I get it from my dad. I clean my shoes every day before I put them on, just like he polished his shoes. I’ve bleached, brushed and even painted kicks to keep them fresh. Along the way, my cleaning techniques have become more sophisticated and now there are even pre-fabbed kits to take away the guess work. After you check out the video on the new school, read more for some of my old school tried and true methods.

• For soles:
  Get yourself a toothbrush and some elbow grease. Warm water and dish detergent works wonders¹. Bar soap is okay, but it leaves residue and doesn’t handle grease as well. Dish detergent also helps keep dirt off. Wipe off excess with a clean rag. Tooth paste works great on Chuck Taylors and Vans for some reason, but is inconsistent on other kicks. For short term whiteness, add a *hint* of bleach. HINT. Use bleach at your own risk as it tends to turn white soles yellow over time. It also will bleach (duh) any non-white stitching on your sole (a frequent accent color area on AF1’s).
• For leather uppers:
  Where’s your toothbrush? Go to work with the dish soap warm water again. Do this for heavy dirt. For general maintenance, its better to use a soapy rag. Rinse and wipe off excess with a clean dry rag. For dark colors use leather conditioner for luster. I used the same stuff that I would use on leather car seats or purses. Don’t use too much and be careful around the detailed areas of the shoe. Do not use lotion.
• For canvas shoes:
  Take out the laces and insoles. Throw them in the washing machine with some pillows or something else big and soft that can take up space in the machine. Put the spit shine on the sole as described above. Hint: To speed up the drying process, you can put these in the dryer, but put them in a tied pillow case. Beware: its gonna be loud.
• For Suede and Nubuck: The magic eraser is awesome on these (and Timbs). Use it dry though. Using it wet will have your kicks bald. Quickly. Pink erasers and moleskin works well too. Its important to wipe stained areas clean immediately with water and whatever you have access too. The eraser will take car of the rest once it dries.
• For laces:
  Pull them out of the shoes of course, and wash them by hand using regular bar soap. Use your knuckles to scrub them, wring them out with your thumb and index finger, and hang them to air dry. After they dry, iron them flat. This helps prevent fuzziness.

video via

1. for an ebay sale, do the bottom too [↩]