Sneaker Cleaning Guides

Why Bleach Turns White Shoes Yellow (and What pH Has to Do With It)
Chlorine bleach whitens on day one and yellows by day thirty. The residue, the brighteners, the glue, the sun, and why a neutral pH 7.2 cleaner avoids the whole problem. Read more...
What's Actually in a Sneaker Cleaner? Ingredients Explained
A sneaker cleaner is mostly water plus a surfactant. Here is what coco-glucoside, sodium citrate and glycerin each do, what bleach and solvents add, and how to read a label. Read more...
7 Sneaker Cleaning Mistakes That Ruin Shoes
Most sneaker damage happens on cleaning day. Seven common mistakes, what each one actually does to leather, canvas, suede and rubber, and the cheaper habit that replaces it. Read more...
How to Clean Yellowed Rubber Soles and Midsoles
Yellow soles are either grime, which wipes off in a minute, or oxidised rubber, which no cleaner reverses. A two-minute test tells you which, and an honest look at peroxide restoration. Read more...
How to Clean White Leather Sneakers
White sneaker leather is coated, which is why it wipes clean and why abrasives ruin it. The method, the scuff test, the things that will not come off, and what to avoid. Read more...
How to Clean Suede and Nubuck Shoes (The Blot Method)
Suede and nubuck are leather with the protective face removed, so they take a gentler technique. Blot, never rub, test an inside panel first, and judge the result only once it is dry. Read more...
How to Clean Shoelaces (and When to Just Replace Them)
Laces are the one part of a sneaker that is happy to be soaked. Take them off, soak them in mild detergent, rinse, dry overnight. If they are grey through or the tips have split, replace them. Read more...
How to Clean New Balance Sneakers (Grey Suede and Mesh)
The grey suede-and-mesh New Balance look is easy to keep and easy to ruin. Suede is blot only, mesh is the easiest part, and the midsole is where age shows. Here is the method. Read more...
How to Clean Mesh and Knit Sneakers
Mesh and knit uppers look worse than they are: most of the grey is loose grime caught in the weave. Foam, wait, wipe along the weave, and keep water and heat away from the midsole. Read more...
How to Clean Jordan 1s: Leather, Suede Panels and Midsoles
Jordan 1s mix leather, sometimes suede or nubuck, and a painted midsole. Each wants a slightly different touch. Here is the panel-by-panel method and its limits. Read more...
How to Clean Insoles and Deal With Shoe Odour
Shoe smell is a moisture problem before it is a dirt problem. Clean the insoles, then dry, air, rotate pairs, use baking soda, and replace insoles when they are flat. Read more...
How to Clean Converse Chuck Taylors
Canvas upper, rubber toe cap and foxing, cotton laces. Chucks are simple to clean and simple to yellow. The material-by-material method, and the washing machine question, answered. Read more...
How to Clean Canvas Shoes Without Shrinking or Yellowing Them
Canvas shrinks and yellows for the same reasons: too much water, then heat, then residue in the weave. How to clean it without any of the three, including the rubber and the laces. Read more...
Do Sneaker Cleaners Actually Work? What They Can and Can't Do
Yes on surface dirt, no on creases, oxidised yellowing, dye transfer and deep stains. How to tell in advance which kind of dirty you have, and what to expect by material. Read more...
Can You Put Sneakers in the Washing Machine?
Canvas usually survives, leather and suede do not, and foam midsoles take days to dry. Which sneakers can go in, how to do it least badly, and when a surface clean is the better call. Read more...