How to Clean the Bottom of Shoes to Return Them?

Your work shoes must be not only comfortable but also clean. As you go about your everyday duties, you may find yourself walking on dirty surfaces and collecting unwelcome materials on the underside of your shoes. Keeping your workwear shoes clean does not only make you appear smartly dressed, but it can also adversely affect your health as well as your home’s hygiene. If you are looking for ways to clean the soles of your shoes, look no further, this article is here to help you. Here are 4 ways to clean the bottom of shoes without ruining the remainder of the shoe.

Remove Large Dirt Clumps

The first thing you have to do is get rid of large clumps of dirt on the shoe’s soles. To do this, take hold of one of the shoes and forcefully hit the sole on the ground or some other hard surface. This will help extricate dried mud, large soil clusters, or other materials that have encrusted on the underside of the shoes. Repeat this process for the other shoe.

If you do this inside your home, you may end up making a big mess. So make sure this is done outside. If there is still some dirt remaining on the underside of your shoes after this initial beating, you should try using a butter knife to scrape out remnants of mud from the depressions, grooves, plus other curves where dirt may be trapped.

See also: How to Unyellow Shoes

How to Clean the Bottom of Shoes to Return Them?

1. Use Liquid Dish Soap to Clean Rubber Tread

Materials you will need:

• Appropriately sized container
• Warm water
• Liquid dish soap
• Stiff bristled brush

Instructions

1. Pour some of the warm water into the container. Do not pour excess water. You only need the quantity that will cover the underside as well as the side perimeters of the shoes’ soles. Add some of the dish soap (about 2 teaspoons) into the container and stir to create a homogeneous solution.
2. Place your shoes within the soap solution ensuring that the shoes are upright. Let the shoes sit in the warm water soap solution for approximately 25 minutes. The soap solution will help to disintegrate the stains plus any other dirt lurking on the soles. During this process, ensure the soap solution does not come in contact with the shoe’s uppers. If the solution gets in contact with the uppers, it may create nasty water smudges that may ruin the overall look of the shoes.
3. Take the stiff-bristled brush and dip it into the warm water soap solution. Take one of the shoes and thoroughly polish the tread using the stiff-bristled brush. Do this until all the dirt is gone, then repeat the process for the other shoe.
4. Once you have gotten rid of all the stains from the bottom of your workwear shoes, take them out to air-dry. Your workwear shoes are ready for another season of use once they are dry.

2. Use Nail Polish Remover

Nail polish remover contains acetone as its major active ingredient. Acetone is an excellent solvent for some synthetic fibers and plastics. This quick-acting solvent can also dissolve any stain or dirt no matter how stubborn.

Materials you will need:

• Nail polish remover
• Cotton swab

Instructions

1. Take the cotton swab and immerse it into the nail polish remover
2. Use the cotton swab to softly sweep over any sections of your soles that are stained with dirt or any other substance. This should remove all the stains.
3. As you apply the acetone to the bottom of your shoes using gentle sweeping motions, ensure the acetone does not come in contact with the shoe’s uppers. This is because acetone can permanently discolor surfaces including that of your shoes.

See also: How to Get Paint Off of Leather Boots

3. Use Baking Soda and Vinegar

A blend of baking soda & vinegar can strip off practically any type of stain on the underside of your shoes regardless of how stubborn the stain is.

Materials you will need:

• A small container
• Warm water (about 250 ml)
• Baking soda (20 grams)
• Distilled white vinegar (2 tablespoons)
• Clean cloth or brush

Instructions

1. Pour the warm water, vinegar, and baking soda into the small container
2. Mix thoroughly until you get a thin paste
3. Use the clean cloth or brush to liberally apply this thin paste onto the underside of your shoes.
4. After 20 minutes, wipe off the paste using a damp sponge or cloth
5. Use Toothpaste

See also: How to Disinfect Used Shoes

Toothpaste contains whitening substances such as hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.

Materials you will need:

• An old toothbrush
• Plain white toothpaste

Instructions:

1. Put a blob of toothpaste on the toothbrush
2. Work the toothpaste into the stained area of the shoe’s soles
3. After 15 minutes, wipe off the toothpaste using a clean damp cloth