Lifehacks 03 July 2021

4 Lifehacks to Make Your White Shoes Clean Again

clean white shoesGodisable Jacob / Pexels.com

There’s nothing better than a brand new pair of white shoes. They’re classic and go great with everything, but over time they begin to lose their initial appeal.

Keeping white shoes clean is notoriously hard. It’s not long before your favorite new shoes get dirty or just start to look a bit less white than when you originally bought them. Fortunately, we have a few easy ways that you restore your white shoes to their original appearance.

If you want to know how to clean white shoes with everyday items you probably already have at home, keep reading.

1. Scrub Your Shoes with Diluted Bleach

Most of us already have bleach handy in the laundry room, and we can use it to get our dirty white shoes looking bright and clean again.

In a small bowl, mix about 1 tbsp of bleach with 4 tbsp of water. Dip a toothbrush, small scrub brush, or the tip of a cleaning cloth into the bleach mixture, then use this to gently scrub the areas of the shoe which are no longer bright and white.

Let the bleach mixture sit on the shoes for about 2 minutes. Dip a clean part of the cloth or a rinsed scrub/toothbrush in water, then scrub and rinse the remaining bleach off of the shoes.

Sit the shoes outside in the sun to allow them to dry and brighten.

2. Clean Your Shoes with a Baking Soda and Peroxide Mixture

Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide are other items that most of us already have lying around the house. When used carefully and sparingly, these items can be a great solution for getting dirt and grime off of white shoes.

In a small bowl or other container, mix 1 tbsp water, 1/2 tbsp of hydrogen peroxide, and 1/2 tbsp water together until a thick white paste has formed. Continue stirring together until the bubbling subsides and the paste becomes smooth and creamy.

Using a cloth or toothbrush, scrub the paste onto the white surface of the shoes. Baking soda can be abrasive, so you want to scrub gently in small circles until the dirt or stains begin lifting.

Continue until a layer of the paste completely covers the shoe or the stained areas. Set the shoes aside, preferably in direct sunlight, and allow the paste to dry for about 3 hours.

Using a dry toothbrush or cloth, brush away the dry paste to expose your newly white and clean shoes.

3. Scrub Away Shoe Stains Using Toothpaste

Believe it or not, toothpaste can also be used to lift stains from white shoes and have them looking as good as new again. You’ll want to be sure to use a white toothpaste, not a gel toothpaste.

Using a toothbrush or a clean cloth, brush toothpaste over the stains in the shoe, and then allow it to dry for about 10 minutes. Then, wet the cloth or toothbrush and gently scrub away the toothpaste along with any stains.

4. Machine Wash Dirty White Shoes

If you want to clean and revive a pair of white shoes completely, rather than simply lifting spots or stains, you may be able to machine wash them.

Make sure than your washer is set on the most gentle or delicate setting, and use only cold water. When you remove your shoes from the washer, place them outside in the sun to air dry and they should look as white and new as the day you bought them.

We hope that these tips and tricks helped you understand how to clean white shoes with simple products that you probably already have lying around your home. Follow these steps, and your white shoes will look as good as new in no time.