To begin, I think it is important to cover what not to do, as I’ve seen countless people ruin their shoes on r/vans over the years.

DO NOT:

• Run your shoes thru the washer/dryer! (No soaking either… This will deform them, can mess up the color, and it weakens the glue and integrity of the shoe.)
• Set shoes outside to dry in the sun. (Leaving shoes in the sun bleaches them and does not look good…)
• Bleach… (Bleach will not make your white canvas vans white; it will make them turn an off-white pee-stain yellow…)

Tools:

You can always use a toothbrush, but I recommend a shoe brush set. This is the shoe brush set I use. Horse hair is ideal. The rectangular white brush is a natural rubber crepe brush, used for cleaning and re-fluffing the nap on suede and nubuck. Comes in handy if a protective spray or wash collapses the nap of the suede/nubuck.

They have tools for stuffing shoes for cleaning, but you can also use rags/hand towels. It’s important to stuff the shoes while scrubbing to maintain their integrity.

Shoe trees are useful for allowing greater airflow for drying, they help reduce odor/microbial growth, and they help maintain/restore shape and prevent creases. There are some affordable ones on Amazon.

Soap

In large, shoe cleaning soaps/solutions (reshoevn8r, Jason Markk) are gimics. Most of the time, all you really need is a weak solution of warm water and a few drops of a mild laundry detergent. I’ve used this solution on suede with no problem, but I will sometimes use saphir omnidaim. Their solution is effective on suede, and the foaming of the soap helped lift stubborn dirt for me from this suede pair.) White vinegar is also safe for suede, and can help get stains out.

If cleaning the inside of shoes (especially used), I use a 1:1 white vinegar and warm water solution with a few drops of either dish soap or mild laundry detergent. This will break down soil, deodorize, and disinfect the inside of the shoes. This solution is also very effective for cleaning mildew off of textile surfaces.

Cleaning:

Be mindful of color running, especially for suede. I dry brush my brand new suede Vans, and you’d be surprised how many loose bits fall off. I think that helps a lot with color transference, but that will still happen when dyed suede is wet. I think coating suede Vans with a non-silicone based hydrophobic spray when they’re brand new helps lock the dye in before their first wash.

But when cleaning multicolored suede Vans, try to start with the lighter colored sections first and try to go very light on how much you wet the brush. Longer, less foreceful and less saturated scrubbing is safer. Using a toothbrush with smaller surface area could help minimize color exchange in tight spaces.

Before cleaning the outside of your shoes, stuff your shoes with either something like washcloths or the appropriate tools. This will help the shoe keep shape/prevent the toebox from collapsing in, and it helps absorb any water that saturates thru.

Now that the shoes are stuffed, dip the brush in the solution and clean the shoes from top down (obviously save the sidewalls and soles for last). Try to let some of the cleaning solution run off the brush after dipping to avoid oversaturation. When scrubbing, use circular motions.

Once you’ve scrubbed them, at least go over them a few times with a cloth wet with water. To more thoroughly ‘rinse’ them, you can rinse your scrub brush and repeatedly wet it under the faucet and scrub with plain water. Now, set them aside and let them dry.

White Canvas Vans:

To clean white canvas vans, you can create a 2:1:1 ratio of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water (e.g. 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1/2 tablespoon each of water and hydrogen peroxide). Scrub the paste onto the shoes in a circular motion. Let that sit for 30 minutes or more, brush off what you can, and then scrub them with a wet washcloth or your scrub brush and water. Repeat this whole cleaning cycle if necessary.

Laces

Put the laces in the cleaning solution, rub them between your hands, wring them out, and repeat a few times. For stubborn spots, I’ll sometimes use a toothbrush on the laces. When they’re clean, rinse them in water and set them aside to let them dry. I pinch them and then pull the lace to squeeze out the water.

White Sidewalls/Midsoles:

To clean white sidewalls, I always scrub with regular cleaning solution first and then make a barrier with masking tape) and use “SoftScrub with bleach” and a toothbrush to scrub the sidewalls. You need to let the shoes dry after their initial cleaning though, so that the masking tape will stick. After scrubbing, wipe off the sidewalls thoroughly with a damp cloth or wet paper towels.

I’ve never tried SoftScrub on colored or black sidewalls, only white. Not sure if it would mess it up at all. My regular cleaning solutions are always enough for my taste on colored sidewalls. Here’s the Before/After cleaning for those Eras.

The cleaning solution used on the uppers was simply warm water with a few drops of a mild laundry detergent. The water and scrubbing goes farther than any gimmicky, expensive soaps. A decent brush makes a bigger difference too.

Drying:

When setting your shoes aside to dry, make sure they are in a well-ventilated area and are stuffed (with washcloths, paper towels, shoe tree, etc.) to maintain their form. If I clean the inside of the shoes, I like to use a shoe tree so there’s more airflow. Setting up a fan to blow on the shoes can help. Remember: Do not place them in the sun to dry (sun bleaching).

Maintenance:

For light dirt and routine care, you should only be dry brushing your shoes. You should only clean them with a solution if they are pretty dirty. Washing them too often is unnecessary and will degrade them quicker. Dry brushing with a shoe brush is quick and easy and will keep your shoes looking crisp.

Fresh after cleaning your shoes (and after they’re dry…), you can apply hydrophobic protection like crep protect or Saphir Omnidaim to help keep them clean. It makes them repel water and more resistant to staining.

Apply these sprays in a well-ventilated area or outside. These sprays last a few weeks with daily use in harsh weather, but last much longer if you have a large shoe rotation.

You should avoid protective shoe sprays that contain silicone (e.g. scotchguard). They may last longer, but the protection naturally degrading over time is actually a good thing; that way you can actually clean the shoes. For the silicone containing sprays, you have to apply harsh chemicals to fully remove them, which dulls/degrades the shoe’s color/material.

If applying protective spray to suede, make sure to use a brush to vigorously brush the suede to open it back up (the spray can cause the suede’s nap to “collapse”). It’s also good practice to do this following washing. Always be mindful how hard you brush vintage suede/nubuk tho.

I may update this if I think of anything else. I might also make a video tutorial some day… If anyone has any questions, shoot me a message.