How to Clean Suede Sneakers Naturally to Make Them Look Brand New? Tips and Tricks!

It doesn’t matter if you’re walking like a princess or skirting through muddy puddles, your sneakers are going to get dirty. And do you know what’s worse than getting white sneakers dirty? Getting white suede sneakers dirty! Oh yes! This beautiful, robust material is actually quite fragile when it comes to cleaning. If you’ve stained your shoes or want to make them brand new, I’m here to help. Read our grandma’s tips and tricks and find out how to clean suede sneakers! Here we go!

How to Clean Suede Sneakers Naturally?

Need a grandma’s tip for cleaning suede? Why not several? Suede has a bad reputation for being impossible to clean without damaging it. If that’s what you think too, then I’m here to change your mind and give you some good advice on how to clean it thoroughly without damaging it. For example, just recently my friend stained her beautiful white suede sneakers with coffee and she didn’t notice it until after work! You can imagine that it took some time for the stain to dry. As we were talking on the phone, she told me she was going to buy some bleach and clean the stain, so it was sparkling white again. Oh, what horror! I yelled and told her to only do this if the result she wants is ruined sneakers! So I explained to her what she could use and what she couldn’t use… Want to find out for yourself? Keep scrolling!

Also read: How to Clean White Sneakers

Can Suede Be Machine Washed?

Putting your suede sneakers in the washing machine seems like the most obvious choice. You also wash your other sneakers there, right? So there is no problem, is there? Well, no! Putting on suede sneakers in the washing machine, or any shoes for that matter, is the worst thing you can do because you’ll ruin the material. Suede absorbs water fairly quickly and can develop water spots. You will have the same result if you wash them by hand in the sink with soap and water.

Can You Clean Suede with Baking Soda?

How to clean suede sneakers naturally? Here’s a great method! Baking soda is essential for cleaning. And don’t let its rough appearance fool you: you can clean suede shoes with baking soda without damaging them at all. Just be gentle. Here’s what you can do:

• Take 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of baking soda and mix until you get a paste.
• Take a new toothbrush and put some of the paste on it.
• Rub directly onto the stain with gentle circular motions.
• Once you’ve finished scrubbing, leave the sneakers to dry with the baking soda for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Then, when the time is up, take a damp (not wet!) cloth and remove the baking soda. That’s it!

Cleaning Suede With White Vinegar: Yes or No?

White vinegar is another must-have item for your home. To clean suede sneakers with white vinegar, you need to take a dry, clean cloth and dampen it with the white vinegar. Then, as described above, rub directly into the stain using gentle, circular motions. Then let it dry and brush it off with a dry towel or other dry cloth. White vinegar is also very useful as it neutralizes the smell. So if you’ve spilled alcohol on your shoes, they won’t smell any longer!

Other Methods to Clean Suede

• Abrasive suede eraser for removing tough stains is a great way to clean suede sneakers. You can order it online or pick it up at a shoe store. However, during cleaning, it is strongly advised not to press too hard on the fabric so as not to damage it.
• Use rubbing alcohol. Just like white vinegar, rubbing alcohol will remove stains and odors.
• Clean greasy stains with Meglio. In general, I don’t recommend buying stain cleaners, as I prefer to use white vinegar or baking soda. But this one works great!