How do you clean light or dark suede shoes if you accidentally stained them or stepped in a dirty puddle? These traditional methods will help with removing dirt without damaging the delicate suede.
Suede shoes often look more fashionable and stylish compared to their leather “brothers”, but many women are afraid to buy them for everyday wear. However, if you know how to clean suede shoes without having to use dry cleaner’s services, you can safely buy those shoes you’ve been after for a while – we have a few little tricks to help you preserve their impeccable appearance for a long time.
Removing dust and light dirt
Suede shoes don’t do well with water, so first try to clean them dry to remove dirt. You will need to find the following things for this purpose at home:
- rubber eraser;
- a piece of firm white bread;
- talc;
- black carbon paper;
- coffee grounds;
- flannel rag;
- suede brush.
The main rule: Before you start cleaning, shoes should be completely dry!
If the suede is wet, you will only rub and smear the dirt all over the surface. If that happens, it is almost impossible to restore the shoes’ neat appearance at home.
First, remove the dust, carefully cleaning the shoes with a special brush for suede or a soft flannel cloth. Small stains or lines on shoes can be easily removed with a regular school eraser.
Hold your clean shoes over steam for 5-7 minutes- this “steam” treatment refreshes suede and restores its texture.
Now you can take care of the color of suede. Carbon paper works great for black shoes – just rub the surface of your shoes with it.
To clean brown suede and restore its color, you can use dried coffee grounds. Cover the shoes evenly with coffee grounds, and then gently rub with a brush.
Use talc or dried white bread crumbs to clean light-colored shoes. Don’t forget to remove all the crumbs from the suede when you’re finished.
Fighting stains, grease and shine
If after dry cleaning your shoes still look dirty, and stubborn stains and shiny spots are still clearly visible, do not panic. This problem can also be solved at home. Have these items ready:
- ammonia;
- gasoline;
- vinegar;
- milk;
- talc;
- hydrogen peroxide;
- baking soda.
To restore the former appearance of shiny suede, dip a cotton pad in ammonia and gently wipe the shiny areas, and then dry the shoes.
Gasoline helps to get rid of greasy spots on shoes. Apply some gasoline to the stain, and add talcum powder. Leave for 2-3 hours, then clean the shoes with a rubber brush.
Try using vinegar to remove stubborn stains from dark shoes. Use a small amount of it on a cotton swab or cloth.
You can use the following method for cleaning light suede: mix 5 grams of baking soda and 5 drops of ammonia in 100 ml of milk. Mix well, dip a cloth in the solution, and run it over the dirty spots.
To remove stains from white shoes, you can also use hydrogen peroxide. Dip a cotton swab in the liquid and gently treat dirty areas.
Using wet cleaning
If these methods failed to deal with built-up dirt, the only thing left to try is to gently scrub the shoes. To carry out this procedure at home, without damaging your shoes, follow the instructions below:
- Prepare a soap solution by diluting a small amount of detergent for delicate washing in 200 ml of water.
- Add 40 ml of ammonia to the water.
- Stir well and then form a lather.
- Apply this lather to a foam sponge, and carefully clean the shoes with it, trying not to wet them too much.
- After cleaning with the soapy solution, wipe the shoes with a well-wrung wet cloth, dipping it in a vinegar solution.
- Wipe the shoes with a clean dry cloth, fill with paper to maintain the shape, and leave to dry at room temperature, placing them away from the radiators of your central heating system, and any other sources of heat.
- After drying, brush the shoes with a rubber brush, or rub them with a flannel cloth.
If after wet cleaning the color of suede is slightly faded, do not worry- you can pick up a special paint for this material in the Shoe store, which will make your shoes elegant as if they are on shop display again.