In today’s life, wearing shoes is not only to protect our feets, but also to boost our appearance. And, New Balance is one of the top brands in making decent shoes for people to wear and also to flex.
But when one wants to show off their footwear, it should be clean and shiny just like when they first bought it.
Of course, no matter how careful you are, there are always ways for dirt to splash on your shoes when wearing them outside.
If you own a pair of suede New Balance, most likely your shoes are multi-material sneakers, so it’s not that easy to deep clean them. But in this article, we will show you the easiest ways on how to clean suede New Balance shoes.
What are New Balance Suede Shoes and How to Keep them Spotless?
Before getting to the answer, we will explain briefly what suede is: Suede is made from the reverse side of animal skin, most commonly from sheep, cow, pig, and goat leather.
Normally, suede is sanded and polished to get a beautiful decorative appearance, its surface looks like dense short hairs.
When suede is combed, it has a consistent color and grain, also, darker colors sometimes appear.
So, what’s about New Balance suede shoes?
New Balance is an American sportswear brand created in 1906. Most of their shoes are for walking and running but still remain an aesthetic design.
New Balance suede shoes are one of their best models, they are made from high-quality form of leather, with rubber sole and textile mesh, especially, they still have a high reputation for being so light and comfortable.
New Balance suede shoes are carefully machined by craftsmen, with the silk on the surface carefully brushed to create a soft, even, leather surface that feels as smooth as velvet.
Like other leather fabrics, suede shoes exude a trendy, elegant look to the wearer, while keeping the feets warm and comfortable to walk.
However, there are still some downsides. Some of the most noticeable drawbacks of suede shoes are: easy to absorb water, easy to get dirty, difficult to preserve and clean.
Sudden rainy days or puddles on the road are the biggest “enemies” of suede, making your precious shoes deteriorate quickly.
There are numerous pages and topics talking about how great New Balance suede shoes are, but still, there is another aspect that people forgot to mention: How to clean suede New Balance?
Because of the suede, cleaning this type of shoes isn’t something you can do without a proper instruction, due to the fact that one simple mistake could ruin the brightness of the leather, or even worse, ruin the form of the shoe.
However, if you manage to clean it in the right way as our instruction, we can guarantee an outstanding result.
Your suede New Balance will maximize its potential lifespan, while having a better look and maybe get to the condition where it appearance is newly like just bought out of the store.
Down below, we will show you the best ways to keep your New Balance spotless!
Suede cleaning brush
Although it sounds simple, using the right kind of brush for this specific material is one of the most important steps, since suede is kinda tricky and sensitive to be cleaned by normal brushes.
This method is easy to handle as it sounds: just use the suede cleaning brush to scrub gently on the surface of the New Balance to remove any type of dirt, until the suede becomes shinier and cleaner, with no muck or stains left on the fabric.
But be careful, since rubbing too aggressively might damage your suede shoes, it would make the suede unnatural or uneven in texture.
In the case where your shoes still look like someone has just stepped on it, you should try another method: suede eraser.
Suede erasers
Sometimes, using a brush won’t remove all the mud or filth, therefore, looking for a tougher cleaning tool is somewhat needed. Here is the time for suede erasers.
For anyone who has never heard about this, here is a short explanation: Basically, suede erasers are cleaning tools which are made for suede, shaped and function just like normal erasers, but of course, different ingredients.
They can wipe out dirt and stain on the suede part on your shoes, look small but give you a big help at keeping your footwear spotless.
So, how do you clean suede New Balance shoes with this thing?
Well, just like we said before, its function is just like normal erasers. Press the suede eraser against tough stains or mud spots and rub the dirt off with a little force, do it repeatedly until your New Balance unspotted.
Another note that you can also use this method when your shoes are wet, since it makes the suede part dry, also if there is any damp filth stick on the suede, this eraser can absorb the wetness and easily remove the dirt.
White vinegar
People often use white vinegar to whiten shoes, and it works wonderfully for most cases. For some stubborn stains that cannot be removed by a brush or regular cleaning methods, vinegar somehow magically wipes out every single dirty spot.
Vinegar is also a very useful suede shoe cleaner.
Because vinegar is highly cleansing, just use a tissue soaked in white vinegar and gently wipe on the suede surface of your New Balance shoes, it will remove all the toughest stains that you are trying to get rid of.
A soft brush or a soft towel can be used to scrub it thoroughly after the shoe is dry.
Clean water
Back to the basic, clean water is very useful in the cleaning of suede shoes. If your suede New Balance sneakers are accidentally stained, immediately use a sponge or dry cloth to cover the shoe after spraying it with a little bit of clean water.
Overnight, there might be no more traces of stains. Also, you can use some scrap paper padded into the shoe to avoid losing the form of your suede New Balance.
Furthermore, after you have done all the steps, you can wrap your suede shoes with an absorbent pad to absorb any remaining water.
