I tried cleaning white trainers with toothpaste with amazing results
Express tests cleaning white trainers with toothpaste
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Washing and cleaning white trainers can be a gamble. Certain materials like suede and canvas can be particularly hard to clean and can become irreparably damaged if they’re cleaned incorrectly. Washing trainers in the machine at a low temperature is usually a safe bet, however, with energy bills on the rise, many people are looking to avoid overusing their washing machines. One of the ways people can clean their trainers is by using toothpaste, according to cleaning expert Lynsey Crombie.
Lynsey, who is also known as The Queen of Clean, champions natural and affordable cleaning hacks and often shares her tips on Instagram.
One of her videos shows her using toothpaste to whiten and clean trainers.
The hack has also been recommended by social media users who often take to platforms like Facebook to share their unique cleaning tips.
With this in mind, and armed with a pair of dirty, white trainers, I decided to give the hack a go.
The trainers I used were mainly white with some peach sections and a navy blue section at the back.
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My Puma trainers were a mixture of rubber, canvas and suede which meant the toothpaste would have to work hard across a plethora of materials.
I wouldn’t recommend trying this hack on completely suede trainers or shoes that would become discoloured from toothpaste.
Here’s everything you need to clean white trainers using toothpaste:
A tube of white toothpaste (non-gel)
A pair of dirty, white trainers
An old toothbrush
A damp cloth
Laundry detergent
Method:
Firstly, remove the laces from the trainers and pop them in a bowl or in a separate section of the sink.
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Fill the bowl or sink with hot water and add half a capful of laundry detergent.
Allow these to soak for around half an hour so the bacteria can be broken down and the white colour can be restored.
Next, remove any loose debris using the toothbrush. Loose dirt can often easily be removed during a quick going over with a toothbrush.
I also gave the trainers a quick shake to remove any loose mud, sand or gravel from the sole.
Next, I put the toothpaste onto a separate dish to apply to the trainers. I used Oral-B Pro-Expert toothpaste.
I didn’t want to apply the toothpaste straight to the trainers as I wasn’t sure how much I would need.
Using the toothbrush, I applied the toothpaste onto one trainer and began to scrub away at the lighter sections of the trainer.
I was careful to avoid the navy blue section at the back of the trainer as I wasn’t sure whether it would become discoloured.
I was surprised at the amount of dirt and debris that came off the trainer straight away. The particles in the toothpaste seemed to remove a lot of the dirt and muck without needing to excessively scrub.
I used a little bit of water every now and then to make the toothpaste more applicable.
I scrubbed both trainers in around 10 minutes and then left the toothpaste on the trainers for a further 10 minutes in the sink.
I would recommend wearing old clothes when using the toothpaste as I did notice a lot of toothpaste marks on my clothes after scrubbing.
After 10 minutes, I wiped the toothpaste away with a damp cloth. The toothpaste was quite sticky so it does take quite a while to remove it completely.
Next, I removed the laces from the sink and popped them on an airer to dry.
The trainers were left with a pleasant, minty smell which also emanated to the inside of the shoe.
The shoes were slightly damp from the cloth so I popped them on the airer to dry for around 24 hours.
Once the laces and trainers were bone dry, I reapplied the laces and was shocked at how white the rubber parts of the trainer were.
The laces, suede and canvas parts of the trainer still look a bit discoloured but are cleaner than before.
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