How to properly care for your white sneakers and an overview of care products
How to maintain your white sneakers? After all, these shoes get dirty quickly and after a few days they look worn. Every time after a walk, the shoes should be wiped with a damp cloth. It can be washed or washed once every 3 days. After cleaning, sneakers should be treated with anti-soiling agents. Certainly, no amount of care will protect shoes from wear and tear if they are worn too often.
First steps after purchase
White sneakers are a great choice for people who follow the latest fashion trends. In order for shoes to retain their appearance, color and shape longer, they should be cared for immediately after purchase.The maintenance of white sneakers depends on the material they are made of. Before putting on shoes for the first time, they are treated with a water and dirt repellent.
What to do immediately after purchase:
- If it is leather, it should be treated with a clear (white) cream or wax.
- Nubuck or suede shoes are sprayed with a special spray.
- Textile items can be sprayed with suede spray.
Protective creams against dirt and dust, wax, water-repellent sprays can be purchased at a shoe store. Sometimes, when buying shoes, the sellers themselves offer to buy a care product. If your sneakers have inserts made of different materials, you can treat them with a universal spray against moisture and dust. Water-repellent and dirt-repellent compositions of such agents create a polymeric or resinous film on the surface of the shoe.
Sneakers treated with wax or spray are less dirty, do not get wet and stay clean longer. A treatment should last 3 days or 3 socks. Means for white shoe care applied only on a dry product, not directly, but on a cloth or washcloth.
Immediately after treatment you can not go out in sneakers. You have to wait some time for the wax to be absorbed into the shoes and dry. You can deal with sneakers at night and go out in the morning. Experts recommend applying any remedy in 2-3 layers, giving each time to dry.
Rules of daily care
When you get home, you should clean your dirty sneakers right away. If the shoes are not dirty, you can leave them alone for 3 days. Allow wet items to dry, then brush off dirt with a brush.To maintain your shoes, you need a soft cloth, a washcloth, a brush with not stiff bristles, dishwashing detergent, liquid soap or any other shampoo.
How to take care of your sneakers:
- pour warm soapy water into a basin (1 teaspoon of shampoo for 5 liters of water);
- untie and wash the laces;
- remove and clean the insoles;
- take turns washing the sneakers in a basin with a cloth and a brush;
- rinse shoes;
- air dry by filling with paper or towels;
- treat dry shoes with a protective agent of 2-3 layers and polish to shine;
- insert the laces.
You can machine wash your sneakers in "delicate" or "shoe" mode. True, they must first be cleaned of dirt, untied and placed in a special bag. They should dry naturally after washing.
Get rid of stains and damage
White sneakers are often stained. If they cannot be removed with a cloth and soapy water, special products must be used. True, it is better to try to clean suede shoes with a dry brush. It is strictly forbidden to use bleach for the skin, it will give the products a yellowish tint. Textiles can be cleaned by washing.
The water
Water stains on leather shoes can be removed with petroleum jelly. It is applied to the product and left in place for 5-7 hours. Then excess petroleum jelly is removed from the surface. Clean shoes should be greased with cream and polished with a velvet cloth to shine.
Raindrops or snowdrops on suede are removed with warm soapy water and a soft brush or washcloth.After cleaning, the sneakers should be dried and then treated with a suede protector spray.
Mud
Dirty spots are removed with a brush and soapy water. A toothbrush and baking soda soap can help remove stubborn stains. You can whiten a very dirty area with white toothpaste.
Fat
No greasy stains remain on leather shoes. Soap and soda save you grease on textiles. The contaminated place should be wet, wiped with soap, sprinkled with baking soda and cleaned with a toothbrush. A greasy stain on suede can be removed with soapy water, alcohol or ammonia with hydrogen peroxide.
Unclear origin
Stains of unknown origin are first removed with soapy water and a cloth or brush. If that fails, use ammonia with hydrogen peroxide or vodka, alcohol.
How to dress up
If the stain cannot be washed and removed with alcohol or nail polish remover, it may be masked. For example, toothpaste, acrylic paint or a special dye for white shoes.
herbal
Grass stains are cleaned with plain water, soap or dish detergent. If the contamination has not disappeared, you can take hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.
Ink
Remove the ink stain as soon as possible before it is absorbed into the product. You can use a regular wet wipe. If there is dirt left, you need to clean it at home with a cotton swab and alcohol (vodka) or nail polish remover. Ammonia and hydrogen peroxide can help with this problem.
If the stain persists, you can make a mixture of ammonia, baking soda and water, apply this mixture to the stain and let it sit for several hours.Then - rinse and wash the entire product.
Rust
Rust stains can be removed with lemon juice or vinegar. For this, a solution of acetic acid is mixed with table salt, the gruel is applied to the contaminated area and left for 45 minutes. After treatment with such a mixture, the product must be rinsed with soapy water.
Dye
Paint stains are removed with solvents. You can use a colorless nail polish remover.
scratches
All kinds of scratches on leather products are masked with liquid leather. This tool can be found in the household chemicals department. Hides scratches perfectly with regular shoe polish.
white lacquer
White nail polish is the easiest way to cover up a small scratch. It is applied with a brush on a previously washed and dried surface.
Acrylic paint
This tool can be found at a hardware store, art store, or office supply store. Using a paintbrush, paint is applied to the scratch and left to dry. True, after washing it will wash off, and the product will need to be repainted.
Special paint
White paint for shoes perfectly hides not only scratches, but also tears, stains and scuffs. This product is expensive, but lovers of white shoes cannot do without it.
black bands
Dark stripes remain on shoes not from dirt, but from contact with other people's heels and soles. They are rubber stains. Black streaks on a white surface can be removed with nail polish remover.
