Maintaining clean shoes will make them last longer

We all have our favorite pair of shoes. Whether they are sandals, slip-on, or sneakers, they all tend to get scuffed, smelly, or dingy. Powerizer Complete's stain fighting laundry detergent will remove the scuffs, neutralize odors and penetrate deep to lift the dirt and residue from crevasses. 

There are many different styles of shoes, with numerous types of materials such as leather, patent leather, suede, sheepskin, textile, vinyl, foam, canvas rubber, and many more.  Cleaning them with Powerizer will help extend their functionality and beauty without ruining the look and integrity.

The common denominator with cleaning with Powerizer is to rinse the detergent clean.  Today we are going to cover three types of shoes, athletic, dress shoes, and boots. 

Athletic shoes can be a mix of different types of fabrics which are meant to be durable and withstand the elements.  Your everyday Running shoe is usually going to be a textile Melange mesh upper and a rubber bottom with a removable foam insert and an elastic or polyester shoestring.  All of these can be washed using the washing machine or in a kitchen sink for a deeper cleaning when needed. 

First, make a concentrated pre-treat mixture of Powerizer in a squeeze bottle, let the mixture sit a few minutes to allow time to activate the stain removing ingredients to kick in. 

Second, remove the lining, and shoestrings from the shoe. Place those in a bowl of concentrated Powerizer to soak while you scrub the sneaker. 

To clean your shoe, you can incorporate a few tools. 

Round up a dish or a plastic hand scrubber for larger surface scrubbing like the soles.  Also, use a toothbrush to reach inside the shoe and tight spaces and a microfiber cloth to wipe delicate surfaces like sateen or shiny fabric.  Scrub all the areas, including the strings and the shoe pad.  You can then move your shoe to a sink full of clean, warm water and submerge the sneaker completely while brushing the surfaces to help lift the dirt, stains, and detergent from the shoe.  You must rinse your tennis shoe, especially the insert and laces thoroughly to remove all the solution.  You can throw your shoes into a rinse cycle in your washing machine to help speed up the drying process.  For the final step, we recommend air-drying your sneaker. 

Dress Shoes that are worth replacing the tips or soles are usually worth the time spent to removes scuffs and dirt that accumulate over time. 

First, make a pre-treat mixture in a squeeze bottle.  Be sure to dissolve the detergent entirely by using hot water. 

Next use a dry Microfiber Cleaning Cloth and wipe in a circular motion the entire upper surface and inner footbed of the shoe to try to lift as much of the dirt out of the fabric as possible.

After dipping a Q-tip in the Powerizer solution, swab the inside of the heel or an inconspicuous area of the shoe to test for color fading.  Powerizer has oxygen bleach so it shouldn’t lighten the color of your shoes.  However, when fabrics are wet, they tend to darken so don’t be alarmed they will dry back to its original color.  Also, when cleaning a fiber such as suede or satin to prevent a brownish pre-treat circle, you must treat the entire shoe.  To remove scuffs on any light colored shoe, start cleaning the dress shoe by dipping the cloth in the solution, and wiping all the shoe using as little of the Powerizer solution as necessary.  Wait a few minutes for the detergent to work its magic add more if required.  Lots of organic stains such as wine, coffee, and tea will lighten and disappear in front of your eyes, especially if you clean the shoe before it has a chance to dry. 

Use a DRY microfiber cloth to lift as much of the detergent from the shoe.  Then wipe the shoe with a WET Microfiber cloth using only warm water to extract the residue from the entire shoe.

For the final step, use a DRY Microfiber cloth to absorb as much of the moisture from the fabric as possible and let the dress shoe air-dry.

Boots expensive or not, the craftsmanship and functionality aren’t enough to endure when they start to smell.  Let's focus on neutralizing the smells that accumulate over time.  The foot stench from long hours in the wet or cold elements can ruin a great pair of boots. When this happens, let Powerizer be your ally.  

Again as described above, create a pre-treat mixture of Powerizer in a squeeze bottle. Next, remove the inserts and laces and place them in a bowl to soak.  Above we focused on removing stains, here our focus is to remove odor.

Powerizer is commonly used to removes musty smells from fabrics such as moldy towels and sweat from athletic apparel; It will work on shoes as well. Pay special attention to the areas the insoles or shoe padding. It’s important to pre-treat the shoe bed using a concentrated mixture of Powerizer. 

Be sure to let it sit longer to make sure it has time to penetrate all the fibers.  This process is no different than treating a pet-stain in your carpet.  The solution has to get all the way down to the pad.  Your shoe is no different.  Especially if the insole pad is not removable. Scrub the footbed well to help lift dirt and oils that may have accumulated. 

Finish with a rinse by letting the shoe soak in warm water.  This time if you have a sink hand sprayer use it to spray deep inside the insole until you see the clear water run clear making sure to remove all the detergent.  Leave the boot out to air-dry. If you suspect the fabric may shrink when drying, be sure to insert a shoe tree to help keep the original size and shape.