Don’t you hate it when you buy an excellent and perfect pair of shoes only to discover later that the shoes are too tight for you? But, the shoes did feel fit when you first tried them on in the store, but after having them on for several hours, you realize that the shoes are very uncomfortable since they are very tight. Well, this is a common thing that happens to most people and if you don’t want to return the shoe or maybe the shoe did not have a return policy, here are tips on how to stretch running shoes!
Wearing the shoes around the house
If you want to get a chance to wear the shoes for long hours without any discomfort, you have to break them in to make them more comfortable. The best way to do so is by wearing the shoe foot a short period while in the house every day. By doing that, you are loosening the material as well as stretching out the shoe.
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If you wear shoes regularly while in the house, the shoe will take shape and size of your feet and will eventually feel comfortable to run in it. To speed up the process, wear the shoe with thicker socks and once the shoe hurts your feet, take them off and repeat the process regularly.
Stretch your shoes with oatmeal
The procedure may sound funny, but it works. If you don’t own a freezer, or maybe you don’t want to place your shoes next to your foot, oatmeal is the best alternative. All you need to do is to fill a bag with oatmeal and then add some water into the bag. After that, place the bag with oatmeal inside your shoes overnight. When the oatmeal expands overnight, it will stretch the shoe.
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Oatmeal is the best way to stretch your shoes without having to keep an eye on it. Just make sure the bag has enough oatmeal for the process to work effectively.
Use the freezing method
Another great way of breaking into your shoes is the use of a freezer. All you need is to take a bag, fill it with water, place it inside your shoes and put them into the freezer for eight hours. Water expands when it freezes, and it will, in turn, stretch your shoes as it tries to create space.
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Once the water freezes, remove the shoes from the freezer and check if they fit. You can always repeat the process to stretch them to the desired level.
Use rubbing alcohol
Rubbing alcohol works great when it comes to stretching your shoes. Just pour some rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle. If you do not have a spray bottle, you can use a rubbing cotton ball. Spray the rubbing alcohol inside your shoes into the tight areas and if using a cotton ball, dab it to the tight areas until you wet the fabric. As soon as you do that, put on the shoes and walk around as quickly as possible since rubbing alcohol dries up very quickly. Remember that the alcohol will only work if the shoe is wet! Therefore, make sure you are very fast when it comes to putting on the shoe after applying the rubbing alcohol.
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Rubbing alcohol works great. Just make sure you use it well, and you will surely get the results you desire.
While there are many ways to stretch running shoes, you need to remember that running shoes have some rubber in it and so you should never use heating as a way of stretching the shoe. Even though heat expands fabrics, it can cause permanent damage by melting plastic, rubber, and other materials available in the running shoes. However, the above tips are perfect and will help you run with your favorite running shoes within no time.
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