How to Remove Stains From White Tennis Shoes

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By Corey M. Mackenzie
eHow Contributing Writer

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Tennis shoes, as they are typically worn for exercise, walks in the park and sports, can get stained very easily. Unfortunately, white tennis shoes attract and show stains more than any other shoe color. Even the most careful person will likely get a stain on his white tennis shoes at some point. Fortunately, there are ways, and simple products to use, to get stains out of leather or synthetic sneakers.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Water
Liquid dish soap
Clean bowl or pail
Toothbrush or fingernail brush
Cloth towels
Shoe cleaner
White shoe polish

Step 1

Pour warm water into a bowl or pail. Wet a toothbrush or fingernail brush in the water, and pour a 1/2 tsp. of dish soap directly on the brush.
Step 2

Gently scrub the stain with the soapy brush. This should loosen some of the grime. Blot the stain with a cloth towel. Rinse the brush, and reapply soap to gently scrub the shoe again.
Step 3

Wet a clean cloth towel in warm water. Wipe off the remaining soap from the shoe.
Step 4

Apply a commercial shoe cleaner. Many are liquid and contain an applicator brush. Apply the cleaner directly to the stain, and rub with the applicator. After the stain is lifted, clean the rest of the shoe with the cleaner.
Step 5

Polish the shoe with white athletic shoe polish. As with the cleaner, use the applicator that comes with the product. Sponge the white polish onto the shoe as evenly as you can. After you have finished, wipe down the shoe once more with a dry, clean cloth.

Tips & Warnings

Two or three teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide will help remove stubborn blood stains from white tennis shoes. Pour it on, let it bubble and let it remain on the shoes for 15 minutes. Blot it with a clean, white cloth. You may need to do this a few times. For heavy-duty grass stains, try brushing the shoes with a whitening toothpaste or brushing them with dry laundry detergent meant for heavy stains. Remove the shoelaces if you plan on cleaning the entire shoe.
Household bleach, while effective at bleaching out some stains, will not work well on canvas shoes (it turns them yellow) and is generally too harsh for other shoe materials.