Practical tips and tricks on how to quickly dry sneakers after washing, rain or snow

foto8133-1 You can extend the life of your sneakers with careful care. Correct washing sneakers, and no less important, competent drying helps preserve the appearance, shape, and color of sports shoes for as long as possible.

Is it possible to place wet sneakers on a radiator? How to dry leather shoes correctly? What to do if your white sneakers get wet?

The answers to these and many other questions will be useful for those who do not know how to quickly and correctly dry sneakers after washing.

What do you need to know before you start drying?

Before sending wet sneakers to dry, It is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory activities:

pull out the insoles and laces, unfasten the Velcro;
leather, with a mesh upper, wipe the sneakers first with a soft foam sponge soaked in a soap solution, and then just with a clean rag;
suede sneakers or nubuck, dry it slightly, and then clean it from dirt with a special brush;
Wrap already clean sneakers in a soft cloth and, pressing lightly, collect moisture from the surface of the sneakers.

General drying rules:

Dry sports shoes away from heating appliances. High temperatures can cause uneven drying, whitish spots, crumbling of adhesive joints and deformation.
Drying sneakers in special drying machines is strictly prohibited.
You should start drying your sports shoes immediately upon arriving home. Delay may cause a persistent unpleasant odor to appear.
Before drying, the sneakers must be unlaced and, if possible, all metal parts and other fittings must be removed.

It is strictly forbidden to dry dirty shoes. Ignoring this rule leads to the fact that the sneakers completely lose their shape, become covered with whitish salt stains, and acquire an unpleasant musty smell.

How to dry it properly at home?

Handy methods

There are a sufficient number of ways to quickly dry wet sneakers using available, affordable products.

Paper

foto8133-3 A quick and inexpensive way to dry shoes is paper, or rather old newspapers. Paper sheets crumple and fill wet sneakers with them.

Newspapers absorb moisture very quickly, so they need to be changed at least once every two hours.

To speed up the drying process, wet shoes can be additionally wrapped in sheets of old newspapers or toilet paper.

Rice

There are several ways to dry your shoes using rice:

Place the wet sneakers in the box (sole up) and cover with rice. The box is closed with a lid and left for at least five hours. Then they open it and take out the already dry shoes.
Rice is poured into clean socks (it is better to take regular, non-steamed cereal). Socks are placed in wet shoes. As they get wet, change the socks (about every forty minutes) and after three to four hours the sneakers will dry.

Silica gel

Moisture-absorbing white silica gel balls will help quickly dry your shoes.

It is enough to pour them in the required quantity into a bag made of natural, loose fabric (gauze is ideal), which is placed inside damp sneakers.

You can buy silica gel in online stores. Balls can be white or blue. The blue color of silica gel is an indicator of moisture. When filled with moisture, the blue color of the ball changes to pink. As soon as the silica gel is filled with moisture, it must be changed (the wet one is left to dry in the sun).

Soda

foto8133-4 A product that any housewife has in her kitchen—soda—will help dry your shoes.

It's very simple: fabric bags are filled with soda and placed inside wet shoes. As soon as the bags are saturated with moisture, they are changed.

Before the sneakers are completely dry, you will need to replace the bags at least three times. After complete drying, sports shoes are exposed to air for ventilation.

Cat litter

Cat litter will help quickly dry shoes, regardless of the materials they are made of. Among all types of fillers for trays, it is best to choose corn granules (they absorb liquid as quickly as possible) or silicone balls.

The fillers are poured inside the shoes and left for five to six hours. After this, the granules that have absorbed moisture are simply shaken out.

Towel

A small towel made of natural fabric will help quickly dry wet sneakers. The algorithm of actions is simple: put a towel inside the wet shoes.

After some time, when the fabric is saturated with moisture, the towel is changed. The process is repeated until the shoes are dry. Small terry or cotton kitchen towels absorb moisture best.

Salt

Regular table salt will help dry your shoes quickly.

foto8133-5 Algorithm of actions:

Heat a little salt in a frying pan or in the microwave.
Warm salt is poured into a bag made of natural, not very dense fabric.
A bag of salt is placed inside wet sneakers.
As the salt becomes moistened, the bags are changed until the shoes are completely dry.

