How to Clean Vintage Shoes
Vintage shoes are fashionable and stylish. This type of shoe needs cleaning and disinfecting to keep them looking and smelling good. The cleaning process must be done with care because of the fragile disposition of the shoe. You want to avoid using any harsh cleaners because the cleaners can erode the thread and fabric.
Materials Needed
- Plastic cover
- Rubbing alcohol
- Cloth
- Chlorine bleach
- Bowl
- Warm water
- Spray bottle
- Plastic bag
- Two knee high stockings
- Cat litter
- Place a plastic cover over a flat surface near a window that gets a lot of sunshine or you can work outside. Put the shoes on top of the plastic cover. Remove the insoles from inside the shoes.
- Open a bottle of rubbing alcohol and soak a clean cloth with it. Use the alcohol soaked cloth to clean the outside of both shoes. Make sure you get the top as well as the bottom of the shoe. This step will kill any bacteria present on the shoe. Place the shoes in direct sunlight for two hours.
- Pour ¼ cup chlorine bleach into bowl. Add 1 cup of warm water to the bowl. Pour the liquid into a spray bottle. Place the lid on the bottle and shake it to mix the bleach and water.
- Put both shoes in a plastic bag. Spray the inside of the shoes with the bleach and water solution. Close the bag and place it in direct sunlight for 24 hours. Remove the shoes from the bag. This step will disinfect the inside of the shoes.
- Take two knee high stockings and fill them with cat litter. Tie the top of the stockings. Place one stocking in each of the shoes. Allow the stockings to sit inside the shoes for 24 hours. Remove the stockings and place them in the garbage. This step will deodorize the shoes. Put the insole back in the shoe.