How to Clean Kids' Shoes at Home — Safe and Odor-Free

Kids' shoes get dirty faster than any other pair: a full day of running, spilled food, sand, sweat and the occasional accident nobody wants to talk about. The good news is that most children's shoes are made from lightweight materials, so cleaning them at home is not hard — as long as you follow the material and keep your child's sensitive skin in mind.

Hand washing is the safest default

Whether it's plastic sandals, fabric sneakers or little trainers, hand washing should always be your first choice: you control the scrubbing force, the amount of water and the detergent, so the shoes keep their shape and no chemicals are left behind.

Basic steps:

1. Remove the laces and insoles; wash them separately.
2. Brush off dry dirt, sand and mud from the upper and the sole.
3. Mix a mild soap solution with lukewarm water and scrub section by section with a soft-bristle brush.
4. Wipe everything down with a clean damp cloth until no soap remains — this step matters, because leftover residue attracts more dirt and can irritate the skin.
5. Stuff the shoes with dry paper to hold their shape and air-dry them in the shade.

Plastic or rubber sandals are even simpler: wipe with a soapy cloth, rinse with clean water and towel dry.

When can you actually use the washing machine?

The machine is convenient, but it is also the most common reason kids' shoes come out with lifted soles and a warped shape — the spin cycle and constant soaking weaken the glued parts. If you are considering it, only do so when:

• The care label on the shoe allows machine washing.
• The shoes are pure cotton or athletic fabric, with no leather, suede or glued-on decorative parts.
• The shoes are heavily soiled or the odor survives hand washing.

When you do: put the shoes in a laundry bag with a few old towels to cushion the load, use cold water and a mild liquid detergent, and pick a slow-spin or no-spin cycle. Skip fabric softener — its residue clings to the lining and is hard to rinse out. Never put shoes in the dryer. If you are unsure whether a fabric pair can survive the machine, start with cleaning by material type and wash by hand first.

Clean the insoles, kill the odor

Most of the smell in kids' shoes lives in the insoles. Hand wash them with soap, blot the water with a towel, then sprinkle a thin layer of baking soda and leave them overnight to absorb moisture and odor. The next morning, brush the powder off and let the insoles dry completely before placing them back.

If the insoles are already thin, stiff, or still smelly after cleaning, replacing them works better than repeating deodorizing cycles.

Keep your child's skin safe

Children's skin is more sensitive than ours, so the "rinse well" step matters more than you think:

• Use only mild, unscented soap or detergent.
• Soap that soaks into the lining needs several passes with a damp cloth until no foam appears.
• Avoid bleach, strong alcohol-based solvents or industrial cleaners — residue can linger and touch your child's skin.
• Skip folk tricks like toothpaste or lemon on kids' shoes: their mild abrasives and acids are not made for sensitive skin and can leave blotches.
• Only let your child wear the shoes once they are completely dry — damp shoes grow mold and become a home for odor-causing bacteria.

What not to do

• No tumble drying, no hair dryer, no radiator — heat lifts the glue and shrinks the fabric.
• No direct harsh sunlight — uppers and soles yellow faster.
• No soaking the shoes in a bucket of water for hours, even fabric pairs.
• No hot water to "kill bacteria" — hot water melts the adhesive holding the sole.

When should you send them to EXTRIM?

Set-in stains, mold, old blood or urine marks on the lining, or leather and suede kids' pairs that need material-specific care — these are the situations where home treatment stops working. EXTRIM's shoe cleaning and spa service cleans by material, deodorizes the lining and dries the shoes under controlled conditions (deep cleaning from 150,000 VND per pair, 2026 reference rates; final price confirmed after inspection).

👉 Send photos of your child's shoes for a condition assessment

Public case files

Photos in this article illustrate the process — they are not a before–after record with a public case code. EXTRIM does not use illustrative images to promise results for every pair.