Sneakers have long become more than just shoes, and it’s hard to imagine something more comfortable for active people. Moreover, people who dress in a sporty style cannot do without them.
And everything would be fine, but maintaining their original appearance can sometimes be difficult.
Traditionally, white piping on the sole quickly gets dirty and turns gray, regardless of whether you live in a city where everything is tiled or paved, or in the suburbs, where in some places there is no pavement on the roads or sidewalks.
Even in the city, they quickly become victims of dust, which means they need to be cleaned. How to bleach yellow sneakers at home without ruining them. How to clean up the white rim of the sole or restore the purity of white sneakers?
Preparatory work
Before proceeding directly to cleansing and washing, you should:
- remove the laces and, if necessary, the insoles from the sneakers to wash them separately;
- Use a shoe brush to clean off all the sand and dirt from your shoes so that it does not transfer back to the clean surface;
- Wipe the shoes to remove any remaining dust with a cloth soaked in clean water.
After the procedure has been completed, you can proceed to cleaning the sneakers and giving them their original appearance.
Useful tips
To achieve maximum results when whitening, you must follow some rules. If you use various cleaning agents incorrectly, you can completely ruin your sneakers.
- There are products designed specifically for white shoes. They are available in the form of sprays, have water-repellent properties and form a transparent film on the material. This shell protects the sneakers from dust settling and does not allow dirt to eat into them.
- Shoes can only be bleached after they have been washed. Otherwise, you can spread dirt even more over the surface.
- It is always worth starting the procedure using less concentrated and mild products. If the grayness on the sneakers remains, then you can move on to more aggressive options.
- After the sole has been washed, it must be washed with water and wiped dry with a rag.
- When cleaning with acetone or rubbing alcohol, use only cotton wool, cosmetic swabs or a white cloth. These products corrode the fibers of the fabric, and the colored material may fade onto the sneakers.
- Bleach can only be used in the most extreme cases, for example, on old sneakers that cannot be washed with anything.
It is advisable to wear sneakers only in dry weather, avoiding muddy road areas and puddles. Since returning them to their original whiteness can be difficult or completely impossible. You should wipe the product after each time you go outside and do not neglect special sprays and shoe creams.
(
1 ratings, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Ways to clean white sneakers
There are many ways you can whiten your sneakers and get rid of dirty stains. The simplest of them is ordinary washing in a washing machine. It should be done at a water temperature of 30–40 degrees at medium speed without spinning . To avoid damage to shoe parts and accessories, you can use special laundry bags.
However, this method is only suitable for fresh and not ingrained stains, and most likely will not cope with cleaning the sole. For deeper cleansing, it is better to use other, more effective means at hand.
Toothpaste
For this method, select an old toothbrush that you will use to clean your sneakers. A small foam sponge may also come in handy. Squeeze a little toothpaste onto the brush and thoroughly clean the soles. By the way, for whitening effectiveness, you can add a few drops of lemon juice . After this, apply the paste to the entire woven surface of the shoe. If you are afraid of damaging the texture, you can use a sponge. Leave the sneakers for 10–20 minutes, then rinse them thoroughly under warm water.
To clean white shoes, do not use colored or filled shoe polish as it may stain the rubber and fabric. It is better to use regular white or whitening toothpaste for brushing your teeth.
Soda
Every housewife definitely has some baking soda in her kitchen. With its help you can not only “raise” the dough, but also wash your shoes. For this:
- In a bowl, mix baking soda with water to the consistency of a thick paste ( if desired, you can add a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide if available );
- lightly moisten the surface of the sneaker;
- using a sponge, carefully spread the paste first over the sole, and if necessary, over the entire surface of the sneaker;
- leave the shoes in this condition for 30 minutes. To increase the effect, place the pair on the sunny side of the balcony or windowsill;
- Rub the sneakers again with a sponge and rinse off the baking soda.
Dish detergent
Dishwashing liquid perfectly removes stubborn stains. For this method, you will need the same old toothbrush again. Apply a little product to it, after wetting the surface of the sneaker. Rub the gel in a circular motion to create foam. Rinse your shoes with warm running water. If necessary, you can repeat the steps.
in the same way using regular liquid hand soap, laundry soap or laundry gel .
Lemon and ammonia
These two products are approximately equally effective, and the method of using them for cleaning is also quite similar:
- If you choose lemon juice, then cut half or a thick circle from a whole lemon. Wipe the stained areas several times and leave the sneakers for 20–30 minutes. If after this time the stains remain, then repeat the steps again . After this, rinse your shoes with clean water;
- If you prefer cleaning with ammonia, then soak a cotton pad in it and thoroughly wipe the problem areas. Repeat the procedure until the heel completely disappears from the surface. Rinse your shoes.
Ammonia has a sharp, specific odor. Be careful! Do not bring things soaked in it close to the respiratory tract.
Bleaching
Household chemicals aisles often sell products that contain chlorine, such as chlorinated bleach. If you decide to use it, then dilute the liquid with cool water in a ratio of 1:10. Place the sneakers in a bowl with the mixture for half an hour. After this, wash them thoroughly in running water and dry.
