How come shoelaces get dirty, yet they never touch the ground? Well, shoelaces usually collect dirt and grime faster than any other part of the shoes. Once your shoes look filthy, they may detract the look of your entire outfit. Luckily, shoelaces are very easy to clean as long as you use the same approach and the right products.
Here is how to clean shoelaces-
1. Remove laces from the shoes
Cleaning shoelaces are much easier once you remove them from the shoes. Once you remove them, brush off any loose debris or dirt with a brush or with bare hands. Dry dirt is more comfortable to remove as they come off quickly if you scrub it gently.
Bottom-line
It is almost impossible to clean shoelaces while they are still intact on the shoes. If you do so, you can end up ruining your shoes as they may not dry thoroughly. Just remove the laces for a more natural cleaning process.
2. Mix warm water and a cleaning detergent
Fill your bucket or sink with water and mix it with laundry detergent or any other detergent to aid in loosening the grime. If your shoelaces are white, substitute laundry soap with a small amount of bleach for the best results.
3. Soaking
Soaking shoelaces requires some tricks since they usually float on water. You want to soak them, and so you need to make sure they sink. Just put the bag into the water mixture with shoelaces inside if the bag continues to float, use a small weighted object like a cup or a jug to submerge laces while soaking.
Once you soak for about 15 minutes, remove the laces from water and brush them gently when they are still wet.
Bottom-line
When you soak your shoelaces, the dirt and stains come out on their own, and you will only need to brush very gently to remove any dirt left. Soaking makes cleaning easy!
4. Rinse out the laces
Once you are happy with the results after soaking, you can now rinse them with running water. Make sure you remove all the traces of the soaking solution to keep the laces soft and clean after they dry. If you do not rinse the shoelaces thoroughly, they might feel hard to touch once they dry out.
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After a few minutes of cleaning the laces under running water and remove the entire residue, your laces will fall as new after they dry out. Squeeze the extra water with a towel before hanging them to dry.
5. Dry the shoelaces on a rack
It is not advisable to dry the laces in the dryer since the fabric might shrink with heat exposure. Instead, wrap them around a drying rack and leave the ends hanging down to get the breeze.
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Depending on the laces thickness, they may take a night to reach a state where you can use them. Once they are dry, thread them through the eyelets in the shoes and make good use of them.
If you don’t like washing, you can place your laces into the laundry bag in the washing machine. After that, clean with detergents and half a cup of hot water. If in the washing process the aglets got damages, use a piece of scotch tape and wrap the ends to make it easy to fit through the eyelets.
Cleaning shoelaces improve the entire look of the shoes as well as your outfit. Therefore, make good use of the above tips on how to clean shoelaces for better-looking shoes.
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