allowed. It is necessary to prepare a bleach solution (according to the instructions on the package), pour it into a basin or other container with a wide bottom in a thin layer. Place sneakers or sneakers into the solution so that only the sole is immersed. Leave for 2-3 hours, and then rinse the soles with clean water.

Alcohol (white spirit, nail polish remover, kerosene)

All these products do an excellent job of removing various types of contaminants. They can clean the white soles of sneakers, sandals or other shoes so well that they will become like new. But there is one “but”. These products are quite aggressive, and sometimes after such cleaning you can get a completely different result. The sole is not always made of snow-white rubber or other material. Therefore, it is often covered with a layer of white dye. In such cases, trying to clean it with aggressive means can erase the top layer, and then the situation cannot be corrected.

Before using alcohol, nail polish remover, mineral spirits, or kerosene to clean the white soles of your shoes, try testing the product you choose on a very inconspicuous area.

Make very careful movements with a cotton swab or sponge so as not to wet the upper part of the shoe with solvent.

Removing stubborn stains

To clean particularly stubborn stains, you can use the following method:

• Pour water into a glass, add 25 g of citric acid, stir;
• prepare the brush;
• put 2 tablespoons of soda into the citric acid solution;
• rub the soles with a sizzling solution using a brush;
• dilute 2 teaspoons of ammonia in half a glass of water, wipe particularly contaminated areas with this solution;
• leave for 15 minutes, then rinse with water.

To wash away old dirt, you should mix solutions of citric acid and ammonia in a basin, then add baking soda and immediately place the sneakers in the basin so that only the sole is immersed. Leave for half an hour. Then remove the shoes and rinse with water.

Features of cleaning sneaker sole materials

Modern shoes boast a wear-resistant base. To improve quality characteristics, manufacturers add synthetic additives to the composition. They improve the flexibility and elasticity of rubber and increase the wear rate. Over time, due to the influence of external factors, the original properties begin to weaken, which is manifested in the color of the sole of the sneakers - white turns into unkempt yellow.

Phylon, polyurethane, and ethylene vinyl acetate are especially susceptible to changes. Sneakers with textured edges are difficult to clean. Dirt and dust get into the microcavities, which soon accumulate and change the external attractiveness of the shoes.

You can wash and revive white sneakers at a professional dry cleaner or using home methods. Before using recipes, it is recommended to test on a small area on the back side. This will help avoid damage.

Prevention

It is better to protect your shoes from dirt in advance, rather than deal with stubborn stains later. To do this, you need to properly care for your sneakers or sneakers.

To do this, it is worth purchasing special care products - colorless cream or water-repellent spray. These products should be used before wearing. Apply spray or cream to the new sole, let the product dry and only then use it for its intended purpose. The treatment must be repeated every 3 days with regular wear.

So, you can preserve the snow-white color of your shoe soles by using special care products. And if contaminants do appear, they can be removed using improvised means or special shampoos.

How to clean shoe soles at home?

The effectiveness of shoe cleaning work depends, first of all, on the material from which it is made.

If the structure is porous, then the dirt will be better absorbed and you will have to try to return the sneakers or sneakers to their original appearance.

The relief of the sole also plays an important role. A smooth surface will be washed many times faster than if there are “holes”, “channels” or “cavities” on it.

You can restore the perfect whiteness of the soles of shoes that have not been worn daily for several months. Regular cleaning is the key to success.

The most effective way would be to go to the dry cleaner. Specialists using professional products will turn a pair into a new one in a matter of hours. But not everyone can afford such services, and not everyone wants to spend time searching for a reliable institution. Then you can try to wash your shoes from dirt and yellowness at home using available products.

Whitening with toothpaste

Toothpaste is suitable not only for brushing your teeth, but also for cleaning your snow-white sneakers.

1. Carefully treat the required area with the paste, bringing it to a foamy state.
2. Wait 5-10 minutes.
3. Rinse with water.
4. Leave your shoes to dry.

What types of pollution exist?

There are several types of contaminants to which the soles of our shoes are exposed.

• Pollution that does not require the intervention of aggressive substances is gray stains or plaque that appears after a walk. They can be removed with a wet cloth or liquid soap and a brush (use a toothbrush for convenience).
• Difficult to remove dirt (often with damage to the sole) - appears from mechanical impact on the shoes or it comes from the environment. This type includes the transformation of white to yellow, black scratches and, in principle, any change in color.

From the above, we can conclude that before buying this type of shoe, you should familiarize yourself with the cleaning methods presented below.

Bleach

The most effective recipe for whitening is bleach. Please note that this method is quite dangerous. Firstly, you can ruin your shoes. Secondly, you can damage things nearby if splashes fly away. Moreover, it is necessary to carry out work with gloves.

Let's look at the sequence of actions:

1. Prepare the place where the process will take place. Make sure there are no important household items nearby.
2. Make a solution (it is very important that it is concentrated). You need to pour the solution into a basin. There should be enough solution so that it covers only the sole of the sneakers.
3. You need to leave the steam for 30-40 minutes.
4. Upon return, rinse them with running water and send them to dry.

Baking soda

Even baking soda can clean white soles. It can be used for rubber and fabric.

How to whiten the sole of sneakers:

1. You will need a white piece of fabric, 1 tsp. soda and water.
2. I soak the mothers in the prepared gruel and thoroughly wipe the top of the sneakers first, and then the bottom.
3. Having achieved the desired result, you can rinse and dry.

You can use baking soda regularly. Helps remove stubborn stains.

Baking soda does not affect the quality of sneakers if used even several times a week.

Cleaning with bleach powder

This method is suitable for the case when you notice changes on the surface of your sneakers after a walk. You can use either washing powder or bleaching powder.

Follow the following algorithm:

1. Pour some powder into some container.
2. Take a dishwashing sponge (clean), which is available in every home (or some people use an old toothbrush), dip it in the product and start applying it to the dirty areas.
3. Leave for 5-10 minutes.

Rinse with cool water. It is important that the water is not very hot, otherwise you risk ruining your shoes.

Inventive owners who have the same problem have invented another method:

1. Pour the powder into a container large enough to fit your sneaker (you can take a basin).
2. Fill it with water until a paste forms.
3. After 20-30 minutes, remove the pair by rubbing it with a brush.
4. Rinse with water.