Washing shoes in a washing machine - instructions

washing shoes in the machine Can shoes be washed in a washing machine? It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, there are too many “ifs”. Everything will depend on the type of shoe, the material from which it is made, the presence of additional elements on it that do not tolerate water, and the like. In general, shoes are not designed for the loads to which clothes are exposed in the drum of a washing machine, so the success of washing will also depend on the selected washing mode.

Is it possible or not to wash?

The first question that arises for people who want to wash their shoes in an automatic washing machine is which shoes can be washed and which cannot? Indeed, you don’t want to just risk your shoes or boots for the sake of an experiment. I would like to know the result in advance, but unfortunately this does not happen. This is not to say that, for example, sports shoes can be washed, but leather shoes cannot. Sports shoes can also easily become damaged during washing, so Before you throw your shoes in the washing machine, do your research!

Review the manufacturer's information about washing specific shoes. Often, companies that sew shoes hang information labels on them or publish information about caring for them on the company’s websites on the Internet.
Be sure to examine the material the shoes are made from. For example, sneakers, the main material for which is fabric, will definitely survive machine washing, but shoes made of leather or suede will find their “death” in the drum of the washing machine.
If parts of the shoes are glued together, washing them in a machine can destroy them.In general, glued shoes do not tolerate soaking in warm water, so if you find glued seams or glued elements on them, do not wash them in a machine.
If shoes have leatherette inserts, please note that the appearance of these inserts may deteriorate, so either take measures to protect them or refuse to machine wash them.

Important! You should not wash winter or demi-season shoes with fur. The faux fur will come out and the shoes will be seriously damaged.

Preparation

washing shoes in the machine If you decide to wash a dirty pair of shoes in the washing machine, you should not thoughtlessly throw them into the drum and start the washing program. Everything can end disastrously not only for these shoes, but also for the automatic washing machine itself. And the point here is not the possibility or impossibility of washing specific shoes, but the correct approach to preparing this process.

Before washing, you need to protect your shoes from excessive mechanical impact of the rotating drum, which can lead to damage to the sole, socks and other parts. At the same time, you need to protect the drum itself and the hatch of the washing machine from impacts with a hard sole. There were cases when, during washing, shoes created an imbalance in the drum. How to solve such problems at once? It’s very simple, you just need to put a pair of shoes in a washing bag, and then put them in the drum of the machine.

Before washing shoes in the washing machine, remove large pieces of dirt from the soles, remove laces, and remove buckles and any other detachable solid objects. In addition, you need to remove the insoles from your shoes. After this, the shoes are placed in a washing bag, inserted into the machine, and the wash is started.

Note! If you don't have a special laundry bag, you can use an old pillowcase.

Washing and drying: procedure

When deciding how to wash shoes in a washing machine, you need to decide on the choice of detergent, because it will be difficult to remove dirt in ordinary warm water. Experts strongly do not recommend using regular dry laundry detergent. Often poorly dissolved powder granules leave colored stains or white marks on shoes, which are difficult to remove later, so it is better to use a liquid detergent.

You should not experiment with liquid soap or hair shampoo. These products are not suitable for your washing machine and may cause damage to it. It is better to take a special liquid detergent for washing colored items in the washing machine. It will work better in this case. You can read more about liquid detergents and powders for automatic washing in the article How to choose washing powder.

Once you have decided on the choice of shoe washing product, experts recommend following these steps.

Remove any dirty laundry from the drum, as shoes should be washed separately from other items. Besides, Only one pair of shoes should be placed in the drum.
Pour your chosen detergent into the powder container.
Place the washing bag with the prepared shoes into the drum of the washing machine.
Select washing program: temperature not higher than 30 ⁰C, speed not exceeding 600, disable the “spin” and “drying” functions.
We wait until the end of the washing program and remove the shoes from the drum of the machine.
We push white paper into the shoes so that they do not lose their original shape during drying, and then put them in a warm place to dry.

Note! When drying shoes, avoid excessive heat sources and direct sunlight. Drying too quickly will definitely deform the shoes and ruin their appearance.

What to do if the dirt is not washed off?

shoe shine Washing in a machine did not bring results? Did the dirt remain on the shoes? This means you will have to deal with stains “the old fashioned way” manually. Indeed, machine washing, alas, is not a panacea for difficult stains; experts recommend that before putting shoes in the machine drum, treat all difficult stains manually so that they come off during washing. However, most often it turns out that there are difficult stains on shoes only after these shoes have undergone “execution” in the drum of the washing machine.

Usually, after washing in warm water, difficult stains are set even better, and they become much more difficult to remove. But there is nothing we can do, we will try. There are several surefire ways to get rid of various stubborn dirt stuck to shoes.

Dishwashing detergent will help remove machine oil stains. You need to apply this product to the stains, let the shoes sit for a day, and then wash them in the washing machine.
Ammonia and laundry soap will help remove grass stains from shoes. Mix a tablespoon of ammonia with 200 ml of warm water and rub the stained area well with this mixture. Then treat the grass stains with a bar of laundry soap and then place the shoes in the drum of the washing machine.
Turpentine will remove soot stains from shoes.Apply a little turpentine mixed with half and half water to the stains, rub them a little with a cloth, and then wash the shoes as usual.
White spirit removes paint stains from shoes well. Dampen a rag with this substance and thoroughly wipe the shoes until paint stains are removed.

Important! Re-washing shoes is a big challenge, so try to identify and treat difficult stains in advance.

To summarize, we note that not all shoes can be washed in an automatic machine, so before you decide to do this, you should check everything carefully. You also need to examine your shoes for complex stains, because such stains in the drum of the machine will not come off, but will rather stick, so you need to treat them in advance.