Who doesn’t need a pair of converse these days? Be it for jogging or just a walk in the park, we all need at least one to keep our feet comfortable. They often get dirty and stained due to daily use. We are here to let you know some very easy DIY tips to clean them quickly and effectively!
Initial Steps
Before getting into the cleaning details, it is important to take a few necessary steps. First of all, take the shoelaces off so that you can get better access to the inner portions of the shoe. This of course will allow you to clean up the underlying layers much more efficiently
After that, bring them under running lukewarm or cold water and rinse softly. You need to make them damp enough to perform the following treatments properly. Get rid of the excess water and proceed to the next steps. Pick any of the procedures explained below to do the cleansing.
Cleaning Options
- Powder Cleaners
Take some hot water in a bowl and mix a small amount of abrasive powder detergent in it. When the mixture reaches a good consistency like paste, take some of it on the tip of a toothbrush. Then use it to rub against the rubber portions of the shoe in circular motions. Apply more pressure on areas which are highly stained. After you are done cleaning up a particular area, use warm water to give it a final rinse. Do this with other similarly dirty areas and dry them up with a towel.
- Toothpaste
If toothpaste can make your teeth so clean and sparkling, imagine what it can do to your favorite pair of shoes! Just make sure the one you are using is non-gel and not colored. The colored ones may stain your shoes more instead of cleansing it.
In the same way mentioned above, put some of the white toothpaste on a brush and scrub them onto the spotted regions. But instead of rinsing it off immediately, let the paste stay there for ten minutes. Then just use a wet towel to remove the paste.
In case you are not happy with the whiteness of the shoes yet, you can repeat the process two or three more times. However, since each of these toothpastes are made of varying components, it is always safer to try it on one spot and observe the reactions. If it all turns out well, only then go for other areas on the shoe.
- Machine Washing
Fill up half of a small bucket with lukewarm water and mix baking soda in it worth about two-third of a cup. After that, mix one tea-spoon of dishwashing powder in it and stir it up.
Dip the tip of a toothbrush into this mixture and start applying it on the desired area of converse. It is better to wash the front surface first to see if the mixture is really working to get rid of the dirt. Then proceed to do the same in the backward region and around the borders.
Then put them both in the washing machine when it is free of all other clothes. Make sure the machine is set to low cycle. The amount of detergent to put should be two tablespoons. Lastly, let it get rinse through a cold cycle.
- Dishwasher
Believe it or not, your dishwasher can be a huge help to cleanse the pair saving you a ton of time! First of all, make sure the dishwasher is empty. Then turn on the heated tap water to fill it up.
Add the required amount of cleaning powder and keep the shoes faced upside down on the highest shelf. Let it go through one normal cycle and put the wet shoes out in the sun to get dried.
If unfortunately there is no bright sun out there, use the dryer instead. Include two big towels to keep the shoes from moving around too much.
- Soap and Water
The simplest combination of just soap and water can also do the job pretty well. Mild soaps like liquid dish detergent or hand soap are good options for this. Although, they need to be free of chemicals and aroma. Put some drops of the soap into warm water and keep stirring until you see bubbles on top. As soon as it does, soak a sponge in it and then scrub the shoes with it in circular motion.
- Baking Soda and Vinegar
Build up a mixture of equal portions of hot water, vinegar and baking soda. Put it in a bowl to make a dense enough paste and then rub it wherever you need to on the shoes. Once you are done, bring the shoes under lukewarm water to get rid of the cleaning materials.
- Nail Polish Remover
The procedure is very simple and can save you some time since you don’t need to make thi mixture yourself! Just take a cotton ball and soak it up in the nail polish remover. It is better to use one containing acetone. Then use it to forcefully scrub the undesired marks and that’s it!
- Lemon
Take half a lemon and scrub one side of the shoe with it. Do the same on the opposite side with the other half. After removing all the marks, leave the shoes out for 15 minutes and then rinse off with plain water.
What not to use
Never use bleach because they can harm the fabric of the shoe by making it loose. It also messes up the design pattern and fades out the color. Thus the shoes are damaged with extremely reduced durability.
Let us know if any of the above procedures made your converse pairs shine like new! Keep them out in the sunshine or air dry it for a while to let it get rid of all the liquid.
