How to Repair Yellowing Tennis Shoes
Yellowing of your tennis shoes is a sign of exposure to bleach. While chlorine bleach generally whitens most materials, when used on tennis shoes, the construction of the shoes causes a chemical reaction that yellows the surface. Repairing them requires you to remove the stains and then give your tennis shoes a makeover. In a few steps, you make your tennis shoes look almost new again. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Hot water
- Cream of tartar
- Dish soap
- Scrub brush
- Cleaning cloth
- Shampoo
- Toothbrush
- 2 pillowcases
- Towels
- Laundry soap
- Replacement shoelaces
Instructions
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1
Remove the shoelaces from your tennis shoes. Pull out the inserts inside the shoes and set them aside.
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2
Fill a container with 4 cups of hot water. Mix in 2 cups of cream of tartar. (The ratio for the soaking solution is two parts hot water to one part cream of tartar.) Add more of each if you don't have enough to cover the shoes completely.
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3
Immerse the shoes in the solution in the container and allow them to soak for one and one-half hours. Remove the shoes and rinse them thoroughly under warm running water. If the shoes are still yellow, repeat the process.
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4
Apply one drop of dish soap to the surface of the shoes and scrub with a cloth or brush. Rinse the shoes under running water to remove the soap.
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5
Spot clean other stains with shampoo and a toothbrush. Shampoo removes old or grease stains. Add a drop to the brush and scrub the spot. Rinse to remove the soap.
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6
Place each shoe in a pillowcase with its insert and tie the open end closed with a loose knot. Fill the washing machine with one or two towels and drop the pillowcases into the tub. Add laundry soap and run a normal wash cycle.
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7
Lift the pillowcases out of the washer once the cycle completes. Remove the shoes and set them on a flat surface to air dry.
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8
Add new laces to the shoes and replace the inserts.
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