Mud on the outsole and salt rings around the heel are the two complaints I hear most from runners after a wet winter of training. Cleaning your shoes properly protects the cushioning, mesh upper, and glue holding everything together, not just their appearance.
This guide covers the steps I use on my own running shoes after muddy trail sessions and sweaty road miles, along with a few habits that can make a real difference to how long a pair lasts.
Materials and Preparation
A proper clean takes about ten minutes and only a few household items. Getting the prep right, removing loose debris and separating the laces and insoles, makes the washing stage quicker and gentler on the shoe.
What You Need to Clean Running Shoes
You don’t need much kit to do this well. A soft-bristled brush, an old toothbrush works fine, a bowl of lukewarm water, mild soap, and a microfibre cloth or old towel will cover most jobs.
Skip anything abrasive. Stiff wire brushes, bleach, and strong household detergents can strip coatings from technical mesh and weaken glued seams over time.
Why Hand-Washing Is Safer Than a Washing Machine
Hand-washing lets you control the water temperature, agitation, and amount of soap that touches the foam. A washing machine doesn’t give you that control. Its drum spins quickly, often with heat, and this can weaken the adhesives that bond the outsole to the midsole.
Running shoe foam is designed to compress and rebound thousands of times per run. Repeated soaking and tumbling can change its structure, leaving shoes feeling flatter and less responsive even when they look clean.
Mesh uppers can also fray under machine agitation, especially around the eyelets. If your care label allows machine washing, use a cold, gentle cycle inside a pillowcase or wash bag, and skip the tumble dryer entirely. For most running shoes, hand-washing is still the safer default.
The Process
Remove Loose Dirt, Laces, and Insoles
Take out the laces and insoles before any water touches the shoe. This keeps dirt and sweat from being pushed deeper into the fabric and lets you clean each part properly.
Tap the soles together outdoors or knock them gently to remove loose mud and grit. Use the brush dry first, before adding water, to clear caked dirt from the outsole grooves.
Those grooves matter more than many runners realise. Packed mud and grit in the lugs can reduce grip on wet roads and trail descents. Clearing them is part of keeping the shoe safe to run in, not just clean.
Gently Clean the Uppers, Midsole, and Outsole
Work with a damp brush and a small amount of soap. Use light circular motions instead of hard scrubbing. Aggressive scrubbing can pull at mesh fibres and wear away the thin protective coating on synthetic overlays.
Clean each part slightly differently:
- Uppers: damp brush with mild soap, using gentle circular motions
- Midsole: wipe with a soft cloth, checking for uneven wear or compression lines as you go
- Outsole: firmer brushing is fine here, since rubber handles more pressure than foam or mesh
A clean midsole also gives you a quick chance to check the shoe’s condition. Once the grime is gone, look for lopsided compression, with one side flatter than the other. That can be a sign it’s time to check your gait or consider a new pair.
Rinse the brush often so you’re not putting dirt straight back onto the shoe. Wipe the whole shoe with a damp cloth to remove leftover soap, since dried residue can stiffen the mesh.
How to Remove Odours From Insoles
Odour mostly comes from salt and bacteria left behind by sweat, and baking soda helps deal with both. Sprinkle a light layer inside each insole and leave it for a few hours, ideally overnight. Tap out the excess before your next run.
Sweat salt often builds up around the heel cup, where friction is highest. Wipe this area with a cloth dampened in a weak vinegar-and-water solution, then rinse with plain water and let it dry fully before putting the shoe back together.
Avoid soaking the insoles. Foam absorbs water easily and can take a long time to dry, which may encourage more bacteria rather than less.
How to Dry Running Shoes Without Damaging Them
Air-drying at room temperature, away from direct heat, is the safest method for protecting cushioning and adhesives. Radiators, tumble dryers, and direct sunlight dry shoes too quickly, which can cause foam to shrink, harden, or crack.
Stuff each shoe loosely with newspaper or plain paper towel. This draws moisture from the inside while helping the shoe keep its shape as it dries.
Replace the paper with a fresh, dry batch after a couple of hours if the shoes were soaked through. Leave them somewhere with good airflow, such as near an open window or in a well-ventilated room. They may need a full day to dry completely.
How Often Should You Refresh Your Shoes?
A quick wipe-down after every muddy or sweaty run stops grime from building up. A full hand-wash every few weeks deals with what daily wipes miss. The right frequency depends on your training routine.
Letting sweat and mud sit for days does more harm than missing the occasional clean, so the day-of wipe-down is the habit worth keeping.
These quick checks take only a few minutes after a run, and they can help your trainers stay reliable for many more miles.
