Every owner of a sneaker has encountered this problem – yellowing of the sole and black or “rusty” stripes. The yellowish tint is usually due to ingrained dirt and dust.
Prevention
The best treatment is prevention. Therefore, in order to avoid the “dirty fate” for a longer time, you need to take care of the sole of your sneaker. It’s easy to wash your shoes after a walk. But unfortunately, over time they will still turn yellow.
Don't neglect shoe cosmetics. Perhaps, already at this stage, you will not soon be faced with the problem of bleaching the lemon sole...
...In the meantime, there are many ways to whiten soles. Before you go to them, general advice for everyone: your shoes should be clean.
General advice: be sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid damaging your hands when using chemicals.
Eraser
A regular office eraser can not only remove pencil marks on paper, but also black streaks that appear when shoes rub against various objects or come into close contact with other shoes in a clogged vehicle.
Not all erasers are created equal. An unused soft eraser is suitable for cleaning shoes. It should also be exclusively white so that the dyes of the colored gum do not leave traces.
Important! An eraser doesn't have to be universal. To clean shoes, buy a separate eraser, because... It won’t be very hygienic if, after cleaning your shoes, you use the same eraser to erase the pencil from the paper and vice versa.
To use this method you will have to work hard and make physical efforts. It is not possible to quickly refresh the sole before going out, since this method is very time-consuming. The sole must be completely dry. No water required.
Disadvantages: after such cleaning, your hands will have a specific rubber smell and it is not very convenient to clean the grooved sole with an eraser (to do this you will have to cut the eraser into small pieces and work very painstakingly on such areas).
Melamine sponge
A universal household product. Sold at any hardware store. Use like an eraser. You can dry it, but it’s better to wet it. Can be combined with a liquid cleaner (the effect should be higher). After use, you must wash your hands very thoroughly, and it is better to wear protective gloves during the procedure, since melamine is not safe for humans. Melamine will act like a poison if it enters the stomach. And it’s better to hide it in the house from children.
Bleach
Any bleaching agent must be tested, since many of them, with their chemical composition, can destroy the sole and leave cracks after use, due to which it will become brittle and quickly wear out. To do this, you need to drop the product onto a small area and leave for an hour.
Next, if the test was successful, you need to make a concentrated bleach solution, that is, take a dose twice as large as that used in normal washing. It is necessary to pour water into the container in such an amount that only the sole is immersed in water. The fabric base must be dry, because if water touches it, there is a high risk of ruining the color of the sneaker; in these places it will be lighter.Soak the shoes in this liquid for at least one hour.
It is not recommended to dilute liquid bleach; it is better to simply wet a rag and wipe the surface with it. However, the cloth used must be white, because... Bleach can dissolve the color and then the sole will be the shade of the rag used. Otherwise, you can use a simple cotton pad.
Attention! Be sure to check the composition of the bleach. It should not contain chlorine, because it will cause persistent yellowness and it is useless to continue bleaching the sole. In addition, alcohol-containing bleaches should not be used.
Stain removers
Stain removers, especially oxygen-containing ones, work in the same way. In a concentrated solution (take twice as much product as you usually use) and also soak the sole of the shoe in it for at least an hour. You can also wipe with a cotton pad soaked in stain remover, however, it is better to test the product first.
Cleaners
Using an old toothbrush (preferably with hard bristles), you need to rub the cleaning agent (toothpaste, laundry detergent and tooth powder, baking soda, etc.) on the surface of the sole. At the end of the work, wash off the residue by wiping with a cloth soaked in water. The result largely depends not on the product itself, but on your physical efforts.
The use of toothpastes for teeth whitening is especially recommended. It is useless to use gel pastes, and it is better not to use colored pastes to avoid imparting an additional color tint to the sole.
You can also use laundry soap and dishwashing gel.
Baking soda is an excellent whitener, however, it will not save you from black streaks.
Nail polish remover
In the same way as when removing nail polish, apply the product to a cotton pad and wipe the surface of the sole. However, this method most often has side effects, since the chemical elements included in the product can interact with the rubber and damage the sole or make it brittle. It is better to first conduct a trial test described above. If there is no nail polish remover, then acetone will do, provided it has been previously tested.
Citric/acetic acid
Add vinegar to water in a ratio of 1 to 3 and wipe the sole with the mixture. Dry citric acid powder can be used as in the method with cleaning products, i.e. rub it with a toothbrush or cotton pad (whichever is convenient).
Another recipe: add baking soda to vinegar in a ratio of 1.5 to 1. It is also convenient to wipe with a toothbrush.
You can use lemon itself. Rub a lemon wedge on the sole and leave for 20 minutes, then rinse.
Washing machine
Perhaps the most unpopular, simple and ineffective method of cleaning shoes. Only the “body” of the shoe itself, without insoles and laces, is loaded into the washing machine. Shoes must be washed first to remove clearly adhered street dirt.
It is better to choose a delicate mode for washing - with a small number of revolutions, so as not to damage the drum with a hard polymer sole. After washing, the sneakers must be dried naturally or with special shoe dryers. Drying with a heater or using a hairdryer is not recommended, as this causes the shoes to lose their shape. The sneakers will have a “chewed” effect.By the way, frequent drying near the radiator is one of the most common causes of yellowing of the soles. Likewise, if shoes are dried at the dacha under the scorching sun.
Disadvantage: you won’t be able to bleach it to a snow-white state, but the shoes will be clean and fresh.
Dry cleaning or trust the professionals
The most expensive method in terms of money, but not labor-intensive and professionals will do the work, so you don’t need to worry about your shoes. From the dry cleaner you will receive sneakers in almost perfect condition.
