Washing shoes in a washing machine - instructions

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

Can or not wash?

The first question that people who want to wash their shoes in an automatic washing machine arises, which shoes can be washed and which cannot? Indeed, I don’t want to just risk my shoes or boots for the sake of 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 deteriorate during washing, therefore Before you put your shoes in the washing machine, study it!

• Check the manufacturer’s specific shoe washing information. Often, companies engaged in sewing shoes hang information labels on it or publish information about caring for it on the company's websites on the Internet.
• Be sure to study the material from which the shoes are made. For example, sneakers, the main material for which is fabric, will definitely machine wash, but shoes made of leather or suede will find “their death” in the drum of the machine.
• If the parts of the shoes are glued together, then washing 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 it, refuse to wash in the machine.
• If the shoes have leatherette inserts, keep in mind that the appearance of these inserts may deteriorate, so either take measures to protect them or refuse to machine wash.

Important! Do not wash winter or demi-season shoes with fur. Faux fur will come out and the shoes will suffer greatly.

Training

Having decided to wash a contaminated pair of shoes in the washing machine, you should not thoughtlessly throw it in the drum and start the washing program. Everything can end deplorably not only for this shoe, but also for the washing machine itself. And the point here is not the possibility or impossibility of washing specific shoes, but the right approach to preparing this process.

Before washing, you need to protect the 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 was a case when during washing shoes created an imbalance of the drum. How to solve such problems at once? Very simple, you need to put a pair of shoes in the laundry bag, and then send it to the drum of the machine.

Before washing the shoes in the washing machine, you should clean its sole from large pieces of dirt, remove the laces from it, disconnect the buckles and all other removable solid objects. In addition, insoles should be removed from shoes. After that, the shoes are placed in the laundry bag, put it in the machine, and start the wash.

Note! If you did not find a special bag for washing, then you can use the old pillowcase for the pillow.

Washing and drying: procedure

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

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

After you have decided on the choice of shoe washing products, experts recommend that you follow these steps.

1. Remove any dirty laundry from the drum, as the shoes need to be washed separately from other things. Besides, only one pair of shoes should be placed in the drum.
2. Pour the detergent of your choice into the powder cuvette.
3. Push the laundry bag with the prepared shoes into the drum of the washing machine.
4. Choose a program for washing: temperature not higher than 30 ⁰C, revolutions not exceeding 600, disable the function "spin" and "drying".
5. We are waiting for the end of the washing program and take out the shoes from the drum of the machine.
6. We push white paper into the shoes so that it does not lose its original shape during drying, and then we put it to dry in a warm place.

Note! When drying shoes, avoid too powerful sources of heat and direct sunlight. Drying too quickly accurately deforms the shoes and ruins their appearance.

What to do if the dirt has not been removed?

Wash in a typewriter did not bring results? Are there any pollution left on the shoes? So, you have to deal with spots "the old fashioned way" manually. Indeed, machine washing, alas, is not a panacea for difficult stains, experts recommend that before putting shoes into the drum of the machine, all difficult stains should be processed manually so that they come off during washing. However, most often it turns out that there are difficult spots on the shoes only after this shoe has taken “execution” in the drum of the washing machine.

Usually, after washing in warm water, difficult stains are fixed even better, and it becomes much harder to remove them. But there is nothing to do, we will try. There are several surefire ways to get rid of various persistent impurities adhering to shoes.

• Stains from engine oil will help to remove the dishwashing detergent. It is necessary to apply such a remedy to pollution, let the shoes stand for a day, and then wash it in the washing machine.
• To clean grass stains from shoes will help ammonia and laundry soap. Mix a tablespoon of ammonia with 200 ml of warm water and rub the place of contamination well with this mixture. Then treat the grass stains with a piece of laundry soap and then send the shoes to the drum of the washing machine.
• Soot stains from shoes will remove turpentine. Apply a little turpentine mixed in half with water on the spots, rub them with a little cloth, and then wash the shoes as usual.
• Stains of paint from shoes well removes white spirit. Dampen a cloth with this substance and wipe the shoes thoroughly until stains are removed.

Important! Re-washing shoes is a great test for her, so try to identify and treat difficult stains in advance.

To summarize, we note in the machine that not all shoes can be washed; therefore, before deciding on such things, everything should be carefully checked. And you also need to study the shoes for complex contaminants, because such spots in the drum of the machine will not come down, but rather will be fixed, so you need to process them in advance.