To keep your favorite shoes looking new, we have tested and approved these simple tips on how to clean white leather shoes with various substances. Whether they are made of leather, canvas, or mesh, these easy step-by-step instructions for cleaning white leather shoes (and slippers!) will have your favorite footwear looking as new as the day you purchased it. We hope that following this advice will help you maintain the high quality you’ve come to expect from a well made pair of leather shoes. With a little care, yours should look as sharp as the day you purchased them.
Toothbrush: First, find an old toothbrush and use it to gently brush the stains off the shoes. You can also use a damp soft toothbrush if you’d prefer. Be careful not to apply too much pressure while brushing, as you don’t want to do any damage to the material. You may need to repeat this cleaning process several times, depending on how deep the stains were.
Water: Next, you will need to get a small bottle of water and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, add a drop of white vinegar to it. Allow it to dissolve completely before gently removing the vinegar from the footwear with a wet towel. Once the footwear is thoroughly cleaned with vinegar, let it dry completely. This step is especially important when using a spray bottle to clean white shoelaces, since excess residue from the vinegar may make a stain reappear.
Hydrogen Peroxide: Next, get a small container of hydrogen peroxide and combine it with some baking soda. The combination is very powerful, so make sure that you only combine enough peroxide to give a little bit of shine to your shoes. After cleaning the footwear with this mixture, allow it to sit for a few minutes, then wash it with water. Again, the hydrogen peroxide should be allowed to dissolve completely before washing it out of the entire shoe with water.
Direct Sunlight: After cleaning the shoes with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, you may want to apply them with direct sunlight, if possible. You can do this by placing the shoes right next to a large windowsill or fan. Allow them to dry thoroughly before putting them back into your wardrobe. If you really want to save time, you can just leave them in the sunlight for a few hours.
Laces: If the white stains on your laces are caused by dirt or dust, then you can use a mixture of one part vinegar and two parts warm water. Wet the white vinegar mixture, place the laces onto it, and gently roll them up while holding the laces underneath the surface of the water. Use the steam from the inside of your heating unit to dry the laces completely before putting them back into your wardrobe.
Washing Machine: Last but not least, you should consider washing your canvas shoes in the washing machine. To do so, you should first remove all of the laces. Place your laces in a mesh bag, and then place them inside the mesh bag. Add two cups of very hot water into the bag, and set your washing machine on the “low” cycle. You can also set your washing machine to the “cycle” all the way, if you have a model that can go from low to full very fast.
Use a damp white toothbrush to clean the dirt from the bottom of your shoes. Damp it enough that you can brush the dirt off of the bottom of your shoes without getting any water on your white toothbrush. If dirt gets onto your white toothbrush it can make your shoes look funny. If the dirt doesn’t get onto your toothbrush it will take a long time for it to come off of the shoe. Once you are sure the dirt has been removed, you can put your shoes into the dryer on the lowest heat setting for about fifteen minutes, which will dry the shoes quickly and thoroughly.
