No matter how careful you are about making sure your kicks stay clean, they’re bound to get dirty sooner or later. When that happens, you need to be prepared. No, you don’t need to freak out. No, you don’t need to run to the store and cop a new pair. You need to sit down and get your kicks cleaned up. There’s a simple process to it, and today we’re laying it out step-by-step-by-step-by-step (that’s 4 steps for those of you who can’t count) so you can make sure your favorite pairs stay crispy no matter how much you wear them. A full-fledged guide on cleaning your kicks (because we love you). Let’s get it.
1. Get Your Supplies
You’ve got to get your cleaning materials in order before you begin any sort of cleaning endeavor. Make sure you have a good cleaner, be it Jason Markk or Air Legends, grab both firm and soft bristled brushes for any type of material, and be sure you have a clean towel (preferably microfiber) so you can wipe the kicks clean. You’ll need a few things for when you’re done cleaning too, but we’ll get to that later.
2. Assess The Damage
How messed-up are your shoes? Did you step in mud? Did you spill soda on them? Assessing how dirty/messed up your kicks are is an important step to take so you can formulate a plan of attack for getting them clean.
3. Clean With A Purpose
Don’t dink around. Clean with a purpose. There’s no need to pick and scrape at your shoes, you’ve gotta get your hands dirty and go for it. Get your brushes soaped up and get the shoe clean. Firm-bristle brushes on leather and rubber, and soft-bristle brushes on anything like suede or nubuck (soft-bristle brushes work better on knit materials like Flyknit too). Don’t use too much water either!
4. Prevent
You’re not done just because you got your kicks clean. Now you’ve gotta take preventive measures so they don’t get dirty again quickly. Make sure you give them a chance to fully dry out before you put them back in the box after your cleaning session, and also spray them with a protectant (anything from Sof Sole waterproofer to Crep Protect will work just fine) to help ensure that they won’t get dirty again.
So there you have it. Cleaning your kicks is a simple process. Don’t let us catch you in the streets with dirty kicks on after this, or you might have to get roasted … and you already know that you don’t want that.
Do you have any special techniques or methods for cleaning your kicks? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
Share KicksOneTwo
