Get yellowed sneakers white again with these home remedies!

If you’ve tried cleaning your white sneakers with bleach, chances are you’ve got yellow stains on them. This happens when the bleach has sat too long or you didn’t dilute it properly. However, this is only one reason why we do not recommend this method. The other is that you can safely use more natural alternatives with excellent results. However, if the stains are already a fact, here’s how to get yellowed sneakers white again using only home remedies.

Getting yellowed sneakers white again – That’s how it works with common salt

1. Start by taking a small, heatproof bowl and filling it with about 8 ounces of hot sink water.
2. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of table salt in the water. Stir with a clean toothbrush until the salt is completely dissolved.
3. Thoroughly soak the toothbrush in the solution and scrub vigorously, soaking over and over. You’ll likely need to scrub for a few minutes before the stain fades.
4. Once the stain begins to fade, allow the shoes to air dry on a towel for about 20 minutes or until dry to the touch. Then soap the toothbrush again and vigorously scrub the stain with the bristles of the toothbrush for a few more minutes.
5. Stop scrubbing when you find that the yellow stain hasn’t faded despite your efforts with the toothbrush in the last few minutes. Note that the stain may not be 100 percent gone, but it will definitely have faded significantly, allowing you to continue wearing your white sneakers.

Cleaning white sneaker soles – Find out how to get them like new here!

Turn yellowed sneakers white again with the help of detergent and vinegar

1. Remove the laces from your white sneakers to keep them from getting tangled. Then, give your sink a thorough wipe to make sure it’s really clean and fill it 3/4 full with lukewarm water.
2. Add half a tablespoon of detergent to the lukewarm water and stir well until thoroughly mixed and foam forms.
3. Soak your yellowed sneakers in the sink and start scrubbing off the yellow stains with a toothbrush. Make sure the brush is well soaked in the soap solution. Scrub for a few minutes until the yellow stains begin to fade. While you’re working on one of your sneakers, place the other one in the sink to give it a good soak of the soapy solution. Then repeat the cleaning process with this one as well.
4. For the next step, it is not necessary to wash the detergent out of the sneakers. Just put them in the washing machine by turning on the warm water program and add 120ml of vinegar to the fabric softener compartment. White vinegar will also help you turn yellowed sneakers white again as it has bleaching properties.
5. After the wash, let your sneakers air dry or tumble dry for 30 minutes. Then you can enjoy their white color again!

---

You can find more effective tricks with home remedies that you can use to clean white sneakers here!

Soak your sneakers in cream of tartar solution

1. Use a heat-resistant container large enough to hold 1 liter of hot tap water to hold your yellowed sneakers.
2. Add 120ml cream of tartar to the water. Stir with a large spoon until the water and cream of tartar are completely mixed. Cream of tartar is available in small containers at most grocery stores, so you may need to purchase several containers to get a sufficient 120ml quantity.
3. Soak your yellowed sneakers in your cream of tartar solution. Check after 30 minutes if they are now clean. However, if the yellow stains are older and have set deeper into the shoes, you need to leave them in the solution longer (up to 90 minutes).
4. Once the yellow stains have been removed or optimally faded, remove your sneakers from the solution and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Be sure to remove any residue of the acidic cream of tartar solution as it is an acidic cleaning agent which can damage the material of your sneakers if you are not careful.
5. Lay your sneakers on a towel and let them dry completely before putting them on. You can also put them in the dryer on low heat for 30 minutes.

Yoana Benz

AUTHOR

Yoana Benz has always loved words, writing and reading. That’s why she first studied advertising in Stuttgart and then specialized in journalism. She already has 15 years of experience in the media industry and her work has brought her into contact with many experts in different fields. She gained a lot of useful knowledge from these encounters, which she is happy to share with the readers of Deavita.