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Sneakers: Aftercare 101
A heatwave has hit the UK and although everyone is fed up, those suede, white and light coloured kicks you copped in winter can finally be worn without fear of getting caught lacking in the rain. Let's not forget about the rest of your collection. If you're a clean freak or nonchalant about your sneakers, maintaining that fresh-out-the-box look may be one of your top priorities or right at the bottom of your list. If you fit either categories, this post is for you.
We've broken each section down into: Material, Items and Instructions. If you're looking for a specific material just scroll down and all information will be listed below. Most if not all, items can be picked up from a supermarket or convenience store, and all other products have been linked.
Disclaimer: These are our preferred methods, follow at your own risk. Also, before applying any liquid products perform a patch test, to see how/if the material reacts.
AFTERCARE
Leather
Items:
Newspaper
Bowl (2)
Soap
Water
Kitchen Roll
Toothbrush or Washing-up Sponge
Flannel (2)
Instructions:
Remove laces if necessary.​
Spread newspaper on a flat surface.
Mix 3 parts water with 1 part soap in a bowl. Soap can be regular hand soap, washing up liquid or shampoo.
Depending on the amount of dirt use a flannel, toothbrush or sponge to lift it. If the outsole is dirty use a toothbrush for precision.
If dirt does not lift from water alone, wet your preferred cleaning applicator and use soap solution.
Lightly scrub or brush wherever dirt is, so not to damage the material.
Wet clean flannel and wring out, follow up by wiping soap residue from sneakers.
Leave sneakers to air-dry or pat dry with kitchen roll.
Suede
For suede we'll look at the Crep Protect Cleaning Kit, that can be picked up for as little as £12 with one kit being able to clean up to 50 pairs of sneakers. This kit can be used on the following materials: Nubuck, Canvas, Mesh, Flyknit, Fleece and Suede.
Items included are:
Brush
Microfibre Cloth
Cleaning Solution
Instructions:
Remove laces if necessary.
Dunk brush into bowl.
Apply cleaning solution to brush
Dip brush into water.
Use a circular motion to create a lather.
Use microfibre cloth to remove soap
Leave to air dry, suede can take a few hours to dry.
To prevent regular cleaning you can cop the Crep Protect Spray for £10, which is rain and stain resistant, this protects twelve sneakers and can be used on the same materials as the cleaning kit. Once your sneakers have fully dried, apply the spray with two applications ten minutes apart and approximately twenty centimetres away from the sneakers. Re-apply every four weeks for constant protection!
Canvas
Items:
Newspaper
Bowl
Mild Laundry Detergent (Suitable for delicate materials)
Water
Toothbrush or Washing-up Sponge
Microfibre Cloth
Instructions:
Remove laces if necessary.
Using a dry toothbrush, brush away any dirt.
Mix one part laundry detergent with three parts warm water.
Apply mixture to a toothbrush or sponge and clean areas where dirty.
Pat dry with a microfibre cloth.
Leave to air dry on newspaper.
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Keeping your sneakers clean allows them to maintain their value if you plan on reselling. These tips are simple and affordable, as you're most likely to have these items stashed away in your cleaning cupboard or around the house. If you don't have these items readily available the most you'll have to spend is £5, and of course, the additional amounts for the Crep Protect products if you do, decide to purchase them.
We hope these tips have given you some sort of insight into how to keep your sneakers clean for the summer!
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Stay wavy!
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