How to bleach white sneakers at home

The current trend allows for the combination of athletic shoes with jeans, shorts, dresses and even an elegant coat. White sneakers require special care, regardless of the material they are made from. Dust, dirt, moisture - all this negatively affects the shape and structure of the product.

How to bleach the soles of white sneakers

Use nail polish remover (with or without acetone) or ethyl alcohol.

1. Take a regular school eraser to remove a graphite pencil, carefully rub it over the sides of the sole.
2. Soak a cosmetic disc in nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol, and wipe the surface thoroughly.

Preparing sneakers for processing

Take out the insoles and laces, rub them with laundry soap, leave for half an hour. After the expiration date, wash in a machine with the addition of conditioner, send to dry in fresh air. There are often cases when dirt eats into the structure of the laces, at such moments it is necessary to soak them in bleach for 45 minutes (Domestos or Vanish will do).

Boric acid and turpentine

1. Apply a small amount of turpentine to a cotton pad, wipe the surface of the sneakers, leave for a quarter of an hour.
2. Start preparing the steeping compound. Dilute 100 ml. alcohol tincture of boric acid in 5 liters of cool water, add 30 gr. crushed salt, wait for it to dissolve.
3. Rinse the turpentine off the sneakers with copious amounts of water, then place the shoes in a bowl of boric acid for 15 minutes.
4. After the expiration date, rinse the sneakers and send them to wash in the machine, setting the "no spin" mode. Be sure to add powder and rinse aid.

Toothpaste and soda

1. Grate half of the tar soap bar. Pour hot water into a bowl and add the resulting shavings there. Stir in a convenient way, wait until the solution cools down to room temperature. Soak your sneakers, cover the basin with a bag or industrial wrap, and leave for 30-40 minutes.
2. Start preparing the bleaching mixture. Mix 50 gr. baking soda, 45 gr. crushed salt and half a tube of whitening toothpaste into a homogeneous mass. The mixture should be viscous, not dry. Otherwise, adjust the consistency by adding a little more paste.
3. Take a hard toothbrush, scoop up a generous amount of the product and scrub the surface of your sneakers thoroughly. Rinse off with cool water, evaluate the result, repeat the previous manipulations if necessary.
4. After processing the shoes, place them again in a soapy solution (having prepared it again), leave for another quarter of an hour. Do not rinse with water, send to wash immediately. Turn on the machine for 30 minutes without spinning, add a lot of powder and rinse aid (required!).
5. After washing, squeeze excess moisture from the sneakers, put them to dry on the balcony in a horizontal position. For quick drying, you can stuff the sneakers with cotton cloth or toilet paper, leaving them for half an hour.

Dishwashing liquid and hydrogen peroxide

1. Dilute 300 ml in 5 liters of warm water (40 degrees). dishwashing liquid, preferably thick, stir the mixture.
2. Place the sneakers in a bowl with the solution, cover the container with a plastic bag or wrap it with foil, wait 40 minutes.
3. After the time has elapsed, rinse your shoes in the shower, evaluate the result. Now use hydrogen peroxide.
4. Moisten a cotton swab, wipe well the surface of the product, the sole and the inside. Leave it on for 10 minutes.
5. Put the sneakers back in the basin, wait half an hour, then machine wash without spinning, dry in the fresh air.

Lemon acid

Lemon, in particular, a concentrated mixture of citric acid, is considered to be an effective bleaching agent.

1. Mix 80 gr. citric acid with 700 ml. warm water, wait until the granules dissolve.
2. Put on rubber gloves, dampen a white rag or sponge with the composition, treat the surface of the sneakers so that the liquid drips from them.
3. Wait 5 minutes, rinse the solution with running water, repeat the steps 2-3 more times.
4. At the end of the manipulations, do not rinse the last applied composition, carry out a machine wash without spinning with the addition of oxygen bleach.

If your shoes are made of fabric, it is worth tripling the amount of ingredients and soaking the sneakers in this mixture for half an hour.

You can also use fresh lemon juice, but the effect is reduced by about 10-15%. In this case, squeeze out the juice from 3 citrus fruits, soak a white piece of cloth or a cosmetic swab in it, carefully treat the surface and sole, and then wash the shoes in the machine.

Table vinegar

1. Dampen shoes with warm water, rub with laundry soap until a characteristic brownish tint appears.
2. Pour 5-6 liters of cool water into a basin, add 200 ml. table vinegar with a concentration of not more than 9%.
3. Wash off the soap from the sneakers, soak them in the vinegar solution, and leave for 20 minutes.
4. Do a thorough hand wash, send to dry in fresh air.

If the shoes are made of hard materials, it is not necessary to soak them in the solution. It is enough to moisten a cotton pad with vinegar, then thoroughly treat the surface and leave for 10 minutes. It is necessary to remove the composition with a wet cloth.

Before you start bleaching your sneakers, you need to prepare them. Take out insoles and laces, wash and hang to dry. Whiten the sole with ethyl alcohol or nail polish remover. Use versatile methods including hydrogen peroxide, boric acid, and vinegar.

Video: how to wash and clean white sneakers