Rubber is a great material used in quality shoes because it doesn’t wear out fast or allow water inside the shoes.
Unfortunately, if you don’t wear rubber shoes for a long time, they can contract and become tighter especially when it’s cold.
If this happens to your shoes or you just happened to buy a smaller shoe, this article will look at how to stretch rubber shoes so they can fit right.
Heating
There are many methods that you can use to heat rubber shoes to a stretch. However, you should be very careful not to burn the shoe or ruin the material especially if the shoe has another material like leather.
Here are some of the best ways to use heat to stretch rubber shoes-
- Put hot water in strong polythene bags and place them inside the shoes. You should ensure the bags are well sealed so water won’t leak.
- Allow the hot bags of water to remain inside the shoes for a period until the water cools down and then remove them. Stuff your shoes with a lot of newspaper immediately so the stretch can remain.
- Place your shoes inside an oven when it’s off. Turn off the oven to the lowest temperatures possible and let it warm slowly.
- Let the shoes remain there for around five minutes or until the oven has warmed to the set temperature and then turn it off.
- Be on the lookout to ensure your shoes don’t burn.
- You can also use a microwave as long as it’s on the lowest temperature setting and remove the shoes after every 30 seconds.
Freezing
It may seem like freezing the shoes will make the contracting of rubber even worse, but the method used here really works.
Just like in the heating method, you should place a sealed bag of water inside each shoe.
However, this time the water should be cold. Put the shoes inside a freezer and leave them inside overnight.
This works because water expands when frozen, so the water bags will become bigger and stretch the shoes.
You can maintain that stretch by placing newspapers inside the shoes after you remove the water bags.
Wear thick socks
The easiest way to stretch rubber shoes is to wear two pairs of socks or thick gym socks with shoes.
Apart from giving the shoes a stretch, the socks will also protect your feet from getting hurt or bruised.
You can wear two pairs of very thick socks, put on your shoes and relax at home watching TV.
You can also take a walk with the shoes if you want to break them in faster.
Walk in the sun
The reality is that heat is the best way to stretch rubber because it makes the material soft.
Another fact is that your feet will be more significant during the afternoon when it’s sunny and hot.
If you wear your rubber shoes in the afternoon and take a walk outside when it’s very sunny, the shoes will stretch naturally.
You can protect your feet with socks or toe guards.
Alternatively, you can sit outside and let your shoes get some direct sun when they are on your feet.
Artificial Stretchers
This method comes last because it’s not guaranteed to work.
Stretchers work well with leather shoes and other materials, but the rubber can be a bit stubborn.
However, you can use the stretchers in combination with heat to make stretching more comfortable and faster.
Stretchers are also a better alternative to stuffing if you can afford to buy some.
The above is easy and realistic suggestions on how to stretch rubber shoes.
You can try any or a combination of two and see the results.
However, it’s important to stuff some papers inside rubber shoes when you are not wearing them to make sure they don’t shrink.
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