One of the greatest arguments in a household is how to clean your white shoes. No matter how careful or how clean you are, if you are wearing white shoes, it is impossible to keep them clean and fresh-looking.
This is why you are not the only one who is going through loads and loads of online guides to find a way to clean your white shoes and make them look as fresh and white as before. Although, the good news is we have already made a guide that covers every step of how to clean your white shoes. So that you don’t have to waste any more of your time searching up for more guidelines, so let’s get right into it!
Things you shouldn’t do to your shoes
We know that all the classic sleek looking summer sneakers are made in white canvas. No doubt, they look super cute and all just until you accidentally step into a puddle, fresh grass, or even if someone accidentally steps on you! Which leads you into thinking if you will ever get them to look like their original self again? Yes, you will, and you will do that with the help of baking soda.
I have seen a lot of people around me using other techniques to clean their shoes, like washing them with bleach or toothpaste, etc., which is something I will definitely not recommend. One more thing is that you should never, literally under no circumstances, put your shoes in a washer to get them washed. This is the worst thing you could do to your shoes.
Putting your shoes in a washer will not only get them loosened, but they will also lose their original shape, and you might even end up damaging your shoe’s sole. So no matter how tempting and easy that looks. Don’t do that.
Why baking soda?
Baking soda is one of your best friends when it comes to cleaning your shoes. Not only is baking soda used globally around the world to clean white shoes and make them new, but it also comes with little to almost no side effects.
Baking soda absorbs all the odor in your shoes and makes them smell not funky anymore, which is why it is also known as shoe healing powder, as it really heals everything that is wrong with your white pair of shoes.
So let’s start learning how you can clean your shoes with baking soda in just a few easy steps!
How to clean your shoes with baking soda
Things you will need
- Baking Soda
- Water
- Glass Bowl
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Scrub brush/ old toothbrush
- Sponge
How to use them
- Firstly, what you are going to do is, get a small glass bowl and add
- One tablespoon of baking soda in it
- ½ tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide in it(you can skip hydrogen peroxide if you don’t have it)
- ½ tablespoon of warm water in the bowl
- Make sure you double the amount of water to one tablespoon if you don’t have hydrogen peroxide
- Stir it slowly until a paste is formed
- Take your old toothbrush or your scrub brush and dip it thoroughly into the baking soda paste that you made earlier
- Apply it directly onto the stains on your shoes
- Scrub the baking soda on your shoe very gently and keep scrubbing it in a circular motion
- After you are done scrubbing it, let the baking soda dry on your shoe for about 30min, or you can do it for more too!
- After you have let the baking soda sit for 30 minutes, see if there is any excess baking soda on your shoe. If you do find any excess baking soda paste on your shoe, then go ahead and clap it off of your shoe
- Wash your shoes thoroughly now, or you can even use your wet sponge, but make sure it is completely clean before you use it on your shoes
- Check to see if the stains are gone; if not, then you can repeat the whole process once again without having to worry about anything!
How to clean your shoes with baking soda and vinegar
Things you will need
- One tablespoon baking soda
- One tablespoon white vinegar
- One tablespoon hot water
- One glass bowl
- A brush or scrub
How to use them
- Vinegar is known to be as effective as baking soda in cleaning various items, if not more, which is why the combo of vinegar and baking soda is known to be more effective than any other thing.
- So what you are going to do is that you are going to make a paste as you did before
- Put one tablespoon of baking soda in a bowl.
- Along with 1tablespoon of vinegar and hot water
- Mix the paste well and make sure that it is all smooth and creamy
- Once you are done, dip in your toothbrush or your scrub and apply it directly onto the stain
- Make sure you are not applying an excessive amount of baking soda and vinegar onto your shoes, as you can always repeat these steps again
- Once you are sure that all the stains on your shoes are covered in the paste, take them out in your garden and put them in the sun
- Let the shoes soak up the sun for about 3 to 4 hours, don’t worry; the sun will only help in whitening your shoes more.
- After you bring your shoes back inside after a few hours, bump them into each other once or twice so that any excess paste that is on your shoes will fall down.
- Rinse your shoes thoroughly now, or you can use a wet sponge for this purpose too
- You can use this method of cleaning on your shoes on any white shoes too!
Now that we have learned the two top methods of how to wash your shoes with the help of baking soda. I think it is time to learn how to remove the odor from your shoes with the help of baking soda. So that whenever you are facing a shoe crisis. Whether it is stains or smell. You will know what to do. So let’s start!
How to remove the smell from your shoes with baking soda
Another major question that arises in the middle of cleaning your shoes is that how are you going to remove the funny smell from your shoes? Moreover, can it ever be removed? The answer is yes, and I’m going to teach you how just now!
What you will need
- Two tablespoons of baking soda for each pair of shoe
- You might need more baking soda for bigger shoe sizes
- That’s all!
How to
- firstly, measure how many tablespoons are you putting or are going to put in each shoe; make sure you divide the baking soda equally into the shoes
- make sure the baking soda is covering the whole sole of your shoe from the inside
- Once you are done putting baking soda inside the heel of your shoe.
- tilt it forward and backward a few times and then shake it side to side for some time, to make sure that the baking soda is reaching every corner of your shoe
- if you see any clumps or lumps in the baking soda, there is absolutely nothing to worry about as there are no side effects to it
- Leave your shoes like that for a few hours; you can even leave them there for a whole night if you want to. Like I said before, this process comes with no side effects.
- Once you think your sole is done absorbing the baking soda, feel free to tap the excess powder out of the shoes.
- Even if a little baking soda remains in your shoes, it won’t hurt you or your shoes in any way.
- You can repeat this step if your shoes still smell a little bit or if you weren’t able to properly perform it the first time.
- Make sure you do this little routine with your shoes almost every other month so that your shoes are never stinking.
Conclusion
In this article, I have gone through a very detailed and brief guide on how to clean your shoes with baking soda. I have given you guys a little bit of background on why you should wash your shoes with baking soda and what baking soda does in your shoes.
Other than that, I have given you two step-by-step guides for cleaning your shoes with baking soda and one step-by-step guide on how to remove the smell from your shoes with the help of baking soda. I hope this helps!
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