4 Cleaning Hacks for Spotless Sneakers

These time-and-tested cleaning hacks have worked in keeping our lifestyle sneakers spotless.

Sneakers have become a mom’s go-to, whether it’s for errands, work, and most of all, travel. But after constant use, we’re sure that our favorite kicks have accumulated a lot of dirt and grime that’s just an eyesore in photos! We want to always be picture-ready whenever it comes to our OOTDs and when it’s about keeping things clean, here are some easy hacks to make sure our sneakers are always picture-perfect.

1. Lotion to prevent leather cracks.

Most sneakers and rubber shoes are made of leather, which cracks over time and after constant use. To prevent the leather from cracking, some parents like using lotion to moisturize. Since leather behaves like skin (although hardened and preserved), lotion moisturizes it so that no matter the movement, the leather won’t crack. It works quite well with synthetic leather, which is what most rubber shoes and sneakers are made of.

Some parents use this technique to also preserve their leather car seats and even their designer bags!

2. Toothpaste to remove those stubborn black stains.

Although a lot of sneakerheads will argue that toothpaste might further destroy the leather, some parents would dilute it with a little water to weaken the solution. After that, they take an old toothbrush and gently scrub off the dirt and whiten the sneakers. Then, they treat it with some lotion to prevent the toothpaste from drying up the leather.

3. Newspaper balls to clean rain-soaked sneakers

It is every sneaker-loving parent’s worst nightmare to wear squishy, moist, and rain-soaked sneakers. To clean, wash the outside of your sneakers with some dish soap to get rid of the dirt. Then, stick some newspaper inside the shoe to absorb the moisture inside. If there’s no sunlight, a hair dryer will do, but don’t make it too hot or it’ll weaken the leather.

Unfortunately, if your sneakers are made of canvas, you’ll have to use a bit of detergent to get them clean. And because prevention is always better than cure, bring two plastic bags to wrap around your sneakers. It may look silly, but it’ll prevent you from getting your socks and sneakers soaked with rainwater.

4. Baby powder to remove and prevent sweaty smells.

Unfortunately, some of us are just genetically predisposed to sweat a lot, leaving that sour, putrid smell in our favorite sneakers, especially the ones made of cloth or canvas. To avoid that, baste your feet in baby powder before putting on your socks. Make sure you get in between the toes because that’s where most of the sweat accumulates. After that, you can slip on your socks and put on your favorite sneakers.

Some of us even like using prickly heat powder because it creates a comforting “cooling sensation” when we put on our sneakers.

Cleaning our sneakers keeps our feet healthy, too!

Because we wear our sneakers all the time, it’s easy to forget that our feet need some TLC, too. And by giving them a little special treatment, we’re indirectly preventing our feet from getting fungus or callouses which are irritating to deal with when we’re trying to see all the sights as we travel. These hacks are also easy to teach to our kids. Because when they go to college, they need to deal with all sorts of unpredictable weather when they attend class.

More cleaning hacks or stuff about shoes?

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