To clean UGGs, brush the dry dirt off first, then give the outside one light pass of foam, blot it, and let the boots air dry at room temperature, stuffed with paper. Treat the outside like suede. The three things to avoid are wetting one patch at a time, drying them near heat, and scrubbing hard.
This guide covers classic sheepskin boots and slippers. If yours are leather or knit, check the label first; those clean differently. SneakerSalt is not affiliated with UGG.
What UGGs are made of, and why it matters
Classic UGG boots are twinface sheepskin: suede on the outside, the wool left on the inside. Some slippers, the Tasman among them, come with either a sheepskin lining or a wool-blend one depending on the version. Either way, the outside behaves like suede, and suede has three weak points.
- Water marks. When one patch gets wet, dirt and minerals travel to the edge of the damp area as it dries and leave a tide line. That is why even UGG's own method wets the whole boot, not one spot.
- The nap. The soft raised fibres flatten and go shiny when you scrub them, and once they are rubbed away they do not grow back.
- Heat. UGG says to dry them away from direct heat and sun. Drying sheepskin fast is commonly blamed for boots that come out stiff.
Every step below is built around those three. The general technique is in our suede and nubuck guide; this is the UGG version.
How to clean UGG boots at home, step by step
- Let them dry first. If they came in wet, clean nothing yet. Stuff them with paper and leave them a day. Brushing wet suede pushes the dirt in.
- Brush off the dry dirt. Soft brush, one direction, light strokes. A lot of what looks like a stain is dust and dried mud sitting in the nap, and it comes off here.
- Test a hidden spot. Inside the cuff or near the back seam. Foam a small patch, blot and let it dry. If it dries back to the same shade and the nap still feels soft, do the rest of the boot.
- One light pump per panel. A thin layer over the whole side of the boot, seam to seam, not just the dirty spot. Covering the panel evenly is what stops a ring forming at the edge.
- Wait ten seconds, then blot. Press a folded dry cloth flat onto the foam and lift straight up. Move to a clean part of the cloth and repeat. Do not rub and do not go in circles.
- Air dry, stuffed, away from heat. Paper inside to hold the shape and draw the moisture out. No radiator, no hair dryer, no tumble dryer, no direct sun. UGG's own guidance is at least 24 hours somewhere cool and airy.
- Brush the nap back up. Once they are completely dry, brush in one direction to lift the fibres and even out the colour.
Damp suede always looks darker than it will be, so judge the result only when it is fully dry. If a mark is still there, a second light pass beats one heavy one.
We make a foam for exactly this, SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam. It has no bleach and no solvents, it stays where you put it instead of soaking through the nap, and the box comes with a brush and a cloth, the other two things this method needs. On suede our own rating is "good, blot only" rather than "excellent", and that is the honest version: it lifts surface grime well, and it does not reverse old, set-in stains.
Water stains, salt stains and oil
These are the problems people search for most, and each needs a different fix.
Water stains
A water stain is a tide line, so you remove it by making the whole panel evenly damp and letting it dry evenly. Wipe the entire side of the boot with a clean cloth that is damp, not wet, from seam to seam. Blot, stuff, air dry, brush. Fresh marks usually even out in one round; older ones can take two.
Salt stains
Road salt leaves a white crust that plain water tends to spread around. The usual fix is white vinegar diluted with water; recipes run from one part vinegar to two of water up to equal parts, so start with the weaker mix. Dab it onto the white marks with a cloth and blot. Then wipe the whole panel with a cloth barely damp with plain water so the edges even out, and air dry. Brush once dry. Deal with salt soon, while it is still sitting on the surface.
Oil, grease and food
Do not add water to oil. Cover the spot with cornstarch or talc, leave it overnight to draw the oil out, and brush it off in the morning. Repeat if the mark is still dark, then give the panel a light pass. Set-in oil on suede often leaves a shadow however you treat it.
How to clean the inside of UGGs
The fleece inside goes flat and starts to smell long before the outside looks dirty.
- Smell: a tablespoon of baking soda in each boot, shaken around, left overnight and tipped out in the morning. Let them air out between wears; damp sheepskin is what smells. More in our insoles and odour guide.
- Spots on the lining: dab with a cloth barely damp with cool water, then blot dry. Never soak the lining.
- Flattened fleece: once fully dry, brush it gently with a clean soft brush to fluff it back up.
We keep our foam off the fleece lining. Sheepskin wool is not on the list of materials we have tested, and we would rather say so than guess.
Can you wash UGGs in the washing machine?
No. UGG's help centre says never to machine wash or dry clean its sheepskin, and never to tumble dry it. People do it anyway and post the results; some pairs come out fine and some come out stiff or patchy, and there is no way to know which yours will be. Cleaning by hand takes about ten minutes plus drying time.
Our washing machine guide covers what the drum does to shoes in general.
What not to use on UGGs
| Product | Use it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Melamine sponge ("magic eraser") | No | It is an abrasive. On suede it sands the nap down and leaves a bald, lighter patch. |
| Suede eraser (rubber block) | Yes, on dry marks | Rubs out small marks without water. Light pressure, then brush. |
| Dish soap | Sparingly | A drop in a cup of water can lift a spot, but soap left in suede dries stiff and can leave its own ring. |
| Bleach | No | It can strip the colour out of suede. |
| Baby wipes | Not really | Wet enough to leave a patch on one spot, which is how tide lines start. |
| Hair dryer, radiator, tumble dryer | No | UGG says no tumble dryer and no direct heat. |
How to keep UGGs clean longer
- Brush them after a muddy day, once dry, before the dirt sets in.
- Let them dry fully between wears, and rotate pairs if you wear them daily.
- A suede protector spray on clean, dry boots helps water and salt bead off instead of soaking in. Our foam does not waterproof anything; that is a separate product.
- Store them stuffed with paper, somewhere cool and dry.
The usual ways people damage a pair are in 7 sneaker cleaning mistakes, and most of them apply to UGGs too.
Questions people actually ask
Can you use Dawn dish soap to clean UGGs?
For a single spot, a drop in a cup of cool water on a cloth is fine. Use as little as you can and blot it out well, because soap residue dries stiff and can leave a ring.
Can I dry my UGGs with a hair dryer?
No. UGG says to keep them away from direct heat while they dry. Stuff them with paper and let them dry at room temperature, even if it takes a day.
Will my UGGs be ruined if they get wet?
Water itself is not the problem: UGG's own cleaning method wets the whole boot with cold water. What leaves marks is one patch getting wet and drying unevenly, or drying them fast near heat. Blot, stuff, dry slowly, then even out any tide marks with the water-stain method above.
Does suede cleaner work on UGGs?
UGG's own instructions use its sheepskin cleaner, diluted, never applied neat. If you use any other suede cleaner, ours included, test a hidden area first and use it lightly over the whole panel rather than on one spot.
How do I make my UGGs look new again?
A dry brush, one light even clean, slow drying and a final brush to lift the nap get most pairs close. Bald patches where the nap has worn away do not come back, and no cleaner fixes those, ours included.
Clean the outside in ten minutes: SneakerSalt Shoe Cleaning Foam, $24, free shipping, brush and cloth in the box, and keep the bottle if it doesn't work.