With the help of technology

An unconventional use of ordinary household appliances - drying shoes will help quickly get rid of moisture, restore the shape and appearance of sneakers.

Vacuum cleaner

A vacuum cleaner with a reverse air outlet function will help speed up the drying process.. A strong air flow will quickly dry wet sneakers in just an hour.

It is enough to remove the brush attachment from the vacuum cleaner, switch the hose to the reverse air supply position, insert the hose inside the wet shoes and turn on the household appliance.

Hairdryer

foto8133-6 A hairdryer will help dry wet shoes. It is enough to direct and hold a stream of warm air on the wet surface of sports shoes for some time.

It is important to ensure that the air flow temperature is not very high (excessively hot air may melt the adhesive layer).

It is also necessary to remember that suede can be dried with a hairdryer only on cold air and low power.

Fan

To use a fan for drying shoes, you need to slightly improve the device. To do this, small hooks (can be made of wire) are attached to the fan mesh, onto which wet sneakers will later cling. A few hours of blowing with a fan and wet shoes become dry.

Warm floor - dry shoes overnight!

Owners of heated floors can use them not only to heat the room, but also to dry wet shoes.

Algorithm of actions:

wet sports shoes must be wiped off from dirt and the soles washed;
set the temperature of the heated floor within 23-25C;
wet shoes are left on a warm floor for at least six hours (preferably overnight).

Electric dryers

In the store you can see a variety of electric shoe dryers:

The standard model of an electric dryer consists of two tubular heating elements curved in the shape of a loop.. It is enough to insert the electric dryer into the shoes, connect the device to the network and leave it for five to six hours to dry.
The standard model is the most affordable option for a shoe dryer (average cost is 300 rubles).
Electric dryer pad. The special shape of the body (in which the heating elements are hidden) in the form of a shoe helps to quickly and evenly dry the shoes, keeping them from deformation. Drying time is no more than six hours. The average cost of the device is 600 rubles.
Electric dryers with antibacterial function. The design feature is that in addition to heating elements, bacterial lamps or aromatic plates are built into the body, which, when heated, eliminate bacteria, fungus and unpleasant odors from the inner surface of the shoe. The average cost of the device is 1000 rubles.
Electric dryers with active air circulation. The principle of operation of the device: a fan accelerates hot air from the heating element, which comes out through plastic tubes. Sneakers placed on tubes are blown with hot air, due to which the drying time is reduced several times (no more than one hour). The average price of the device is 1,500 rubles.

When choosing an electric dryer, it is necessary to take into account not only the functional features of the device, but also its size. The dryer should fit freely inside wet sports shoes.

Features for different materials

Depending on what material the sneakers are made of, choose the drying method:

Textile. Sneakers, light sports shoes, fabric sneakers will quickly dry with a hairdryer, vacuum cleaner, fan or crumpled newspaper paper. An electric dryer will help speed up the process.
Leather. Fillers made of salt or paper will help to dry quickly and at the same time maintain the appearance and shape of sports shoes made of genuine leather.
Do not dry leather sneakers with hot air (by placing them on a radiator or using a hair dryer). When using an electric dryer, leather shoes are first rubbed with cream, protecting the top of the sneakers from drying out or cracking.
Suede leather. For this material, only a delicate drying method is suitable - silica gel filler or newspaper. Suede sneakers are dried only at room temperature, away from heating devices. These simple rules will help maintain the shine and structure of suede.

What not to do and why?

There are certain limitations in the process of drying sports shoes, ignoring which can completely ruin the sneakers:

Do not dry sneakers (especially leather ones) in a washing machine (high speeds deform the shoes);
Do not dry sneakers in a microwave or on a hot radiator;
It is prohibited to dry suede sneakers near heating appliances.

Adviсe

Among the recommendations are the following 3:

Sneakers with fur are dried using electric drying at low temperatures.
Before drying, it is better to remove the insoles and laces (they absorb excess moisture).
The newspaper drying method is not suitable for white shoes (printing ink leaves indelible marks). For light-colored sports shoes, it is better to use clean, white paper or another drying method.

Useful video

How to dry shoes (including sneakers) after rain or washing, video tips:

Conclusion

Strict adherence to drying rules guarantees excellent results - clean, dry sneakers that retain their shape and color in the shortest possible time.