How To Clean Lace Toms

One of the more comfortable and fun types of slip-ons—Toms—can get quite dirty pretty quickly. Especially if you're wearing them fairly often. If you're living in a warm climate or someplace where the summers are especially hot, these types of flats are a great choice. Aside from just going everywhere barefoot, of course.

If you're a proud owner of a new pair of Toms, then you're probably wondering how to clean and wash Toms shoes once you get them dirty. And this is something that often happens with first time Toms owners.

Or perhaps, if your feet tend to get a bit sweaty and smelly, you may be looking for a way to eliminate the odor. Thankfully, we've got the solutions for cleaning your Toms shoes, and you'll be happy to hear that all of them are fairly simple.

Can You Wash Toms Shoes?

You'll be happy to know that the answer is yes! However, you should always be careful in doing so, in order to not ruin the fabric. Below are all of the different ways how to clean and wash Toms shoes.

can you clean toms shoes

Clean Them by Hand

You can easily clean and wash Toms shoes by hand with this simple method:

Start out by getting a nice soft, dry bristle brush. It's very crucial for the brush to be completely dry during this part of the procedure because all you'll be doing is some dusting. Otherwise, you might end up ruining the fabric of the shoes.
You should start from the heel and move the dry brush toward the front of the shoe. Make sure that you thoroughly brush the entire shoe so that you'll get rid of all the dust and dirt that's piled up.
Next, you'll need to pour some cold water into a bowl. There's no need to add too much water in the bowl unless you're planning to wash more than one pair of Toms.
Then, add a bit of any mild detergent to the bowl of water. You can either use some dish soap or any other mild detergent that you already have. Pour a little bit of the detergent or soap into the bowl. Just enough so that you'll get some bubbles when you mix everything up.
Now you'll need to take the dry brush that you used to dust off your Toms and clean it up from that dust. When it's cleaned, dip it in the mixture you made and then gently scrub the outside of each shoe. Make sure that you've placed your other hand inside the shoes so that you can hold up the fabric and clean it properly.
After they're all cleaned up, leave them to air dry. Don't put them in the dryer because the fabric will end up shrinking and won't fit any longer.
Finally, if they're all dried up but you can still see some stains on them, repeat this entire process. However, instead of scrubbing the entire shoe to clean it, focus on the stubborn spots. And if that still doesn't work, wash them in the washing machine.

Check out this video to see how you can wash your Toms by hand at home.

Use the Washing Machine

For this step, it's going to be fairly simple again as you'll be using the washing machine. Here are the Toms washing instructions that you'll need:

Start off by making sure that you've set your washing machine on a gentle cycle that's marked as 'lingerie' or 'delicates' and use the coldest water setting that's available.
You'll only need to add a quarter of your regular dose of a mild detergent. You're going to have to pour it on the bottom of the washing machine. This way, the washer will have an easier time creating bubbles. You should also make sure that there's no bleach included in the ingredients list of the detergent you plan on using.
If the shoes are extremely dirty, put them to soak for a few hours before washing. Next put the shoes in the machine to wash and when the cycle has finished, leave the Toms to air dry overnight.
Finally, if there are still some stubborn stains, spot clean them. You can do this by mixing some cold water and mild dish soap. Use a soft bristle brush and focus on scrubbing only the stains with this mixture. And at last, you can give them another run in the washing machine for good measure.

Remove Any Smell from the Soles of Your Toms

You can easily make your own deodorizing powder at home with some simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. Here's how you can clean smelly Toms:

Can you clean toms shoes

All you'll need is one cup of cornstarch, half a cup of baking soda, and half a cup of baking powder. Add all three ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and then shake it so all the different powders can mix.
If you'd like to add a fragrance to your Toms, now is the right time to do so. You can either add about 5 drops of your favorite essential oil to the powders, then shake everything again to mix it up. Or why not try some sage or lavender essential oils specifically? These are known to have antibacterial properties. Either option will be a great addition to your deodorizing powder.
Next, sprinkle the powder that you've made on the leather insoles of your Toms and let it sit for 8 hours. Make sure that the entirety of each sole is covered. If your Toms are very smelly, you can even let the mixture sit inside the shoes for an entire day. This technique can be used with a variety of canvas shoes as well.
When the time is up, use a soft bristle brush to gently brush the Toms and remove all of the powder. This is also going to remove anything that's gotten stuck to the soles on the inside.

Pro Tips

If you're cleaning off your Toms with a soft bristle brush, but the pair you own have sequins, always make sure that you're brushing in the same direction that the sequins are laid out in. Otherwise, you'll just end up pulling out some of the sequins and ruining your pair of Toms.

You may have heard somewhere that instead of making a mixture of cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder, you can just use straight baking soda on your insoles. We wouldn't recommend doing this, because using just baking soda with leather insoles leads to the soles drying out completely.
If you've decided to use a machine for washing your Toms slippers, you can use the spin to help them to dry quicker. However, choose a medium setting to prevent damage.
When air drying your pair of Toms, never put them in direct sunlight. By doing this, the delicate colors that are used on them are going to end up fading.

For more cleaning ideas, check out this video;

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Stop My Toms from Smelling?

Aside from regularly cleaning your Toms as well as your feet, you have one more option. Make sure that after each time you wear your pair of Toms, you thoroughly wipe the inner soles with some rubbing alcohol poured on a cloth. That way, you'll kill any bacteria that can cause smelly feet and smelly shoes in no time.

Can You Wash Toms Insoles?

Unfortunately, you can't and you shouldn't do this. That's because the insoles of all Toms shoes are sewn in, and therefore, cannot be taken out of the shoes. They will be washed in the machine along with the shoes if you choose this method.

Are You Supposed to Wear Socks with Toms?

Of course. You should always wear a pair of socks if you're wearing any closed toe shoes. Otherwise, your feet are going to get sweatier, and that sweat will be absorbed by the Toms, causing an odor.

Always Have Clean and Fresh Toms Shoes

In conclusion, now you know all of the best ways how to wash and clean Toms shoes. From now on, you'll have no trouble getting the soft bristle brush out along with some soapy water and giving them a nice scrub down until they're absolutely spotless.

You can wear your Toms shoes through any warm weather, without worrying that your feet are going to end up stinking up your shoes. As long as you wear your no-show socks. And in case you do, you also have a solution to that problem as well.

Let us know which cleaning solution worked best for your Toms if you've tried any of these out. And you can share any other tips that you have about Toms shoes in the comments below too!