Shoe washing bag

Quite a lot of people have adapted to washing dirty shoes in the washing machine. This trend is so strong that manufacturers of casual shoes (mostly sports shoes) have even begun to give recommendations regarding the possibility of washing their products in an automatic washing machine. One such recommendation is to use a bag for washing shoes. What kind of bag is this, an advertising ploy that allows the manufacturer to earn extra money or a necessity? We need to figure it out.

Varieties

Not all shoes can be washed in a washing machine, which is why the Russian market offers few bags for washing them. To be precise, there are 4 main types of such bags, let's do a short review and see their characteristics.

• Wrowas. Quite an expensive shoe bag made in Europe, although very good. If anyone can be trusted with your sneakers or sneakers, it’s him. The bag protects shoes from mechanical wear during washing and does not allow poorly dissolved powder particles to pass through, which can damage the fabric of the shoes. Also, with this bag, washing shoes in a machine will be no different from washing any soft laundry - no extraneous noise!
• Metalex. A simpler bag-like mesh designed for washing shoes in the washing machine. At first glance, the mesh looks simple, but in fact it is made of a material that is close in characteristics to rubber. Thanks to this, the mesh perfectly absorbs shock and vibration, perfectly protecting shoes from wear during washing.
• Rayen. Very high quality mesh for washing shoes in a washing machine, made in Spain.The innovative material allows soapy water to pass through well, but does not allow undissolved detergent particles to pass through. With such a mesh, shoes are reliably protected from impacts on the drum of the washing machine, since it is framed by rather thick rubber veins.
• Eve. Russian mesh bag designed for washing shoes in a washing machine. Judging by consumer reviews, it protects shoes from damage much worse. But this bag does a good job of protecting shoe fabric from the effects of undissolved powder granules, and besides, it is 3 times cheaper than its foreign counterparts.

For your information! A domestically produced mesh bag will cost about $5.30; a European-made shoe bag will cost no less than $14.

Instructions for use

Without exception, all manufacturers of shoe bags include instructions for use with their products, strongly recommending users to follow its provisions. How to properly handle a shoe washing bag?

First you need to carefully examine your dirty shoes. If there are labels on it that allow you to judge whether it can be washed in a machine or not - great, if there are no labels, then look on the Internet. Very often on the shoe manufacturer's website you can find recommendations regarding washing their products. After making sure that the shoes can be washed, we carefully clean them of adhering leaves, needles, pieces of resin and ordinary street dirt. To make the work go faster, you can use a cloth or brush.

Remove the insoles from the shoes and pull out all the laces. They should not be washed with shoes.Next, open the washing bag, put the shoes in it, close the bag and put it in the drum of the washing machine. Be careful when washing special shoes, such as sneakers, as they may require a special bag. Read more about this in the article Choosing and using a bag for washing sneakers.

Important! You should not put several pairs of shoes into the drum, as well as into the bag; to achieve the best effect, you need to wash one pair of shoes at a time, even if the machine has a load of 12-15 kg.

Now pour a little liquid shoe detergent into the powder cuvette. If this is not available, you can use regular washing gel at your own risk. You should not use dry washing powder; its granules dissolve more slowly, which means they can ruin your shoes. Close the cuvette, select the “Shoes” or “Gentle Wash” washing program, or something similar, turn off the spin cycle, and press start. We wait for the program to end, and then take out the shoes and dry them in a well-ventilated place.

Buy or make?

Experts agree that it is better to buy a special bag than to waste something trying to find a replacement. But there are situations in life when you feel the urge to wash your shoes, but you don’t have a bag and you don’t have time to go shopping specifically to look for it. In such an exceptional situation, you can do the following:

1. take an old pillowcase;
2. put several small clean rags in it;
3. prepare shoes for washing as described above;
4. put it in a pillowcase between rags;
5. we sew up the pillowcase with several sweeping stitches, or fasten it with buttons, if any;

After this, you can put the shoes in a pillowcase in the drum of the washing machine and start the wash, as stated above. Let's face it, the result of washing in such an improvised bag will be different from shoes washed in a professional bag, but for lack of a better one, it will do. At least you won't ruin your shoes.

What if you don't use it?

It remains to raise the last question, which logically follows from the above narrative, namely, what happens if you wash shoes in an automatic washing machine without a special bag? Let's say right away - nothing good. After the first wash, shoes in 80% of cases lose their appearance: they become wrinkled, abrasions appear on them, and traces of detergent remain.

In a word, if you want to kill your shoes, put them in the washing machine without a bag and wash them at 60 degrees with a spin cycle. After this, she will most likely go to the trash heap. If the shoes are not too dirty, it is better not to wash them in the machine at all, but wash them by hand in the traditional way. Don't be lazy, and then your shoes will last much longer and maintain their appearance.

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