Sneakers are enjoyable to wear, especially if you are a sportsperson. They’re comfortable to wear, light, and provide your feet with a great cushioned feel.
They’ll get dirty just like any other piece of clothing or footwear, and it’s up to you to keep them clean for maximum durability.
Did you know that your sneakers can be washed in the washing machine? Yeah, and it’s also quite good if you want a simpler approach to cleaning them while still considering their quality.
You no longer have to wear uncomfortable footwear because your sneakers are dirty.
How Should I Wash My Sneakers in A Washer?
To keep your sneakers in good condition, you should know how to wash them.
Washing your sneakers is not difficult for first-timers and using a washer even makes things even easier.
You only need to follow the instructions outlined below.
What you’ll require
- Laundry detergent (liquid)
- A mini brush
- A laundry bag/ pillowcase
- A little amount of baking soda
Getting started
- Examine your sneakers’ labels.
Before you begin washing your sneakers, you should know that not all sneakers can be washed in a washer. So, it’s best if you check the sneaker label to see if your sneaker is compatible with machine wash.
If your sneaker is manufactured with materials like suede, or vinyl, you might want to reconsider using a washer. Materials like cotton and polyester are quite suitable for the machine wash because they last pretty much a long time and do not get damaged by detergents.
- Loosen the laces of your sneakers
Next up, loosen your sneaker laces and keep them aside. If you feel like washing them too, you can use a mini brush to clean them.
Loosening the laces will protect your washing machine by preventing any entanglement inside it.
If you cannot remove the sneakers from the laces, you can also leave them untied with the sneakers in a small laundry bag or a pillowcase and get them in the washing machine.
- Remove the sneakers’ inner paddings
Inner paddings or insoles. Any name you like to call them. They are pieces of fabric that pad the insides of your sneakers and cushion your feet.
You might want to remove them before machine washing them or else they’ll take forever to dry in your sneakers and this might result in bad smells and of course, mold.
Remove and wash them delicately with little water and soap, then air dry them.
- Now, add a pinch of baking soda.
Baking soda has numerous applications. One of them is for eliminating odors.
Don’t worry, if you notice your sneakers have a strong odor, you can add a pinch of baking soda and leave it for a while.
- Remove any extra dirt
After removing the insoles, look on the undersides of your sneakers to see if there’s any excess dirt that may have accumulated in the tiny spaces on the sole.
If you find any, take a little brush or a small cloth and scrub those spaces. You never know, you might even find dirt as large as small stones.
Ensure you scrub them thoroughly before you put them in the washer. You don’t want that little dirt clogging your washing machine.
- Get a laundry bag and put your sneakers inside
Now, get a laundry bag and set your sneakers in it. As I mentioned earlier, you can also put the shoelaces and insoles together with it.
If you can’t get a laundry bag, you can also get a little bag made of fabric or rather a pillowcase.
The laundry bag helps to protect the sneakers in the washing machine because of the tumbles in the washer.
Also, it helps to protect your other laundry if you’re washing them alongside the sneakers.
It prevents the color from the laundry from being deposited on the sneakers and pretty much reduces the noise from the tumbling.
- Put the bag into the washing machine
After putting the sneakers into the bag, you can now arrange the bag in the washing machine.
Put some detergent, preferably liquid as powdered detergents are likely to leave remnants on your sneakers and result in stains.
Ensure you use little of it to prevent excessive foaming in the washing machine.
Also, to cushion your sneakers in the washing machine, you can put some towels or any clothing not in use. It’ll help in loosening up the laundry load.
But be careful to put towels of the same color to avoid color stains.
You wouldn’t want to remove your white sneakers and discover that it’s streaked with blue or red colors.
- Program your washing machine
Putting your sneakers in the machine is one thing, but programming the washing machine is quite another. The water cycles in many washers are cold and warm.
Your sneakers may be ruined if you utilize the heated water option because they may shrink and their colors might wane.
So, if you want your sneakers to survive as long as possible while still looking good, you should program your washer for the cold water cycle.
You can also program slow spin cycles in your washing machine. That would take about 40 to 45 minutes after which you can proceed to the next step after completing this
- Now, you can remove your sneakers
The wash cycle is over. Now you can take out the laundry bag and remove your sneakers.
They’ll be wet, so you should air dry them in areas with adequate sunlight or you can use lots of towels to remove the moisture from them.
Dryers are not a good choice because they sometimes wear out the fabric of the sneakers and prompt tears in them.
After that, you can tie the shoelaces back and insert the insoles if you washed them separately and you’re good to go.
How Many Pairs Of Sneakers Can I Wash In My Washer?
Who wouldn’t want to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time and with such ease?
In your washer, you can wash more than one pair of sneakers. You can actually wash up to three pairs if you put them in different wash bags.
This will also be determined by the size of your washing machine. If yours are small, I recommend sticking to one, but if you have larger ones, two or three should be enough.
To achieve a quality wash, add additional liquid detergent because you’re washing more pairs.
Is It Okay To Use A Washer For My Sneakers?
If you prefer an easier way to clean your sneakers, I’ll recommend you use a washer. It’s quite safe for you and saves you a lot of stress compared to hand wash.
Because many people have outdated washing machines that are not capable of handling a sneakers’ machine wash, they might find it very complex and rather prefer hand washing.
Since machines today are far more advanced and include a plethora of improved options and features, it makes it possible to securely wash your shoes in a washing machine.
Washing your sneakers with a washer is pretty much easy and depends on you.
Remember to always check the tag on the sneakers to know if your sneaker is machine washable. Or if you don’t want to wash it by yourself, you can employ laundry services.