Heavy cycling involves a lot of physical exercises. In most cases, you will find yourself sweating a lot, and it ends up in your shoe.
The shoe can also get dirty when you use it for long, or when you fall on dirty water or mud.
How To Clean Cycling Shoes | The Ultimate Guide
How then should you clean the cycling shoes in such an instance? What are the various ways of taking care of them?
In this article, I am going to tackle all these aspects. I shall mention the possible ways in which the shoe can get dirty and how you can clean it. Please read through for more information.
What makes cycling shoes dirty?
As seen in the introduction, there are several ways with which these shoes can get dirty. The common ones include:
- Due to the continuous use, the shoe will accumulate grime. That mostly happens when you wear it bare-footed. Other causes of grime include the dead skin matter and the sweat that comes about when you do vigorous cycling.
- The shoe can also collect dust and sand when you are cycling. These are common agents, especially if you are doing the exercise in an area where there is no tarmac.
- Cycling through dirty water by the roadside or even stepping on the mud. Such agents can even make your shoes, if they are white, to change color permanently. You should always be careful so as not no to step in such things if you want the shoes to serve you for long.
- Frequent usage of the shoe can make it develop a strong odor that may not be pleasing to the user. Such a thing comes about when the dead skin matter and the sweat settle in the shoe, or even if you wear wet shoes. Dust and sand can also bring bad odor.
How do we clean cycling shoes?
There are several ways of cleaning the shoe. However, you will need to apply one method at a time. The most common methods are:
- The use of soap and a brush.
- Toothpaste.
- The use of magic erasers.
How to clean by the use of soap and a brush?
Fill water into the bucket or even to the sink. To it, add some soap, and make sure that the water is cold. Drop in the shoes and let it soak for some time, probably for about one hour or so. That process will help remove the tough stains and stubborn odor.
Take a piece of a soft dish brush and scrub it gently, especially where there are marks. Dip the brush in the soapy water and use it to clean the shoe.
When you finish, drain the sink or the bucket of the dirty water and fill it with clean, cold water. Get another dry brush and use it to rinse the shoes. Put it inside the water and use it to wipe off any visible dirt on the surface of the shoe.
Dry off the shoe by wiping off excess water, or even by leaving it under shade to dry off on its own. Avoid leaving it under direct sunlight because it can damage the shoe and reduce its lifespan.
By the use of toothpaste?
Toothpaste is also excellent for cleaning the shoe. Squeeze an appropriate size of the paste onto the toothbrush. Dip the brush into the water and scrub the shoe in cycles. The process is similar to when you are brushing your teeth. Repeat the circles as many times as possible until when you remove all the visible dirt.
When you finish scrubbing, take a clean towel and wipe off all the toothpaste. The shoe will shine again in a matter of minutes. You will not require to rinse it with water in this case.
By the use of magic erasers?
It removes scuffs, scum, and other prominent dirt on the shoe. The method helps to return the shoe to its original beauty position before it became dirty.
Erasers are powerful and can be harmful to the shoe. Before you use it to clean your shoes, you should first try with some spare ones. It is a product of chemical that reacts with the shoes, and hence you should assess it first before using it for cleaning.
The method requires you to add some little water and squeeze out the eraser before scrubbing the shoes. After cleaning it, rinse the shoe with cold water to remove this chemical that makes the eraser to be too reactive. Please make sure that you do not leave any trace of chemicals after rinsing the shoe.
You might also want to protect your hand so that it does not come into contact with the chemical. The chemical can be reactive and can easily cause harm to your bare hands.
Other methods of cleaning the cycling shoes?
Apart from the three methods above, there are other ways in which you can clean your shoes. Among them include:
- Tying the shoes in a piece of heavy fabric and placing it is a dry cleaner. It will clean off the tough stains and leave them very clean. I would, however, remind you not to place them in the dryer. The method is also not so effective for cleaning them, as there is no guarantee that it will work well.
- Use of water and a hard brush to remove the extra-tough stains. When you use these shoes for some time, it will accumulate very tough stains. Normal cleaning methods might not be able to get these stains off. You will, then, require a brush with moderate to hard bristles, together with soap and water to wash off this dirt.
- Buy a new pair. It is not equivalent to cleaning, but in some instances, it is better to do a replacement than to keep on cleaning. That happens mostly when the shoe is overly out of use, and it does not require further cleaning.
Conclusion
There are several ways in which you can clean the cycling shoe. On the other hand, there are also several ways in which they can accumulate dirt. Clean them frequently to avoid them getting tough stains. Remember to dry them always under the shade, and not under direct sunlight.
