A brand new pair of canvas sneakers is a beautiful thing to own. Too quickly, though, those white shoes can turn black with grime and stains. Knowing how to clean white canvas shoes can help you ensure that your wardrobe stays pristine and looking great.
When you have a time-tested method for cleaning canvas shoes, you can be confident in being able to handle any stains you encounter. This guide helps you find the perfect cleaning option for your situation. In this article, we show you methods for cleaning white shoes with baking soda and other household products.
You’ll get the lowdown on the most effective cleaning options for your canvas shoes using either hand- or machine-washing methods. Before long, your white shoes will look like they just came off the rack.
Clean White Canvas Shoes with Simple Ingredients
Having a reliable method for washing Converse and other canvas and suede shoes is essential if you want a clean and neat appearance. Can you wash Vans? Yes, you can wash these shoes and there are many different cleaning approaches you can use.
Which one you select comes down to whether you clean your shoes by machine or hand. It’s a good idea to have a go-to method for both options.
Hand Cleaning White Shoes with Baking Soda
This section looks at how to clean white canvas shoes using your hands, elbow grease, and some top-notch household cleaning solutions. DIYers will love this section and will find all sorts of recipes for getting your white shoes back to factory condition. We give you tips for cleaning white shoes with baking soda, vinegar, and many other powerful agents that can get them looking fabulous.
Clean Your Shoes with Baking Soda and Vinegar
The best way to clean white tennis shoes is to use a pantry favorite. Baking soda is an invaluable tool in your DIY cleaning kit. There are plenty of uses for baking soda, from cleaning your teeth to getting the grime off of metal.
When you combine baking soda with the fantastic cleaning power of vinegar, you get a method of cleaning white shoes with baking soda that you can’t beat. Try this technique to remove yellowing from shoes soles before moving onto more complicated options.
Fill the container with vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda on the scuffs, and spray the spots with vinegar. Scrub with the toothbrush until the stain is gone. Rinse the shoes in warm water and repeat as required until the stain lifts away.
This solution works particularly well for stubborn stains that other stain removers can’t handle. For example, you can remove grass stains from shoes with this recipe. More than one application may be required.
If your shoes are not only dirty but stinky, too, you can also use this recipe to make a simple yet natural shoe deodorizer spray. Spritz the solution in your shoes and let them air dry outside, preferably in the sun, for several hours. Smells will clear right up.
Whiten Your Shoes with Dish Soap
Dish soap is another go-to for millions of homemakers. The same qualities that make dish soap so effective at fighting grime and grease on your silverware and eating surfaces make it perfect for breaking up greasy stains on your nice white sneakers. Use this method to attack especially oily spots or to clean dirt off white shoes and make them bright again.
Apply dish soap to stained spots on your shoes. Dip the toothbrush in warm water, and gently scrub the stains. Re-wet the toothbrush often, and rinse the shoes if needed. Repeat until you eradicate the stains.
Get Your Shoes Looking Great with a Magic Eraser
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is one of the more useful cleaning developments of the past few decades. When you use a Magic Eraser, you can lift out all kinds of stains from white canvas without leaving a mark. When it works, it can reduce your cleaning time to nothing flat and leave your shoes looking gorgeous.
It’s one of the better options for cleaning canvas shoes by hand. Rub the Magic Eraser on any stained areas on your shoes.
Use a little bit of force as you rub, but don’t bear down so hard as to break the Eraser. Blot the shoes with a damp cloth to remove any debris, and repeat until the shoes are white and unstained.
Get Tough Stains Out with Nail Polish Remover
Not all stains on your canvas shoes are going to be grease or food-based stains, of course. You’ll sometimes run across grime that cleaning white shoes with baking soda can’t remove.
When you need a little extra cleaning action, give nail polish remover, also called acetone, a shot. Acetone breaks down compounds into components, which makes them easier to clean away.