How to store it properly
Before storing, shoes should be thoroughly washed and dried well.It is not recommended to store white sneakers in the same drawer as black or brown shoes. Such products should be protected from direct sunlight, and not left on the veranda, balcony. Better to put it in a box and put it in the closet.
How to properly care for the sole
First, the sole is cleaned of dirt. Then, using a toothbrush and soap solution, remove all stains.
If part of the contamination is not washed off, you can use ammonia with hydrogen peroxide, simple alcohol or vodka, nail polish remover.
How to wash shoelaces
First, you need to remove the laces from the sneakers. It is advisable to wash them separately. Use soap or powder to wash yourself. Stubborn dirt can be removed with bleach.
Use of special tools
To care for white sneakers, you can purchase ready-made products. The attached instructions describe how to use them correctly.
Foaming detergent
It's a shampoo for shoes. The product is applied to the shoes with a sponge and rubbed into the surface until foam forms. You can use a brush. After processing, the foam is washed off with water or wiped with a damp cloth.
Leather Shoe Conditioner
The conditioner softens the skin and protects it from chapping and drying out. Clean, dry shoes should be treated with this product. Use a soft cloth to apply to the surface. If there are a lot of scratches on the surface, you can buy a lighter color conditioner. The tool is first applied to the product, allowed to dry, and then polished.
Stain removers and bleaches
To remove stains or dirt, the stain remover is dissolved in water and applied to the shoes.You can put your shoes in bleach and water for a few hours, then brush the surface.
Overview of folk remedies
If there is no money for expensive shoe care creams, you can use the means available in every household.
Milk
Sneakers cleared of dirt can be washed with ordinary milk. If you mix it with foamed chicken proteins, you get an emulsion with protective and water-repellent properties.
Toothpaste
To give whiteness to a white leather product, ordinary dye-free toothpaste will help. Squeeze some of the tube onto an old toothbrush and scrub it in the product. Then wipe with a soft, dry cloth.
Vaseline
Used to clean shoes from dirt and for protection. The surface of the leather is rubbed with petroleum jelly, and the remnants of the product are removed with a cloth.
Vegetable oil
To clean white shoes, take only light refined sunflower or olive oil. It is rubbed into the surface of the leather with gentle strokes, then the product is polished to a shine.
lemon acid
Citric acid diluted with water or squeezed lemon juice is ideal for bleaching the skin and removing stains from textiles. You can mix the juice with tooth powder and apply this mixture to a very dirty area for several hours. Then rinse with lukewarm water.
Soap and alcohol
White soap will help wash textiles or laces. Rubbing alcohol can be used to clean stubborn stains on fabric or suede. In addition to alcohol, you can use vodka.
Bleach and dishwashing detergent
Non-chlorine bleach can be used to remove old stains or to whiten heavily soiled areas.This product is not recommended for cleaning leather. But dishwashing liquid can be used to clean all shoes.
Care features for different materials
Each shoe should have its own shoe care product and its own cloth or brush. The cleansing or barrier cream is not applied directly to the product. A piece of cloth or a sponge is used for this.
Sweden
- Suede shoes are cleaned with a suede brush.
- Products are cleaned only in the direction of the pile, but not against it and not in a backward or circular motion.
- Old stains can be removed with an eraser.
- If the stain cannot be removed by mechanical cleaning, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and water can be prepared. Use a cotton swab to clean the contaminated area.
- After cleaning, the product should be dried and then treated with a suede protectant spray.
Textile
The fabrics are cleaned with water and a soft brush. You can add a little detergent or liquid soap to the water. Stubborn dirt can be removed with baking soda, soap and a toothbrush.
Leather and imitation leather
Smooth leather products are cleaned with a soft cloth. Brushed white leather is brushed with a crepe brush. Otherwise, you can use an eraser. Wash your sneakers in warm soapy water.
After cleaning and drying, leather and imitation leather shoes should be waxed weekly.
Leather waxing:
- Wax polish - does not penetrate, protects the surface from moisture and dirt.
- Creams and pastes - are absorbed into the skin, making the surface smooth and soft, hiding scratches and blemishes.
- Polishing liquids - do not absorb inside, have protective properties.
Drying rules
Washed or washed shoes should dry naturally.You can put it on the balcony. A hair dryer should not be used for drying - the surface may crack due to strong hot air pressure. It is not recommended to put shoes on a radiator or near heating devices.
You can put paper inside the sneaker to dry it. True, newspapers or magazines cannot be used for this purpose, as printing ink will leave a mark. You can put dry rice bags or towels in the middle.
Tips & Tricks
10 tips for taking care of your white sneakers:
- Unpleasant odors can be eliminated with a shoe deodorant. Previously, the insoles can be washed with a soda solution or wiped with an ammonia solution.
- In white sneakers, it is not recommended to walk in the rain, walk in puddles or run on the grass.
- Light-colored shoes should be protected from fading and yellow streaks.
- Dirt that appears while walking can be removed with a damp cloth.
- When cleaning adidas sneakers, it is advisable not to rub them too intensively, otherwise scratches will appear.
- Use only a soft bristle brush for cleaning.
- Washed shoes should be wiped with a dry cloth or towels.
- It is better not to clean dirty products in a hurry - during a crowd they can be damaged or scratched.
- It is not recommended to wear white shoes every day for several weeks or months.
- You should wash your sneakers in the washing machine as little as possible, they can become deformed during the wash.