Brand new white sneakers look just dazzling, but quickly lose their fresh look. How to return and maintain the whiteness of sneakers - a selection of tips.
White sneakers are good for absolutely everyone except one thing: they quickly lose their original whiteness. We figure out what to do to get it back (and what better not to do).
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General remarks:
- To take care of suede sneakers, use the tips for suede shoes (selection here).
- To wash and wipe white sneakers, take white rags: colored ones can paint the skin or sole.
- If the sneakers have colored parts or embroidery, do not let peroxide and white toothpaste get on these parts.
- Rinse off any detergents and cleaners with white shoes: if they are left on the skin, over time they can give yellowness.
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Tips and lifehacks for white sneakers:
1. Use water repellent
After purchasing new sneakers, use water-repellent impregnation - just as you would with any other pair of shoes. Regularly renew the impregnation (before this, the sneakers must be washed / cleaned and dried). Impregnation will prevent the penetration of water into the skin and cuts (including dirty water, for example, from autumn puddles) and keep the shoes not only dry, but also more clean, white.
2. Do not wash sneakers in the washing machine
Can sneakers be washed in a car? There are examples when sneakers withstand such washing well. More often, however, this applies to fabric sneakers. Leather and suede is still better not to wash it. It is likely that the natural material will deform or become stiff. This may not happen, but why take the risk?
3. Cleaning and washing sneakers from heavy contaminants
Let's start with the most difficult option: for example, sneakers are all in the ground and dirt.
How to wash white sneakers:
- Take out the shoelaces.
- Use a damp cloth or sponge to remove most of the dirt from the sneakers, including the soles.
- Dilute the detergent in warm water and wash the sneakers with a sponge soaked in water with the product, removing any remaining dirt.
- Seams, skin sections and the sole can be washed additionally with a medium hard brush with the same water and detergent.
- After that, wipe off any residual water with a detergent from a sneaker with a damp, clean cloth.
4. Removing medium-intensity contaminants: micellar
Micellar water can help wash slightly dirty, but already slightly white leather sneakers.
How to wash sneakers with micellar water - action scheme:
- take out the laces;
- remove dust from the skin with a brush;
- apply micellar water to the cotton pad, wipe the skin, tongue and sole;
- wash the micellar with a clean damp cloth.
5. Remove stains: vinegar and hydrogen peroxide
The stains remaining from the main cleaning from leather sneakers can be removed with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. Just in case, test these products in the least visible small area!
We act like this: drip a little vinegar (helps from yellow spots) or peroxide (helps from different spots) onto a cotton pad and wipe the stain. Then rinse off with a clean, damp cloth.
Do not use this method for suede sneakers.
6. Return the whiteness of the sneakers: toothpaste and brush
If there are no stains and obvious dirt on the white sneakers, but still they do not look fresh enough, you can try brushing them with toothpaste and an unnecessary toothbrush. Important: take the white paste, not the colored one, otherwise the effect may be the opposite.It is also better not to use pastes and powders with an abrasive effect to clean the skin, as you can get scratches and damage the top layer. From this sneakers will get dirty faster.
The method is suitable for cleaning the skin, and for cleaning the white sole of the sneakers. Not suited for suede!
How to wash sneakers with toothpaste and a brush:
- take out the laces;
- apply a paste with a pea volume on a wet brush;
- we clean the polluted places, adding pastes, if necessary (especially carefully go over the seams and cuts of the skin);
- wash the paste with a clean damp cloth.
7. Return the whiteness of the sole: soft and hard methods
It seems that the sole can be handled somewhat more freely than with the leather part of white sneakers. But it is not so. If you use harsh abrasive methods, you can add scratches and bumps to the upper layer of the sole, in which dirt and dust will clog with a vengeance. But such harsh methods give a clear effect of returning whiteness. True, they will have to be used often.
Hard methods:
- use of soda;
- the use of abrasive toothpastes;
- the use of a melamine sponge and the hard side of a regular sponge.
Soft methods spare the sole material, but not so effectively clean it.
Soft methods:
- the above mitzel;
- also mentioned hydrogen peroxide;
- washing with a toothbrush with non-abrasive toothpaste;
- washing with diluted detergent or special shampoo for shoes.
There are still methods that you can use at your own peril and risk, since they involve the use of fairly aggressive chemicals. It all depends on the sole: nothing will happen to one shoe, and the sole of others may, for example, turn yellow or lose the top cover. In a word, it is better to try on an inconspicuous area.
Aggressive chemical methods:
- wiping the soles with acetone or nail polish remover;
- use of aggressive bleach (in this case, bleach should be applied to the sole and left for at least an hour).
8. Laces: hand wash only
The return of white to the laces surprisingly refreshes the look of white sneakers.
The easiest way is to remove the old shoelaces and, using them as a sample, pick up new ones that are suitable in width and length in the store.
If there are no new shoelaces, you can wash the old ones. In a car, laces, especially synthetic ones, are best avoided. Thin light fibers of threads, from which synthetic laces are woven, cling too easily and stretch, and laces after washing in a machine with other things (and for a couple of laces we are unlikely to start the machine) can lose their presentation. At the same time, dirty laces by hand, according to experience, are not washed off very well, and it is inconvenient to wash them with your hands.
How to wash white shoelaces from sneakers:
- take out the laces;
- in a small bowl, mix hot water with a detergent, non-aggressive bleach and stain remover;
- soak the laces in the mixture for several hours;
- wash (it is better to use gloves), rinse and dry.
9. Should I use cream for white leather sneakers?
It depends on the model of sneakers.
If the sneakers do not have a large number of details, seams, open sections, are made more or less monolithic (such in the photo above), then you can use the usual colorless or white cream for leather shoes. We act according to the traditional scheme: apply cream to clean, dry skin, let it soak in, go through with a dry cloth.
If there are a lot of seams, parts, open sections on sneakers, there are fabric elements, it is better not to use shoe polish. The fact is that the fat and wax in the cream will make the joints, open sections of the skin and fabric more susceptible to absorb dirt and dust. Sneakers will get dirty faster.
10. How to remove scuffs and scratches from white leather sneakers
If the outer layer is damaged and scuffs and scratches form on the leather of the sneakers, one of the best options is to use a special paint for shoes. In our case, white.It is available in spray, it is used by different brands and is usually called: "white paint for sneakers and shoes." By the way, often this paint is also suitable for artificial leather and fabric.
You can also anoint the wiped place with a white (not colorless) shoe polish. Cream, as a rule, masks damage worse than paint, but is suitable for mild scuffs.
Tips for using white nail polish or decorative acrylic paint to paint scratches are best neglected. To apply them accurately and evenly is quite difficult. Marked spots and stains may remain. And over time, yellowness may appear at the application site (especially in the case of varnish).
Photo: Adidas, lifestyle.euronics.co.uk, pixabay.com, textileenterprises.co.uk, fredrikrisvik.com, simple.co.uk, irmix. ir
