Slippers often determine the level of comfortability a person will have, especially during a tiring day occupied with a hard labor workload. It is hard to find a perfect match for your feet, but it is even harder to care for your favorite pair of slippers.
You can make your slippers with rubber soles stay longer if you keep their cleanliness in mind but with some preventive measures.
Let us talk about the methods that can help extend the life of slippers with rubber soles without ruining them.
Recommend reading: What You Must Know on Cleaning All Sorts of Slippers
Do Cleaning Slippers with Rubber Soles Need a Special Method, and Why?
Slippers with rubber soles provide the most stable grip facilitating the movement. Moreover, rubber slippers provide friction against slippery surfaces. But there are some safety tips to keep in mind while benefiting from them.
First of all, you can never use a washing machine to clean a slipper with a rubber sole. Hand washing is highly recommended.
Then these slippers can get smelly at times as well. To get rid of this foul odor, you can use baking soda. Simply scatter it evenly on the inside of these slippers and leave for half an hour. Later remove the baking soda using any brush or a piece of cloth.
Tools You Will Need in Cleaning
If your slippers with rubber soles are in good condition other than having dirt on them, you can easily renew them by washing them. All you will need for cleaning them is:
- Hand mixer
- Dish soap or laundry detergent in liquid
- A comb
- A clean wet cloth
- A clean good-sized towel or a hairdryer
- Warm water in a plastic tub or mixing bowl
- A clean and soft toothbrush
- A water shower or some water filled in a spray bottle
These are the essential products you need, but you can also use the replacements. Most of the alternative products mentioned above have the same function for removing dirt from the slippers with rubber soles.
How to Clean Slippers with Rubber Sole?
Once you have all the essential tools, you can start the cleaning procedure explained in detail below:
If your slippers are filled with visible stains of dirt, it is suggested first to clean them. During this pre-treatment, you will have to take the damp cloth and rub it on the upper side of the slippers to remove the dirt.
Secondly, it is also suggested to clean the lower rubber sole of the slippers for dirt before starting the complete cleaning.
Then, take the plastic tub or mixing bowl filled with warm water. Make sure to waste excessive water. Two cups of warm water would be enough to wash a pair of slippers with a rubber sole.
Add the cleaning mixture that can be a dish soap or any other laundry detergent. A liquid laundry detergent is preferable for slippers with rubber soles.
Mix the cleaning mixture with hot water using a hand mixer until a foam is formed. Usually, bubbles form in the first place, and then more blending of these bubbles include a whipped foam.
Put the slippers in the prepared water and with the help of a toothbrush, try to remove the dirt trapped in them.
Make sure to shower some water on the slippers from time to time to let the dirty foam move away.
Now sink the slippers deep in the water and let them stay in it for almost half an hour. Once the water is turned brown, you can take the slippers out. Wash them with clean water.
Dry the slippers either by using a hairdryer, or you can wrap the slippers in a clean and dry towel.
Once the slippers with rubber soles are dry, you can add a step to set their texture using a comb. It is all set to be worn again.
What Should You Avoid in Protecting Your Slippers?
Your slippers can go a long way with you if you protect them from moisture that gives birth to bacteria and bad odor. Try to keep them dust-free by cleaning them on a regular basis. This will help them retain their color. Else the dust will settle down, and the vibrant color will faint. You need to ensure that they should be kept at a dry place with moderate temperature if you are not using them. Contact with direct sunlight should be avoided.
How Do You Dry Slippers with Rubber Soles?
Drying slippers with rubber soles do not mean using heat because there is a specific limit of rubber to which it can tolerate heat. The rubber starts melting once this limit is reached, ultimately destroying your slippers with rubber soles. Therefore, you should not use the dryer of a washing machine to dry them; instead, go either for a dry towel or a hairdryer.
Can You Put Slippers with Rubber Soles in the Washing Machine?
It is strongly forbidden to use a washing machine to clean the slippers with rubber soles. The washing machine’s fast agitation increases the probability of rupturing the rubber sole. You will shatter it in a million fragments if you do so, ultimately disintegrating your slippers with a rubber sole.
That is why a special method, as explained above, is required to clean slippers with rubber soles. As much comfort and grip, they provide that much care they demand.
Conclusion
Most people prefer slippers with a rubber sole to help them lower the tiredness of walking. But these slippers can get dirty at times, and cleaning them is not a straightforward process. The procedure is a bit tricky, but it is not difficult. You just have to avoid washing machines and other shortcuts to clean them; instead, you are demanded to hand wash them. The same is applicable for drying the slippers with rubber soles. They can be your lifelong friends if you take care of them.
