How to Clean White Sneakers and Keep That Shine Longer
Here is how to clean white sneakers without wrecking them. Brush off dry dirt, spot clean stains, wipe the upper with a mild cleaner, then air dry the pair. According to Nike’s care page, canvas stains can take a paste of baking soda and 3% hydrogen peroxide. Keep heat and the washing machine away, and that shine lasts longer.
- In short: 4 steps, in this order: brush, spot clean, wipe down and air dry.
- Canvas mix: 2 parts baking soda to 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide, left for 30 minutes, per Nike.
- Leather mix: 1 tablespoon baking soda, 2 tablespoons white vinegar and 1 cup of water, per Nike.
- Machine: Nike says to keep canvas pairs out of it, but Allbirds says most of its own shoes can go on a cold, gentle cycle.
- Drying: air only, for several hours, with no dryer or hairdryer.
What do you need before you start?
The kit is short: a soft brush, a toothbrush, a microfiber cloth, warm water and a cleaner or mild detergent.
Every scuff, stain or dirt mark looks like a sore on these babies, so it helps to have everything on hand first. You don’t need anything fancy, though. If you don’t have a sneaker-specific cleaner, any mild detergent will do the job. But if you’d rather buy it all in one box, our roundup of sneaker cleaning kits has the options. Keep a spare toothbrush too, because the soles get their own scrub later.
Prep matters as well. Take out the shoelaces and insoles if you wanna go for a deep clean, because both get washed on their own. Finally, once all that is ready, you can get on with the actual cleaning of your kicks.
- Soft-bristled brush
- Loose dirt on the upper and the midsole.
- Toothbrush
- Spot stains, stitching and the rubber soles.
- Microfiber cloth
- The full wipe-down with the cleaning mix.
- Mild detergent or sneaker cleaner
- Mixed into a bowl of warm water.
Brushing comes before spot cleaning
Dry brushing is the first pass, because it lifts loose dirt before water touches the upper.
For the most obvious dirt on your kicks, the soft-bristled brush does the work. However, you shouldn’t scrub too hard, because you don’t wanna ruin the material. Light strokes take longer, but they get you further than force.
Stubborn marks get spot cleaning. Dip the toothbrush in a mix of cleaner or detergent and water, then gently scrub that one area. Don’t worry if the stain doesn’t fully go away, because the full clean comes next.
The rubber needs its own pass. According to Nike’s care page for white shoes, toothpaste and an old toothbrush scrub away stains on soles. If your midsoles need more than that, our walkthrough on cleaning sneaker soles covers the rubber in detail.
A banner from the March 2024 edition of this walkthrough. How do you give white kicks a full clean?
The full clean is a gentle wipe-down of the whole upper with a damp cloth and a warm mix.
Once the spot cleaning is done, it’s time for the real deal. Here is the order we follow, step by step.
- Fill a bowl with warm water and mix in the sneaker cleaner or mild detergent.
- Dip the microfiber cloth in the mix, then wring it out so it’s damp, not dripping.
- Gently scrub the whole upper with the cloth, one panel at a time.
- Go back over any stains that survived the spot cleaning.
Again, don’t scrub too hard, because we don’t wanna damage the kicks. The wrung-out cloth matters too, because less water soaks into the pair and it dries sooner. That’s the whole routine for most pairs. But if a mark is still there after this, the next section has Nike’s stronger mixes. They’re different for canvas and leather.
Which mixes does Nike suggest for canvas and leather?
Nike’s white-shoe page was last updated on 18 December 2024, and it lists mixes for canvas, leather and laces.
Mix Use it on Ratio Wait Share of the mix (our sum) Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste Canvas 2 parts baking soda to 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide 30 minutes before rinsing, or air-dry in the sun Baking soda about 67% of the paste Bleach solution Canvas 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 quart water Not given Bleach about 1.5% by volume Baking soda and vinegar Leather 1 tablespoon baking soda, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1 cup water Not given Vinegar about 11% of the liquid Lace soak Laces 3 tablespoons bleach to 1 gallon water 5 minutes, then wash Bleach about 1.2% by volume According to Nike, the paste uses 3% hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda is about 67% of it by our sum.
