How to Make White Sneakers White Again

Do you have dingy white sneakers? You can make your favorite white sneakers white again with these easy and quick cleaning tips!

There are some things in life that are at their finest right out of the box.

In my opinion, brand new white sneakers are one of them!

The same goes for white linen pants, a new tube of toothpaste, and a fresh package of oreo cookies!

I just bought these white and green classic Tretorn sneakers...pure white out of the box and I am in heaven!

New White and Green Sneakers sitting in their box.
Cute and SO comfy!

I almost hesitate to wear them as I don’t want them to get dirty!

Missy Wearing the white and green sneakers.

But life is full of dirt and scuffs…and white sneakers suffer the consequences.

I love these mesh sneakers and the dirt smudges are SO annoying!

Smudged white sneakers that are needing to be made white again.

When you buy white sneakers, you need to know how to keep them looking white!

Here is how!

Make White Sneakers White Again

I used this process on two different types of white sneakers: a mesh style and a leather-like style. The process worked beautifully on both types!

You need just a few simple ingredients for whitening your sneakers.

  • Dishwashing Liquid
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Tablespoon Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Hydrogen Peroxide
  • 1 Old Toothbrush

I started by giving both pairs of shoes an initial cleaning with the toothbrush and some dishwashing liquid. This works to take off general dirt from the shoes.

Make white sneakers white again but initially scrubbing with dishwashing liquid and a toothbrush.

Mix together the baking soda, water, and hydrogen peroxide (1 T. each) in a small bowl to create a paste. You can use the toothbrush to stir.

Make white sneakers white again with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

With the toothbrush, scrub the shoes (all surfaces!) with the paste leaving a layer of the paste on the shoes. Two layers of the paste are even better!

Make white sneakers white again by applying the paste to the shoe with a toothbrush.

What about Shoelaces?

We can’t leave out the shoelaces…they are often dirtier than the shoes!

No worries…the process is the same.

Mix the same ingredients in a separate bowl and throw the shoelaces in. Stir with the toothbrush to coat.

Applying the same paste with a toothbrush to the shoelaces.

Set both the paste-covered shoes and laces outside in the sun for at least 4 hours.

Chemical reaction with the sun! Now I feel like I am back in my 6th-grade science class!

Make white sneakers white again by putting the shoes in the sun after applying the paste.

This is the Best Part!

After 4 hours, grab the shoes and slap them together.

This reminds me of cleaning chalkboard erasers when I was a kid!

The paste will crumble off the shoes into dust!

Hitting the shoes against each other after 4 hours to shake off the excess baking soda powder.

Use the toothbrush to brush away any excess powder.

At this point, you might be ready to go. However, I like to throw mine into the washing machine and run it through a cold, gentle rinse cycle. This dissolves any hidden bits of dried paste that might not have fallen off.

Freshly white!

A newly whitened sneaker.

You can see a similar white quilted Guess sneaker HERE.

Newly whitened sneakers.

You can see a similar white Nautica sneaker with a red and blue stripe HERE.

Yay! Once again, you have white sneakers!

Cheers!

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4 Comments

  1. This is genius! How did I not know this? I’m going to share a link to your clever hack with my readers in my week in rewind post tomorrow. I know they’ll love it too!

    1. Thank you so much, Jen! That is so nice of you. Yes, I’m feeling sassy in my new white sneaks! LOL!

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