By doing this, you can assure that your suede New Balance shoes will not get moldy and may have a chance to prolong its lifespan.
If you have tried all the methods above but nothing works out for you, and still wondering how to clean suede New Balance shoes. Well, we offer you the final solution to this problem: let the professional do the job.
Cleaning services
That’s right, what you should do now is take your suede New Balance to a sneaker cleaning service, the professionals will know how to handle and reverse your shoe to its original state.
Sometimes, it is quite tricky for those who don’t have experience in cleaning suede shoes or different types of sneakers to deal with long-term stain or sticky dirt.
Remember that, don’t try too hard, you might accidentally damage your New Balance, since the suede part can be easily ruined too.
Other than all the methods we have mentioned above, it’s always better to prevent the bad before happening.
In order to do so, you should always pay attention to the condition of your suede New Balance. If there is dirt or new stain on the shoes, take care of it right away, do not let it sit on your footwear for days.
What Should We Avoid When Cleaning Suede New Balance Shoes?
Mentioned above, suede New Balance shoes are easy to get dirty and hard to clean. Even though the design seems beautiful, but, to maintain that beauty, we have to give lots of effort and attention to the cleaning process.
If you don’t know what is bad for suede New Balance sneakers, take a look at our notes for you:
- Do not wash suede shoes with a washing machine because the washing machine will deform the shape of the shoes and damage the suede in most cases.
- Do not use a hair dryer to dry your shoes. Exposing suede shoes in direct sunlight is also not a good idea because high temperature will change the surface structure of the suede, making the fabric of your shoes become hard, wrinkles, and look hideous.
- Do not use strong detergents to wash suede New Balance, it is better to choose low pH cleaning liquid, or fabric softener to avoid damaging the suede part.
- Even if you don’t have a suede cleaning brush, do not use any kind of hard brush for substitution, instead, use a toothbrush since the bristles are quite small and gentle enough to avoid ruining the suede.
Besides all of the tips above, our common sense will most likely tell us what not to do when trying to clean our suede New Balance.
How to Protect Your Suede New Balance Shoes?
With New Balance suede shoes, if not properly protected, the suede part can’t prevent from shedding or discoloration. Therefore, you need to know a few tips to preserve suede shoes so that they always look new and fresh.
- You can put a desiccant pack inside the suede New Balance before putting it in the shoes cabinet or shoes box to get rid of smells and sweat.
- Shoe deodorizers are also helpful in protecting your shoes even when you don’t wear it. The shoe deodorizers will minimize the chance of harmful bacteria sticking inside the shoes. Besides, the suede parts produce lots of heat while wearing to keep your feet warm, and that’s when the sweat comes out. Therefore, this product helps to protect your suede New Balance, also to make it smell nice.
- Not only pay attention to removing stains on the surface of the footwear, but you also need to take care of what’s sticking under the sole. That way, your shoes can be clean inside and out.
- If you want to put your suede New Balance in the shoes box, wrap them with paper first, then put inside the box. You should keep the shoes in cool places to prevent mold or yellow stains. Doing so will limit the damage from the environment to the condition of your suede footwear.
- In the case where you step on a gum, then don’t worry. One simple way is to put your suede New Balance in the refrigerator for a few hours. Then just take your shoes out and scrub away the gum that has been hardened after being put in the refrigerator with a brush. But even if you want to wear the shoes right away, do not heat it with a hair dryer, because high temperature might ruin the suede part and also make your shoe lose its original form
How to Clean Suede New Balance Shoes Step By Step?
We have already shared with you all the methods that we think it’s best to keep the suede part clean. But, what about cleaning the whole shoes?
Well, here we will continue to give you a full instruction on how to turn your suede New Balance from muddy to dirt-free:
- Step 1: Wipe out dust on the surface of the shoes by using a small brush (preferably: toothbrush), and use a suede cleaning brush for the suede parts.
- Step 2: Remove the shoelaces and wash them separately.
- Step 3: Use suede erasers to rub away all the stains on the suede parts.
- Step 4: Clean the outsole and midsole of the shoes by using water or shoes cleaning solution.
- Step 5: Use a dry towel to wipe your shoes until there is no water or foam left.
- Step 6: Let the shoes dry naturally in cool places, avoid direct sunlight or high temperature due to they can easily damage the fabric and the suede of your footwear.
That is all the steps you need to do to clean your suede New Balance. After completing, we guarantee your footwear will be as good as new no matter how dirty it used to be.
But if nothing works out for you, then we think you should take your shoes to a cleaning service to get the best cleaning procedures, or in the worst case, buy a new pair if there is nothing you can do to save your suede New Balance.
Final thoughts
If you are still wondering how to clean your suede New Balance shoes, do not hesitate to take the time and effort to try all the methods introduced in this article, since they will certainly not disappoint you.
Wearing a clean suede New Balance will definitely make you confident in front of people. For more information, please check out our other topics to see if we have answers to your footwear’s problems!