Nike’s page says 1 tablespoon of bleach goes into 1 quart of water, so bleach is about 1.5% of the mix by volume (our sum: 0.5 fluid ounces in 32.5). For laces, Nike’s page says 3 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water for 5 minutes, which is about 1.2% (1.5 in 129.5).
Leather is a different story. The page says to avoid harsh chemicals on white leather, and to keep bleach off leather and suede. That’s why the leather mix is baking soda and white vinegar instead. Our walkthroughs for leather sneakers, suede sneakers and mesh sneakers go further, because every material needs specific care.
Hand wash vs washing machine: which is safer?
Hand washing is the safer default, because machine advice depends on the shoe and on its maker.
Nike’s page says to keep canvas shoes out of the washing machine, because it can cause wear and damage the construction. However, Allbirds’ shoe care page tells owners of its shoes to remove the laces and insoles first. It then suggests a delicates bag or a pillowcase, and a gentle cycle with cold water and a little mild detergent.
The catch is that Allbirds writes those steps for its own shoes, not for every pair you own. So unless your pair’s maker says the machine is fine, we’d stick to the brush and the cloth. Both pages lean on air drying, and that’s covered in the next section.
We checked both pages on 9 October 2026 and compared what each says about machines, bleach and drying. The table sums it up.
Point Nike, white-shoe page Allbirds, shoe care page Machine wash Avoid it for canvas shoes Gentle cycle, cold water, mild detergent Laces and insoles Laces off and washed on their own Remove both before washing Bleach For canvas and laces, never leather or suede Avoid it, and fabric softener too Drying Air-dry laces, since heat can deform the tips Air dry and avoid machine drying How should you dry the pair after cleaning?
Air drying is the right way, in a well-aired spot and well away from any direct heat.
Hairdryers and other direct heat sources are a no-go. You see, heat can make the material shrink or warp, and it can weaken the glue holding your kicks together. Nike makes a similar point about laces, saying heat can deform their plastic tips, so they air-dry too.
Instead, place your sneakers in a well-aired area and let them dry on their own. It can take several hours for them to dry completely, so make sure you don’t need your kicks that day. Finally, once they’re dry, you can put the laces and insoles back in place.
Nike’s page has an exception for the paste. Once the baking soda paste is on canvas, Nike says you can wait 30 minutes and rinse, or leave the pair to air-dry in the sun. That applies to the paste only, but a pair you’ve wiped down still goes to the well-aired spot.
How do you keep that shine longer?
Maintenance is as vital as cleaning, because it protects your kicks before anything even happens to them.
Naturally, we recommend that you don’t wear your white pair on a rainy day when there’s a chance of mud. However, there are always sneaker protection techniques you can use. Those include a protective spray or repellent that can shield your kicks from the elements.
That said, small habits help too. A quick wipe with a damp cloth after a dusty day keeps dirt from settling in. A fresh mark is also easier to deal with than one you’ve walked around on for a week. Creases age a pair as well, and our walkthrough on how to uncrease shoes covers that side. Between the spray, the wipe and the occasional full clean, your pair stays bright longer.
Our verdict
The routine we would follow is simple: brush, spot clean, wipe down and air dry. The stronger mixes are only for marks that survive all that.
For most pairs, warm water, a mild detergent and a soft brush are enough. We would only reach for Nike’s paste or bleach mix on canvas. But we would never put bleach on leather or suede, because the page warns against it. The machine stays a last resort unless your pair’s maker says otherwise, as Allbirds does for most of its own shoes.
But cleaning has limits. Nike’s page says it’s generally a good idea to replace your shoes every 300 to 500 miles. And if your pair is past saving, you probably don’t wanna pay resale prices for the next one. Our walkthrough on buying sneakers at retail shows how that works.
