Do you ever wonder how some people have such clean and shiny sneakers every time you see them?  I sure do! If I see bright white eye-cathers passing me on the street I wonder H-O-W. I have heard many different stories how to clean sneakers and I have tested things I thought could work. Here are a few of them + no spoilers but I left the solution in the end.

My absolute favorite story is when my friend had gone home and found her bf washing his sneakers with a toilet brush. The explanation was simple: Sneakers are dirty and so is the toilet brush. I can see the logic behind that. You might get some dust off but I would not recommend trying this!

I once tried to bleach my shoes with asetonin – I ofc thought it would work and make my sandals white – now those sandals are for beach use only. They kinda started to bubble and turned yellowish pretty soon after – I guess packaging has the skull on it for a reason. So do not try bleaching!

One of my friend uses toothpaste for the shoe sole. It doesn’t work for the fabric or leather part of the shoe but it whitens the sole. If you only need to get the sides of the sole white again this is an easy and fast trick.

The washing machine wash in a bag is a classic. Except, that it doesn’t do any good for the shoe, and the shoe might loose its texture and shape. The result: greyish tiny sneakers that are crooked. Not what I ordered!

My hubby used to use a specific multipurpose bathroom cleaner from Cif for his sneakers that had worked wonders. It was cheap and cleaned well. Too bad that our local grocery store in Helsinki stopped selling it. The product is designed to keep almost everything clean in your household. I haven’t yet tried this product but it’s very affordable option and available here.

Spoiler aka solution

Thanks to my hubby I know how to keep my sneakers clean! The washing process is simple. There are various brands available but I have fallen in love with Jason Markk. You get your starter kit in one package: brush and washing liquid. You can use it for all the materials on sneakers, so you don’t need to be super careful when cleaning. The product doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals and that small bottle cleans up to 100 pairs of sneakers. The best spray to use after your sneakers are dry is Crep. If you only have mud, or some other dirt, on your soles try out Leather Wipes. They leave a protecting layer.

Simple as this:

1. Take a little bit water into a small plastic bowl / deep plate
2. Add Jason Markk Premium Shoe Cleaner liquid in water
3. Dip the brush into water and start cleaning – let it foam
4. Use towel to rinse the foam off your sneakers
5. Let your sneakers dry for 24 hours
6. Spray Crep protecting spray when sneakers are fully dry

Remember to wash your shoe laces as well. Those can be washed in washing machine when put into a bag. If you don’t have a washing bag you can use a sock as a bag.

Simple, right?! If you have any tips or stories of how to clean sneakers I would love to hear them.