Want to make your boots look brand new after each time you clean them? Follow these steps and your teammates will be asking if you’ve got a new pair of boots before every game.
If you’ve played football for a while, you’ve most likely cleaned your football boots before (I hope), but there might be one or two tough spots which are hard to get cleaned properly. Well, if you’re looking for a way to finally get rid of them, you’ve come to the right place.
It’s important to know that you should be cleaning the mud off your boots off your boots after every use, at the very least. Mud left on your boots can lead to the upper drying out, causing it to stiffen up and make it more susceptible to cracking.
You also always want to leave them in a dry place free of damp to prevent to growth of mould and bacterial growth which will lead to a bad odour and an increased risk of athlete’s foot.
So, with that in mind, here’s my step-by-step guide on how to clean your football boots as well as some after care as well.
How to clean football boots
What you need
First things first, you're going to need:
The products you'll need (Image credit: Future)
A bucket of warm water
Trainer cleaner (washing up liquid is also good)
Hard-bristled brush
Soft-bristled brush
Magic eraser sponge
Microfibre cloth
Step 1
Prep your washing solution
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Fill a bucket with warm water and add the detergent of your choice. I tend to use trainer cleaner and sometimes washing up liquid as well. You’ll then want to swirl the water around until a soapy lather forms.
Step 2
Un-lace and remove insoles
Remove insoles and laces (Image credit: Future)
Remove the insoles from inside your boots, then dip them in the soapy water and scrub them with the soft brush and wring out excess water, then leave to air dry.
Insoles must NOT be put in washing machine and/or dryers. If your boots have laces, do the same, but laces can be machined washed below 30C and must be air dried.
Step 3
Cleaning the soleplate
Scrub the soleplate (Image credit: Future)
First of all, make sure to remove any excess mud from the soleplate from your boots. Then simply, dip the hard brush in the soapy water and scrub the soleplate until its free of any mud. Use the water to then rinse off any excess soap.
Step 4
Cleaning the upper
Scrub the upper (Image credit: Future)
When cleaning the upper you’ll want to repeat step 3, but be sure to use a little more elbow-grease for any tough spots. If the boots have a leather upper, I would go with the soft brush as its kinder to the leather, but the harder brush can be used on stained areas.
For non-leather materials, the harder brush is a better option. If they have any black marks from using your boots on 3G, you’ll want to scrub them with the magic eraser
sponge.
Step 5
Wiping and re-cleaning
Wipe the boots with a cloth (Image credit: Future)
Once you feel that the boots are clean enough, wipe off any excess soap or water using the microfibre cloth. If you find after wiping that there are any spots you missed, re-wash them using the relevant steps.
Step 6
Drying and after-care
Once you’re done washing your boots, you’ll want to store them in a dry place, free of mould and damp and leave them to air dry. To help your boots dry you could also fill them with old newspaper to soak up any excess moisture.
A self-proclaimed football boot scientist and long-time boot collector, Subomi is better known as Sub on his platform SubStance Football, creating content across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. He creates content around football gear, while using his expertise in Material Science & Engineering to explain certain aspects of football gear technology that you won’t find anywhere else.
