How To Clean White Sneakers | Reviews By Wirecutter

No matter what your shoes are made of, begin with these steps:

1.  Remove the laces. Although keeping the laces in your shoes can help them maintain their shape during cleaning, it’s best to take them out. Removing the laces will give you access to the eyelets and allow you to wash the laces themselves. (More on that later.)

2.  Clean off any loose dirt. Clap the soles of your shoes together to release any lingering dirt or easy-to-remove grime. It’s best to do this outdoors if you can. Otherwise, lay a towel down indoors to catch the debris.

3.  Place either shoe trees or rags inside your shoes. This will help them maintain their shape and make it easier for you to clean inside folds or creases.

For smooth leather or vegan leather sneakers

1.  Gently scrub away dirt or stains. Add a few drops of dish soap to a small bowl and fill it with warm water. Dip a small, soft-bristle brush in the sudsy water and gently scrub any dirt or stains from the leather and rubber portions of the shoe, paying attention to crevices. Be delicate with the brush—you don’t want to ruin the finish of the leather.

2.  Wipe away dirt with a dampened soft cloth. Dampen part of a soft cloth with lukewarm water and wipe away dirt. To ensure that all soap residue is washed away, you may need to rinse the cloth a few times in between wiping down your shoes.

3.  Spot-clean fabric parts of the shoe with a stain remover. Typically you can spot-clean lighter stains on the fabric components of a leather shoe with one of our liquid stain remover picks, such as Amodex Ink & Stain Remover. For deeper-set stains, we recommend applying a small amount of laundry detergent (we like Tide Free & Gentle Liquid Laundry Detergent) for a few minutes before rinsing with water; be sure to wear gloves when using a laundry detergent this way. Rinse well, taking care to keep any leather parts of the shoe dry.

4.  Allow your shoes to fully air-dry. If it’s possible, air-dry your shoes outdoors. You can also dry them indoors in a well-ventilated room or near a fan. Confirm that they are fully dry before you wear them.

Thoroughly air-dry leather sneakers before you wear them again. Andrea Barnes/NYT WirecutterA little dish soap and some gentle scrubbing greatly improved scuffed-up Nike Dunks. Andrea Barnes/NYT Wirecutter

For canvas or mesh sneakers

1.  Scrub away dirt or stains. Using a mixture of warm water and dish soap and a soft-bristle brush, scrub any rubber or firm parts of the shoe. (Avoid the fabric parts—you don’t want to accidentally snag the material.) Then, use a damp cloth to wipe off soapy residue. You may need to repeat the process, depending on how stubborn the grime is.

2.  Pretreat deeply stained spots. If parts of the shoe are really stained, try pretreating the stains with dish soap, a liquid laundry detergent (we like Tide Free & Gentle Liquid Laundry Detergent), or a stain remover (we’ve successfully used Amodex Ink & Stain Remover to clean canvas sneakers).

First, test your stain remover of choice on a hidden part of the shoe for colorfastness. (If you’re using a laundry detergent, wear gloves.) Then pretreat the stains with the stain remover and let it sit for at least five minutes; you may want to let stubborn stains sit for longer, but don’t go past 15 minutes. Rinse well with water in the sink.

3.  Dry the shoes thoroughly. Allow your sneakers to air-dry completely before wearing them. Drying outdoors is always preferable, but drying in a well-ventilated room near an open window or a fan can work, too.

4.  If the stains don’t budge after spot-cleaning, consider using the washing machine. If your shoes aren’t machine-washable, you may want to get them professionally cleaned.