Washing shoes

[Tinks]

My work shoes STINK - of work not foot odour lol. I work in a cafe so they smell like food and whatever I spill on them during the day.

My old top loading washing machine had a special insert designed for washing shoes so. Can I wash them in my front loader? If I can't how else can I clean them?

They are very expensive sneakers so I don't really want to wreck them.

[Trillian]

If they are leather, please don't put them in the wash - it will ruin them. Go to a shoe shop and ask if they have a leather cleaner.

[Nelle]

What material are they made of?

Either way, you'd probably be safer giving them a scrub in your laundry tub - a washing machine isn't going to scrub your shoes in detail like you can.

[Phteven]

I chuck non-leather shoes in the wash all the time. I put them in a laundry bag so they don't damage anthing else and wash them with stuff that can take a bit of a kicking.
It's that or throw them out lol.

[Tinks]

They're leather and meshy type stuff. Maybe I should jsut get a new pair, they're only a couple of mths old though.

[Netix]

I soak runners or other shoes in a bucket of soapy water reclaimed from the washing machine as it empties itself. Then, give them a scrub with a nail brush (I haven't got a serious scrubbing brush ), rinse well, then pack (stuff well) with clean rags or towels until mostly dry. Then leave to dry thoroughly which doesn't take too long.

I would think that once properly dried, if you rubbed them well with saddle soap or something similar that would keep the leather conditioned sufficiently from whatever awfullness the detergent may have subjected it to.

OMG, does that sentence read as technically boring from your side as it does mine?!?!

[CrazyLady]

If they are leather, please don't put them in the wash - it will ruin them. Go to a shoe shop and ask if they have a leather cleaner.

LOL! My father used to throw my little sister's runners through! She had the WORST foot odour! Glad she grew out of that one, she could make a whole room of people turn green!

If you clean them up really good with a leather cleaner then DRENCH them in a bees wax leather nourisher. If you do a thick coat then put them in front of a heater on low to soak it in and then redo again it's fantastic stuff! they should be really easy to wipe over next round. I used to do cleaning and would spill the leftover breakfasts on my shoes constantly and after 3 pairs I started doing that and was easy to maintain the "stench".

HTH

[Nelle]

They shouldn't be that much work to clean Tinks! If they're a bit pongy maybe leave them to soak in some soapy water with essential oil added.

[Phteven]

I stuff mine with newspaper to dry.