A mixture of vinegar and peroxide with powder
To enhance the bleaching effect, you can add a little table vinegar and a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to regular washing powder . This mixture perfectly removes old stains and helps restore a perfectly white color.
Features of contamination of different materials: why is it so difficult to wash sneakers
Nowadays, shoes with white soles made of wear-resistant rubber or synthetic materials - filight, polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate, phylon have become very fashionable. They give sneakers and sneakers strength and elasticity. The materials for the soles are highly resistant to aggressive environmental influences. Despite this, during wear they become covered with various stains, become yellowish or acquire an unpleasant shade of gray.
Sometimes the sole has grooves around the perimeter, which complicates the situation with cleaning the shoes. To ensure that white sneakers last as long as possible, you need to regularly clean not only the upper, but also the sole. The material from which it is made is of great importance. A soft, damp cloth is ideal for cleaning the leather, while the rubber sole can be cleaned with a regular eraser or melamine sponge.
To prevent yellowish stains from appearing on the white sole, it is important to regularly wash off all contaminants.
Is it possible to remove yellowness from white soles?
Usually even the dirtiest shoes can be restored to their original appearance. To do this, just clean it well. You can try to do the same with old sneakers whose soles have acquired a yellowish tint. However, cleaning the yellow color is not always possible, even if you take your shoes to the dry cleaner. The result depends on how the spots appeared.
- If the sole has acquired a yellow tint due to ingrained dirt or dust, then it will not be difficult to fix it.
- But the sole can also turn yellow if you constantly dry your shoes on a radiator (or near it). Leaving your sneakers in bright sunlight for several days will have the same effect. The whiteness of such a sole can only be restored by painting it with white acrylic paint. The painting agent must not be water-based.
To make the dye stick more firmly, you can dry the sole with a hairdryer. The effect will be long lasting and will not disappoint your expectations.
If stains on the white sole appear from ingrained dirt, then they can be easily wiped off using household products
How to remove yellowness?
Yellowed stains spoil the appearance of a white product no less than dirt stains. We offer several methods that are guaranteed to help you get rid of yellowness:
- using talc. It can be either in its pure form or in the form of baby powder. Mix it with a small amount of clean water until a thick paste forms. It is advisable to treat the entire surface of the sneaker, but pay attention to especially yellow areas . After complete drying, remove the talc with a stiff shoe brush;
- using hydrogen peroxide. Dampen a cotton pad with it and apply it to the yellow spot for about a minute, then rinse the area with cold water. After this, each time you wash white shoes, add a little peroxide, it will prevent the appearance of yellowness after washing.
How to get rid of stains?
Some stubborn stains are very difficult to remove with ordinary soapy water or, for example, toothpaste. For them you need to use more aggressive methods:
- refined gasoline. The method is dangerous for fabric, but effective. Apply a cotton swab with gasoline to the stain for 5 minutes, and then rinse thoroughly;
- Mix the powder with citric acid and vinegar in equal proportions and apply this paste to a pre-moistened sneaker. After 10–15 minutes, wash your shoes;
- a mixture of citric acid and baking soda. Prepare a fairly thick paste from these ingredients and leave the “compress” for half an hour. After this, clean the shoes with a brush and rinse off the dried mixture with warm water.
How to paint over scratches on the sole?
At home, you can not only remove stains from white shoes, but also get rid of various scratches and abrasions. This can be done using:
- Vaseline. When applying it, try not to get it on the fabric surface - greasy Vaseline will be very difficult to wash off. Leave Vaseline on the sole for 10 minutes and then clean it first with a dry and then a damp cloth. The scratches should disappear;
- acetone. At home, you can use nail polish remover with acetone. Moisten a cotton swab generously with it and rub into the abrasions until they disappear;
- special eraser for shoes. You can buy it in the household or shoe department. Its effect is quite gentle because it does not contain any chemical compounds . Its effect will not leave you indifferent: it will delicately clean your sneakers and will not spoil their appearance with excessive chemical exposure.
Which sneakers can be washed in a washing machine?
The sole of the products is made of vulcanized rubber, it is durable and flexible, so it will not be damaged when washed. The shoes themselves are made from the following materials:
- Synthetics. Such products are considered the cheapest and are easy to care for. The downside is that the fibers interfere with normal air exchange, they begin to smell unpleasant and require frequent washing. For synthetic models, you can use an automatic machine and not be afraid of damage if washed correctly.
- Textile. For rag models, external cleaning is more often required. The foot can breathe in them, but after going outside they need to be dried to prevent unpleasant odors from appearing.
- Suede and leather. Such shoes are more expensive, an automatic machine can damage the natural material, so washing must be done by hand.
How to update sneakers from the inside?
You can wash the inside of your sneakers using a small toothbrush or shoe brush. First, remove the insole to wash it separately. To wash the inside of the shoe, you can use any of the following methods, for example, toothpaste or baking soda solution. However, in most cases, to refresh sneakers from the inside, a regular machine or hand wash with washing powder or gel is enough .
If stains have formed on the insole, then either replace it completely, or clean it using washing supplies, peroxide solutions, vinegar, etc.
What to wear with short UGG boots?
What can I do to prevent UGG boots from slipping?
