4 Tips To Care For Your Sneakers From Air Jordan 5 Retro 'Raging Bull' 2021 To Sneakers You’ve Had For Years

If you’re a sneakerhead, you shouldn’t let your shoes look shabby. However, keeping your sneakers as clean and fresh as possible could arguably be difficult if you’re not keen on cleaning things regularly. So, you need to know the basics of how to take care of your kicks better to make them look brand new.

Since you’ve spent hundreds of dollars to buy your 2021 Air Jordan 5 Raging Bull and other high-end sneakers, don’t even think of washing them through the laundry machine! Let this article guide you on how you should clean your shoes:

Things You’ll Need Before Starting

If you don’t have a sneaker cleaning kit, you can still take care of your sneakers by using the following items:

• Shoe cleaning agent
• Soft-bristled brush
• Hard-bristled brush
• Clean and dry cloth
• A toothbrush to properly clean the soles
• Gloves

Tips to Take Care of Your Sneakers

If you’ve purchased your premium shoe wear from Flight Club or other resellers, you’ve likely spent a serious amount of money to be among the first ones to get a pair. So, follow these tips to keep them in tiptop shape:

1. Cleaning Your Shoelaces

For your shoelaces, you can opt to clean them by hand or by throwing them in a washing machine. But if you go for the latter option, you need to remember to place them inside a pillowcase or laundry mesh bag. By doing so, you’ll prevent them from being tangled or losing them entirely.

You need to follow these steps to clean your shoelaces:

• Remove any loose dirt or gunk from the shoelaces by using your hands or a brush. These can be removed easily after a few minutes of scrubbing.
• By using a clean bucket or the sink, make a solution by using a few drops of liquid soap and water.
• Let the shoelaces soak for some time in the soap and water solution. After that, stir them in the solution. But be careful not to spill the water.
• You can use either a soft-bristled brush or a toothbrush to scrub the laces while they’re still soaked in the solution. But be gentle when scrubbing around the aglets as they might crack.
• Rinse the bucket or sink and replace the solution with lukewarm water. When it is filled, place the laces and let them absorb the water. If they’re still not clean, repeat steps two to five.
• If they’re already clean and soap-free, let them air dry. Never use a dryer.

Important: Don’t use bleach with colored laces. Those with prints are also considered colored since you don’t want to rub off the branding or design.

2. Cleaning The Insoles

One of the most important steps in cleaning any Air Jordan model is knowing how to care for the insoles. Aside from gathering dust, mud, and dirt, your insoles could get smelly. This may be caused by using low-quality socks, having sweaty feet, or skipping regular cleaning.

Since insoles can be removed easily, they’re quite easy to clean. But they’re usually made from foam and synthetic materials, so you should avoid getting them soaked too much in the water.

For most cases, soap and water are enough to clean them. But you can have better results if you invest in specialized kits for cleaning your sneakers.

You’ll need:

• Hot water
• Soft-bristled brush
• Dry and clean cloth
• Liquid detergent or shoe cleaning agent

To clean your sneaker’s insoles, you have to follow these steps:

• Remove the insoles carefully.
• If they have a foul odor, let them air dry before proceeding.
• Remove any debris such as dirt, dust, and mud by using a soft-bristled brush.
• Fill a sink or bucket with hot water and add a few drops of liquid detergent or cleaning agent.
• Mix the solution thoroughly.
• Dip the soft-bristled brush in the solution and scrub the insoles with a circular motion.
• Brush any stained areas harder to remove or make them lighter.
• Make sure to keep the brush wet, but don’t soak your insoles.
• After you’re done scrubbing the top, move to the bottom.
• Remove soap residue using a clean cloth.
• Let the insoles dry. Make sure they’re completely dry before putting them back into your shoes.

3. Cleaning Your Sneaker’s Uppers

Before starting, you’ll need:

• A small bowl
• Cool water
• Liquid dishwashing soap or shoe cleaning agent diluted in water
• A few clean and dry cloths
• A soft-bristled brush or toothbrush

It’s quite easy to clean your sneaker’s uppers as you’ll only need to soak a brush and scrub it gently. But you need to do it in circular motions throughout the entire uppers. For the midsoles, you can use the same brush or a hard-bristled one to scrub them clean.

4. Cleaning the Soles

Once you’re done with other parts, the soles should also be cleaned to make your sneakers look brand new. Since these are usually the parts that come into contact with the ground, you need to exert more effort to clean it properly.

Closing Thoughts

Cleaning your Air Jordans—and other sneakers, for that matter—is quite easy. You just need water, detergent or shoe cleaning agent, a soft and hard-bristled brush, and a dry cloth to keep your shoes clean and fresh. So, don’t forget to clean them regularly if you want to use them longer or keep their value if you want to resell them later.