Shoes are known to be a man’s best friend. They protect you from the rough concrete pavements and the prickly stones on the street. They take the brunt of walking, running and standing, while your feet remain protected.
The first lesson that I remember learning at a very young age was that a person is known by the appearance of their shoes. That one lesson stuck with me and made me make the effort to polish my shoes every day before leaving for school. The practice of which has also followed me into my adult life. People often forget the power a good pair of shoes can add to your wardrobe. Good shoes are often essential for a stylish wardrobe and people spend a lot of money on them.
When you spend that kind of money on your shoes, you ought to make them last a very long time. They are seen as an important investment and you must maintain these investments by regularly taking care of them. With all the running, walking, jogging, standing, and playing sports, our feet get sweaty which can become a cause for the foul odor. Even your most expensive pair of shoes walk the same dirt roads and chewing-gum-stuck pavements. This is why it’s important for you to take into consideration the well-being of your shoes. There are a lot of ways you can take care of your shoes and keep your footwear fresh, stick around to find some of them in this article.
And don’t forget, you should maintain your house clean just like your shoes. Once in a while, hire a company to do deep cleaning in your home.
Tips To Keep Your Footwear Smelling Fresh
Have you ever taken your shoes off in someone else’s home and felt embarrassed by the odor coming off from your feet? Have you ever washed, scrubbed, and moisturized your feet yet still had them smelling bad? Not anymore! My Cleaning Angel understands all of your problems and has listed down a detailed overview on How to keep your footwear fresh, and smelling good.
1. Dry Your Shoes Out In the Sun
The number one cause of bad-smelling shoes is moisture. When you wear your shoes for a long period, your feet start sweating. This accumulates a certain amount of moisture in your shoes which becomes the perfect cold/moist breezing place for bacteria or fungus. These bacteria or fungus are responsible for the bad odor coming off your shoes.
The easiest way to take care of this issue is to put your shoes out in the open air and sun and let them dry. The heat from the sun kills the bacteria and the natural wind airs them out.
2. Use Some Dryer Sheets for a Fresh Smell
For fresh footwear, you might want to try balling up some dryer sheets and putting them in your shoes overnight. These sheets take up the moisture and leave your shoes smelling clean and fresh out of a wash.
3. Dry Them Out With Newspaper
There are many ways to eradicate the moisture for fresh footwear. One of them is to put balled-up newspaper in your shoes and leave it overnight. If you don’t have any newspaper, ball up a paper bag or some tissue paper. For some extra nice smell, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil and let it sit overnight. You will wake up to fresh-smelling shoes.
4. Wash Your Shoes Frequently
Washing shoes can be a bit of a headache and the shoes can lose their freshness. But it is an essential process to undergo to keep your shoes from smelling bad. Gentle washing by hand is recommended to avoid any creasing. You may also want to gently scrub your shoes with baking soda and salt to get rid of any stubborn stains.
5. Use an Antifungal Powder or Spray
Moist shoes cause bacterial and fungal growths. These growths are not limited to your shoes alone, but can also cause several uncomfortable foot diseases. Athlete’s foot and Ringworm are two of the most common foot diseases caused by the fungus growing in your shoes. Spraying your shoes with an antifungal spray is important to avoid any smell and diseases. These products are easily available at any grocery or drug store.
6. Clean Them with Rubbing Alcohol
Dip a cotton ball or pad in rubbing alcohol and wipe the soles of your shoes with the cotton. Rubbing alcohol is a disinfectant and helps to removes any traces of bacteria or fungus from your shoes. It gets rid of the odor and protects it from pathogens.
Tips to Keep Your Footwear Looking Fresh
Shoes are the one thing in our wardrobe that we wear mercilessly. No matter how important and expensive your shoes are, they are presented with the most extreme environment. Therefore, it is important that you know how to take care of your shoes and keep them looking fresh for a longer period of time.
1. Invest In Shoe Trees
Shoe trees are an important asset in keeping your shoes creaseless and maintain their shape well. They also help with moisture elimination and if made of cedar wood, will keep your footwear smelling fresh and nice.
2. Do a Shoe Rotation
It’s okay for you to have a favorite pair of shoes that you like wearing frequently, but it’s not okay to wear them every day. Even if your footwear is expensive and high quality, it comes with an expiration date. Wearing the same shoes every day can damage its material and affect the stitching of your shoes. It will also have resulted in the extreme wear and tear of everyday life. What’s recommended for you is that you do a shoe rotation. This means that you will have to alternate between different pairs of shoes so that each pair has enough time to recover. Shoe upkeep is important if you wish to extend the life of your footwear and keep them looking fresh.
3. Protect the Leather Shoes from Water and Salt
Water and salt are extremely bad for your shoes but also unavoidable if you like in cold, snowy areas. Salt stains are easy to catch and hard to get rid of. You need to remove the stains as soon as they appear. Use a mixture of two parts water and one part vinegar and spray it on the stain. Rub the spot with a rag and let it dry naturally.
Water on the other hand damages leather beyond repair. If you have expensive leather shoes, avoid wearing them out in the rain. If not, apply a heavy layer of boot protection polish to keep your shoes fresh and new.
4. Store Them Well
Just because your shoes are kept in a box, doesn’t mean they are kept well. The right way to store your shoes is to keep them in an airy, dry place with newspaper or dryer sheets stuffed in them. For more expensive shoes like leather, it is important to use shoe trees for retaining their shape and avoiding creases. For tall knee-high boots, you can stuff pool noodles or large rolled-up magazines to avoid creases and maintain their shape even when they’re stored in the closet. Avoid placing your shoes near fire and avoid using heat drying tools to make them dry. This will destroy your shoes and crack your leather.
With these tips handy, we are sure that keeping your footwear fresh will no longer be a chore! If you want tips to keep your house clean for longer, just as your shoes, we have the right article for you.
Strong First Impression!
Studies show that when you walk into a room, the first thing people notice about you is your shoes. Therefore, keeping fresh footwear, bright and shining like new would make for a great first impression. A Clean Footwear exudes confidence, as not everyone can keep up with regular maintenance. Keep your home clean as well as your shoes. Book cleaning service online with My Cleaning Angel and fell your house as new.
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