How to Keep Blue Stains Off White Shoes

Buying white shoes is always a gamble. They get dirty quickly, and anything will stain them, including the dirt on the road, food dropped on them by accident, scuff marks from the shoes rubbing together, and blue stains from wearing jeans. If you find your white shoes covered in blue stains, try one of these effective ways to clean them.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• White shoes
• Paper towel
• Erasing sponge
• Cotton balls
• Nail polish remover with acetone
• Rubbing alcohol

1. Rinse the shoes with water to dislodge any dirt or dust from the shoes. Dry the shoes thoroughly with a paper towel.

2. Rub the shoes vigorously, concentrating on the stained areas, with a white erasing sponge. You can purchase erasing sponges at your local drugstore or online (see Resources). If the stain has still not disappeared, move on to Step 3.

3. Apply nail polish containing acetone to a cotton ball. Rub the cotton ball against the stain for several minutes. If this does not cause the stain to disappear completely, move on to Step 4.

4. Saturate a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol, then apply the cotton ball to the shoe. Focus on the area of the stain, rubbing vigorously for several minutes.

5. Rinse the shoe with a wet paper towel, then dry completely with a dry paper towel.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the erasing sponge, rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover as soon as possible after the stain occurs.
• Keep rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover out of the reach of children.

References

• Super Future: Denim Stains on Shoes
• You Look Fab: Cleaning Shoes With Acetone
• The New Homemaker: Scuff Marks on White Shoes

Resources

• Grainger: Erasing Sponge