Dip the cotton balls in nail polish remover, and blot the stains. Replace the cotton balls whenever they become stained. Once the stain is out, dip a cloth in warm water, and clean off any lingering acetone.
This recipe will likely be the most successful to get paint off shoes, if you have encountered this problem. It will work on latex, acrylic, and even oil-based paint, most of the time. If some paint remains, you may want to try a commercial product to get the rest of the stain out.
Knock Out Stains with Commercial Shoe Cleaner
Occasionally, you might find that your DIY attempts at finding a solution for how to clean white canvas shoes don’t get the job done. When you need a more intense option for cleaning canvas shoes, you can always turn to commercial shoe cleaners. Companies design commercial cleaners to tackle canvas shoes of all sorts.
They’re an excellent cleaning option when all else fails. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions when you use a commercial shoe cleaner.
Make sure to don safety gear, including a respirator, before using a shoe cleaner. Always provide sufficient ventilation for any fumes, as well. After you use the shoe cleaner, clean away any lingering stains with a DIY method.
Cleaning Canvas Shoes in the Washing Machine
You might not think of the washing machine when you need to get your white Converse shoes clean. Shoes in the washer call to mind loud thudding noises and worries about damaging your equipment. Using your washing machine for cleaning canvas shoes is a fantastic cleaning option, though.
Give the washing machine a try whenever you want to expose your shoes to some intense scrubbing action. This section looks at how to clean white canvas shoes using a washing machine.
We show you how to pair powerful cleaners with the washer to get your white shoes looking their best. With these machine-washing tips and our hand-washing methods, you’ll never have to worry about getting your shoes clean again.
Wash Away the Stains with Laundry Detergent
Good old laundry detergent is one of the better options you can use to get your shoes back to white. Laundry detergent contains all kinds of compounds that make it ideal as a stain remover, and you can take advantage of that.
Your canvas shoes will look like you just pulled them from the box after you send them through a wash with detergent. Do not use this method on leather shoes.
Apply detergent to any stains on your shoes. Combine the water and dish soap in a bowl. Remove the shoelaces, and let them soak in the bowl of soapy water.
The way to clean white shoelaces after soaking is by putting them in a mesh bag and putting them in the washing machine. Either air dry or add to the dryer. Send the shoes through a warm water gentle cycle. Air dry your clean shoes.
Bring Your Shoes Back to White with Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent and is perfect when you need to know how to clean white canvas shoes and clean white fabric shoes. When you follow up peroxide with a trip through the washer, your shoes will be spotless. Because peroxide will bleach any fabrics it encounters, you should only use it to clean light-colored shoes and fabrics.
Fill the bottle with peroxide and spray any stains until thoroughly damp. Scrub the stains and gunk with an old toothbrush. Make sure the toothbrush is clean and has no toothpaste residue.
Let the peroxide sit on the stains for at least ten minutes. Remove the shoelaces, and send the shoes through a warm-water gentle wash cycle. Let your shoes air dry.
Hit Your Shoes with Vinegar
Sometimes, cleaning white shoes with baking soda can’t get out tough stains. That’s when vinegar and the washing machine can step forward and save the day.
Vinegar is one of the top cleaners in your home arsenal and is a champion at stain removal. When you pair it with a machine washer, you’ve got a potent combination that will do a spot cleaning number on any pair of dirty canvas shoes.
Fill the bottle with vinegar, and spray any stains until thoroughly wet. Scrub the spots with an old toothbrush to work the vinegar into the fabric.
Let vinegar sit on the stains for at least 15 minutes. Remove the shoelaces and place them in soapy water, and send the shoes through a warm-water gentle cycle. Air dry the shoes.
We hope you enjoyed checking out our canvas shoe cleaning tips. White canvas shoes are wardrobe staples and make our outfits pop, but a few stains can make them seem dingy.
Our guide helps you find the right methods for cleaning white shoes with baking soda and other cleaning products. We’ll help you find the perfect cleaner for your needs and leave you with clean white shoes.
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