How To Clean Yellow Soles -

There is something about a pair of fresh, white shoes that makes you feel good. Unfortunately, the problem with white shoes is that they never stay white for long! One of the worst problems is when the soles turn yellow, but keep reading below to learn how to turn your yellow soles white.

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How To Whiten Yellow Soles On Shoes: A Step-By-Step Guide

Soles on white shoes will yellow naturally over time. The yellow color comes from oxidation, which results from the white rubber reacting with the oxygen in the air. Using either baking soda, a bleach solution or toothpaste, you can restore your shoes to like-new condition.

Whiten Yellowed Soles Using The Following Methods

There are a few different methods you can use to clean your yellow soles and remove the oxidation. Depending on how much oxidation has occurred, you may need to attempt several rounds of cleaning or experiment with different methods to find what works best.

How To Clean Yellow Soles With Baking Soda And Hydrogen Peroxide.

Materials needed:

Baking soda
Hydrogen peroxide
Old toothbrush

Step-by-step:

In a small bowl, mix baking soda and hydrogen peroxide together to form a paste-like consistency. It should be about as thick as toothpaste when you are finished.
Grab an old tooth and apply the baking soda paste on the yellow sole of your shoe.
Set your shoe out in a sunny area for at least one hour with the baking paste on.
Rinse the paste off and examine your soles. If they are still yellow, repeat the process above.

How To Clean Yellow Soles With Bleach

Materials needed:

Bleach
Old toothbrush

Step-by-step:

In a small bowl, mix together a 1:1 solution of bleach and water. It is important to dilute the bleach because bleach by itself can yellow white products.
Dip your old toothbrush into the solution and scrub the yellow soles. Make sure to get in all of the crevices along the sole for a thorough cleaning. This may take a few attempts!
Rinse directly after scrubbing the soles with the bleach solution.
If the sole is still yellow, repeat the process again. Sometimes it can take several attempts, especially when the oxidation is severe.

How To Clean Yellow Soles With Toothpaste

Materials needed:

Your favorite non-gel toothpaste
An old toothbrush

Step-by-step:

Using toothpaste may be an unexpected cleaning agent but it works like a charm.
Using the toothbrush, spread the toothpaste on to the yellow soles. Massage the toothpaste into the sole.
Continue cleaning until the soles are white. Feel free to apply more toothpaste as needed.
When finished, rinse toothpaste completely off of the sole and allow the shoe to fully dry.

Send Shoes To Professional Cleaner

Sometimes, the oxidation may be more than you can remedy with a home cleaning. At that point, you have two options.

How much do you love these shoes? Are they valuable? Collectible? If so, you may want to consider professional cleaning solutions. There are many services available where you can ship your shoes to them and they will remove the oxidation for you. While it might be expensive, it could be worth it if you want to keep your shoes around.

On the other hand, if you don’t care about this pair of shoes you could always donate them and buy a new pair.

How Can You Prevent The Yellowing Of Soles Frequently?

One of the best ways to keep your white shoes looking clean is to prevent oxidation altogether. While it gets harder to fight oxidation the older a shoe gets, here are a few tips and tricks.

Using Pencil Eraser To Clean White Soles

One easy way to keep your soles looking fresh is cleaning them with a pencil eraser periodically. This is a super easy way to clean your soles because it doesn’t require any scrubbing at all.

An eraser will do a superb job removing any dirt or scuffs on your shoes. If you have any suede shoes, erasers do an exceptional job cleaning suede as well (which is notoriously difficult to clean).

While an eraser may not remove every last bit of dirt, it is a great way to extend the life of your shoe.

Keep The Shoes In The Original Box

If you are a sneakerhead, you’ve probably been using this technique for a while. Storing your shoes in the box is a fantastic way to keep them clean and extend the life of the shoe.

You’d be surprised how much dust and dirt builds up on your shoes when you leave them sitting out.

In addition, if you don’t want to wear the shoes at all, or just wear them a very small amount, keeping them in the original box will guarantee they stay in new-like condition.

Use Silica Packs While Storing

If you’ve never used silica packs before to store your shoes, we highly recommend picking some up. They are a cheap addition to your shoe maintenance routine that will extend the life of all your shoes.

Silica packs are those little packs you find in pre packed food that keeps the food fresh. Silica does an incredible job absorbing moisture and unwanted smells, which ends up being exactly what you want when trying to keep your footwear looking as good as possible.

Avoid Wearing Your Shoes In The Dirt

This may seem obvious, but above all avoid wearing your shoes in dirty conditions if you care about how they look.

Try to keep your shoes on concrete sidewalks and indoors, but if you have to step on dirt try to walk slowly to minimize getting any dirt on the shoes themselves.

If you know you are going somewhere dirty, wear a pair of shoes that you do not care about for that activity. It is good to have shoes for both occasions – shoes that you want to keep clean and others that you can use for activities.

Frequently Asked Questions On Cleaning White Shoes

How do you clean soles of white shoes?

There are several ways you can clean soles of white shoes, including toothpaste, bleach, or a baking soda paste. With a toothbrush, scrub the soles with either toothpaste, bleach, or a baking soda paste. This should remove the oxidation. Rinse when finished.

Why do white soles turn yellow?

White soles turn yellow because of oxidation. Over time, the rubber soles react with oxygen in the air, causing that yellow look.

How do you whiten midsoles?

Midsoles can easily be whitened by using a cleaning routine of toothpaste, bleach, or a baking soda paste. Scrub the soles with a toothbrush and your cleaning solution of choice, then rinse when finished.

How do you get rid of yellow soles on Air Forces & other sneakers?

You can get rid of yellow soles on Air Forces and other sneakers by using a cleaning routine of toothpaste, bleach, or a baking soda paste. With a toothbrush, apply the cleaning solution of your choice and rinse when finished. Check out our guide here.

How can you restore icy soles?

Yellowed icy soles are caused by oxidation. Using a cleaning routine of toothpaste, bleach, or a baking soda paste, scrub the soles with an old toothbrush. This is the best way to remove the oxidation and get your kicks looking new again.