To clean Sperry shoes made of leather, follow Sperry's own advice and keep water off the upper: use a leather cleaner, then a leather lotion, clean the rawhide laces separately, and scrub the soles with a little dish soap. Then give them a full day to air dry away from heat and sun. Suede, nubuck and fabric pairs are a different job, covered further down.
SneakerSalt is not affiliated with Sperry.
What Sperry says about water
The Authentic Original Top-Sider has a full-grain or premium leather upper, rawhide laces and a non-marking rubber sole. Sperry's guidance is that although its shoes can get wet, you should avoid washing them with water, because water dries out the leather's natural oils. Its fix for that is a leather lotion after cleaning, to stop the leather drying, cracking and scuffing.
That has a consequence for us. Our foam is water-based, so we don't recommend it on leather Sperrys, white ones included, even though white leather is rated excellent on other shoes. When the maker of a shoe says no water on its leather, we go with the maker.
How to clean leather Sperry Top-Siders
- Take the laces out. Rawhide gets its own treatment, below.
- Wipe off loose dirt. A dry, soft cloth over the whole upper, paying attention to the stitching around the toe.
- Test your leather cleaner. Sperry suggests trying any product on a hidden spot first: the inside of the heel works.
- Clean the leather. Use the leather cleaner as its directions say, a small amount at a time, and wipe it off.
- Apply leather lotion. This is the step Sperry stresses, to keep the leather from drying out and cracking.
- Scrub the soles. Sperry's method is a little dish soap and a scrub. Keep the suds on the rubber and off the leather.
- Air dry for 24 hours. Stuffed with newspaper, away from heat and sunlight, as Sperry advises.
Black, brown and the Sahara colourway all follow the same steps; the only difference is how hard you look at the test spot. For marks that won't shift, a dedicated leather stain product or a cobbler is a better bet than more scrubbing.
The rawhide laces
Sperry cleans rawhide laces separately in cold water with a little dish soap. Our table rates laces "good", but rawhide is leather and Sperry has its own method for it, so use that. Let them dry flat and away from heat before relacing, and if they've gone stiff and cracked, replacing them is easier than reviving them.
Suede, nubuck and fabric Sperrys
Suede and nubuck. Brush dry dirt off in one direction, use a suede eraser on marks, and if you need more, one light pump of foam blotted off with a dry cloth. We rate the foam "good, blot only" on napped leathers like these. If the care card for your pair repeats Sperry's no-water advice, follow the card instead. The suede and nubuck guide explains blotting step by step.
Canvas and other fabrics. The Sperry guidance we found covers leather boat shoes, so check the label on canvas pairs. Canvas is a material we rate excellent, and the canvas guide covers it in full.
The white sole. Besides Sperry's dish-soap scrub, SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam works on the rubber sole edge: a pump, ten seconds, a wipe. Mask the leather edge with your thumb and the cloth so none of it reaches the upper.
Salt water, stains and smell
Salt water. Common advice is to deal with it promptly instead of letting it dry in. Wipe the shoes with a dry cloth, let them dry Sperry's way, and follow with leather lotion. White salt lines that stay are usually treated with diluted white vinegar on a cloth, which is still water, so test it first and use the lotion afterwards.
Oil. Cover a fresh spot with cornstarch or talc overnight, then brush it off before you use the leather cleaner.
Smell. If your pair's insoles don't lift out, dry the shoes fully between wears, sprinkle baking soda inside overnight and tip it out, and don't wear the same pair two days running. More in the insoles and odour guide.
Can you wash Sperrys in the washing machine?
Not leather ones. Sperry doesn't mention washing machines for its leather pairs, but a machine is the opposite of its no-water advice. The only Authentic Original Sperry sold as washable was a separate nubuck model, now sold out. For canvas pairs, the label decides.
Questions people actually ask
What is the best cleaner for Sperry shoes?
For leather pairs, a leather cleaner followed by a leather lotion, which is what Sperry itself recommends. Water-based cleaners, ours included, go against Sperry's advice for leather.
Can you put canvas Sperrys in the washing machine?
Check the label on your pair. The Sperry care guidance we found is written for leather boat shoes, and many shoe makers advise against machine washing in general.
How do I clean suede shoes without ruining them?
Dry brush first, blot rather than rub, use as little moisture as possible, dry slowly away from heat and brush the nap up once dry.
For the soles, the suede pairs and the rest of the shoe rack, SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam is $24 with free shipping, and you get a refund if it doesn't clean them.
