How often do you wash your Watelves water shoes ? Water shoes are not disposable products which can only use once during traveling. Today we’ll share some clean and maintain tips for waters shoes. They you can use it much longer.
Can I just wash them in the washing machine?
Yes, why not but it very much depends on the materials they are made of. You need to be careful with shoes made of animal based fabric like leather or suede. Delicate materials like satin or silk can also be easily ruined.
Textile, cotton nylon or polyester are suitable for machine wash. There are some shoes with PU or PVC coating which you can also wash in your washing machine. Interestingly, many water shoes may have PVC coating for better grip and water resistance.
However, it is not as easy as it sounds. Some shoes may not be suitable for washing. It very much depends on the material. You should always check the label.
As a rule of thumb if your shoe feels delicate you better be cautious. You can still use your washing machine on ‘hand wash’ setting.
A good article on generally how to prepare for a shoe wash is here: How to wash shoes in the washing machine?
Can I put them in the freezer?
Yes, you can put anything in your freezer but do you really want to put your water shoes in there? Would putting your shoes in the freezer remove bad smell? The idea is that the cold would kill odor-producing bacteria.
There is some information online (not scientifically proven) that this life hack can certainly help. It makes sense and there is a good degree of logic but do you really want to do that.
You need to be mindful of the type of shoe you are throwing in your freezer. Similarly, to washing them, freezing them might ruin them if you are not careful. Cold can influence the durability and stretch the textile. Water shoes need to offer you a snuggle fit and protection and using the freezing method to remove bad smell might compromise these essential features.
In our opinion, this is not necessary, there certainly should be more practical ways of dealing with bad smell.
Why our water shoes are so stinking ?
Putting them in your bag after use
The reason they tend to start smelling is that once they are used, people tend to put them in a plastic bag and keep them in a dark place.
Understand your shoe to help it not smell
It also depends on the type of water shoe you have. There are premium brands which provide great drainage and are equipped with technologies which allow them to dry up very fast.
Our recommendation :
You can rinse and put them to dry in the sun;
Preferably outside of your home where they can dry in the fresh air;
Use a fan or a hair dryer – this is quick but you spend electricity;
Use dry sheets to put inside the shoes to absorb the moist and bacteria.
In any case, do not leave them dry in your bag or a small compartment. Avoid humid and damp places as this would only make it worse.
Conclusion
Cleaning your water & aqua shoes is not a complicated task. However, due to the materials that they are made of they can often accumulate bad smell and bacteria.
Simply rinse them thoroughly and air them out in the sun. Do not put them in a bag as this would make them more damp and humid, and much more difficult to clean.