To clean adidas suede shoes, start dry: wait until they have dried out completely, brush the nap in one direction, and rub small marks out with a suede eraser. Only after that reach for a cleaner, and use it lightly, blotting the whole panel rather than scrubbing one spot. adidas's own advice treats suede as a spot-clean material because water can damage it, so the tap and the washing machine are both out.
SneakerSalt is not affiliated with adidas.
Which adidas shoes are suede
The Gazelle has a suede upper. So does the Campus 00s, though some Campus colourways are leather. The Samba OG is a leather shoe with suede overlays, including the T-shaped piece across the toe, and some Samba colourways are suede all over. For a Handball Spezial, a Tokyo, a Neo pair or anything else, read the label: if it says suede, this page applies, and if it says leather or synthetic, it doesn't.
What adidas recommends for suede
adidas's care guidance says suede is cleaned in spots, not washed, on the grounds that water can harm it. It names three tools: a suede brush, worked in one direction; an eraser for marks; and suede cleaner put onto a towel rather than onto the shoe. On the Gazelle's product page it adds a warning that harsh soap and running water can stiffen suede and leave stains. When the shoe is dry, brush again to raise the nap.
That is the official method in full, and it's sound. What it leaves out is the order, the amounts and what to do about particular stains, which is the rest of this page.
Step one: the dry clean
Much of what looks like a stain on suede is dust and dried grime caught in the nap. A lot of it comes off with nothing wet at all.
- Let them dry fully. Brushing damp suede, or wet mud, pushes the dirt deeper into the fibres.
- Brush in one direction. Short, light strokes along the nap. Sources disagree on the ideal bristle (nylon, brass, crepe), so any soft brush you have will do; there's one in our box.
- Eraser on the marks. A suede eraser, or a clean pencil eraser, pressed lightly. Brush again afterwards to lift what it loosened.
Check them in daylight. If the marks have gone, you're finished.
Step two: one light, even blot
- Test inside the tongue. A little foam on a small patch, blotted and left to dry. If it comes back the same shade with the nap still soft, carry on.
- Foam the whole panel thinly. One light pump per panel, spread from seam to seam. If you'd rather follow adidas's towel method exactly, pump onto the cloth and dab it on. Either way, cover the panel: a damp patch in the middle of dry suede dries with a ring round it.
- Ten seconds, then blot. Press a folded dry cloth flat onto the foam and lift it straight off. Turn to a clean part of the cloth and go again. Never circles, never rubbing.
- Dry slowly. Paper inside, room temperature, nowhere near a radiator or a sunny window.
- Raise the nap. Brush once they're completely dry. Suede reads darker while damp, so judge the result only at this point.
If a mark survives, a second light pass beats a heavier first one. Our foam is rated "Good, blot only" on suede rather than "Excellent", and that's the honest grade: it lifts surface grime, and it won't undo a stain that has soaked in and set. The general version of this technique is in our suede and nubuck guide.
How to clean adidas suede shoes without suede cleaner
You may not need one. The brush and eraser deal with most day-to-day dirt. For marks that get past them:
- White vinegar. Dampen the corner of a cloth, dab the mark, let it dry, then brush. One shoe maker's suede guide uses vinegar straight on a cloth corner; another dilutes it half and half with water for tougher stains. Start with the weaker version. Vinegar can shift some dyes, so try it inside the tongue first.
- A barely damp cloth. Plain water on a wrung-out cloth, wiped evenly across the whole panel, softens light marks. More water than that causes stains instead of removing them.
- Dish soap or washing-up liquid. Leave it out. adidas warns that harsh soap can stiffen suede.
Stains on adidas suede
| Stain | What works | Our foam |
|---|---|---|
| Dried mud | Let it dry completely, brush it off, then a light blot for the residue | Good, once brushed |
| Water marks | Dampen the whole panel evenly, dry slowly, brush. Vinegar and water for stubborn rings | Usually evens out with one light pass over the whole panel |
| Road salt | Brush off the crust, dab a vinegar-and-water mix (from 1:2 to 1:1), then wipe the panel evenly | Partial: surface residue only |
| Oil or grease | Cornstarch on the spot for a few hours, then wipe the powder away with a cloth, not a brush | Partial on set-in oil |
| Grass | Eraser and brush first; the green behaves like a dye | Partial: soil yes, pigment no |
| Ink or dye transfer | No reliable home fix on suede | Poor |
Black, blue, pink and cream suede
Colour changes what you notice, not the method. On black and dark blue suede, road salt sits on top as a white crust, so brush it off while it's still on the surface. Pale suede in cream, pink or light blue shows dirt sooner and shows a water ring sooner, which is why the whole-panel rule matters most on those pairs. The foam has no bleach and no dyes, and it hasn't lifted dye on anything we've tested, but on a bright or pale pair the test inside the tongue still comes first.
Washing machine, and keeping them clean
Suede adidas don't go in the washing machine. adidas's general care guide is against machine washing shoes, its Gazelle page warns about running water on suede, and suede that has been soaked commonly dries stiff and patchy. The dryer is a no in every adidas guide that mentions it.
To keep them looking right, brush them once they're dry after a dirty day, before grime settles in. A suede protector spray can help water bead off, but sources disagree: some shoe makers suggest one, and at least one boot maker says to avoid sprays unless a patch test passes. Test on a hidden spot. Our foam cleans; it doesn't waterproof anything. Store them stuffed with paper, somewhere dry. The common ways suede gets ruined are in 7 sneaker cleaning mistakes.
Questions people actually ask
Does getting wet ruin adidas suede?
Usually not. Rain marks come from one area drying at a different rate from the rest. Blot off what you can, stuff the shoes with paper, let them dry slowly away from heat, then even out any tide line by dampening the whole panel and brushing once dry.
Can you put adidas Sambas in the wash?
No. A Samba combines leather, suede and a gum sole, adidas's general care guide is against machine washing, and there is no Samba-specific care page that says otherwise. Clean the leather and suede separately by hand.
Is Dawn dish soap good for cleaning sneakers?
Diluted in warm water, it's fine on leather, knit and rubber. On suede, skip it: adidas warns that harsh soap can stiffen the material.
For the light pass after the brush and eraser, and for the leather and canvas pairs too: SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam, $24, free shipping, brush and cloth in the box. If it doesn't clean your shoes within 30 days, you keep the bottle and we refund you.
