A pair of Jordans is not a shoe you throw at the machine and hope. You have watched the toe scuff, the midsole yellow and the suede darken, and you want them back the way they came out of the box. The honest path to brand new is slower than the internet promises, but it is gentle, it is by hand, and it works.
In short. To clean Jordans and get them looking brand new, work by hand and by material: a soft brush and mild soap on the uppers, a dedicated cleaner for leather, a suede brush and no water on suede, and a gentle paste on the midsole. Remove the laces and insoles, blot rather than rub, insert shoe trees, and air dry only. Skip the machine, bleach and heat, which are what age a Jordan fastest.
Jordans mix materials in one shoe: leather panels, suede overlays, a painted or foamed midsole, textile lining. That is exactly why one method for the whole shoe fails, and why "brand new" is really the sum of a few careful, material-specific steps. Here is how to do each one without doing harm.
First, know which Jordan you are holding
Before any water or cleaner, work out what the shoe is made of, because it decides everything that follows. Most Jordan 1s are leather, often with a suede or nubuck toe or heel. Many newer models add mesh or knit panels. Leather takes a damp wipe and a leather cleaner, never a soak. Suede takes a dry brush and eraser and no water at all. Textile takes a soft brush and mild soap. If you treat the suede toe like the leather panel, you will stain it, so identify each material first and clean each one its own way.
This is also why the machine is the wrong tool for most Jordans. A wash bag protects a shoe in the drum, but it cannot change what the shoe is made of, and leather and suede are damaged by water and detergent regardless. If your Jordans are canvas or fully textile, the machine route in a bag is an option, and we cover it separately. For leather and suede pairs, stay by hand.
Get set up before you start
A brand-new finish comes from preparation, not force. Remove the laces and the insoles first, so you can reach the tongue and the collar and clean the laces separately. Then, before cleaning, put a shoe tree or crumpled paper inside to hold the shape while you work, which stops the upper creasing further as you brush. Nike's own guidance is to place the shoe in a shoe tree or fill it with paper to keep its shape during cleaning (Source: Nike, how to clean your shoes). Knock the loose dust off with a dry soft brush before anything wet touches the shoe.
The uppers: gentle wins
For leather and textile uppers, make a mild solution of a small amount of gentle soap in cool water. Dip a soft brush, work it in gently in small circles, then lift the moisture and dirt with a microfibre cloth. The key is to blot, not scrub. Nike's method is to blot with a soft cloth rather than rub, because rubbing wears the material and spreads the dirt (Source: Nike, how to clean your shoes). Work in sections, rinse your cloth often, and stop before the panel is soaked. On leather, a dedicated leather cleaner and a soft cloth do the job better than soap, and a little leather conditioner afterwards keeps it from drying and cracking.
For suede, put the water away entirely. Use a suede brush to lift surface dirt, working with the grain, and a suede eraser or a clean pencil eraser to rub out marks. For a stubborn spot, a cloth barely dampened with white vinegar, worked gently, can lift it without a full soak. Let it dry, then brush the nap back up to restore the texture.
The midsole and the yellowing
Nothing dates a Jordan like a scuffed or yellowing midsole, and it is also the part people damage most trying to fix it. Do not reach for bleach. It yellows and weakens over time rather than whitening, and once a midsole has gone the bleach route it rarely comes back. Instead, use a soft brush with a mild paste, work the scuffs and grime off gently, and wipe clean. For light yellowing, a paste of baking soda and water worked in with a soft brush and rinsed off lifts a surprising amount without the harm. Patience does more here than any harsh product.
A magic eraser can lift marks off a rubber midsole, but keep it off the painted areas and the upper, where it strips finish and print. Test it on a hidden spot first.
The laces, insoles and the smell
Fresh laces and a clean insole do half the work of looking new. Wash white laces separately in a little mild solution, or replace a grey pair outright, since new laces are cheap and transform the look. Wipe the insoles and let them dry fully. If the odour is the problem more than the dirt, that lives in the insole, so a wipe, a full dry and, if needed, a sprinkle of baking soda overnight does more than cleaning the outside ever will.
How to clean Jordans to look brand new, step by step
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Strip and dry-brush. Remove laces and insoles, insert a shoe tree, and brush off loose dust with a dry soft brush before anything wet.
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Clean the uppers by material. Mild soap and a soft brush on textile, a leather cleaner on leather, a dry suede brush and eraser on suede. Blot with a microfibre cloth, do not scrub.
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Lift the midsole scuffs gently. A soft brush and a mild paste, or baking soda and water for yellowing. No bleach, and keep erasers off the paint and upper.
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Refresh the laces and insoles. Wash white laces separately or replace them, wipe and fully dry the insoles, and deodorise if needed.
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Shape and air dry. Keep the shoe trees in, dry at room temperature out of direct heat, and never use the dryer.
The full method, including the canvas machine-wash route, is on our Care Guide.
Where the Shoe Wash Kit fits
Hand cleaning is the right tool for leather and suede Jordans. For the canvas and fully textile pairs that can take a machine wash, the Kit is the safe way to do it. The Shoe Wash Kit is a three-compartment bag plus a pair of adjustable shoe trees. One outer compartment takes each shoe so the pair never touches mid-cycle, and a centre compartment holds the laces and insoles. More than 3,000 soft chenille fingers line the inside and hold each shoe off the drum wall, and a 3D mesh panel at each end lets the water move through. On the Chalk Kit there is no dye anywhere in the bag, so there is nothing to transfer onto your white runners. It is tested to ISO 105-C06 grade 4 colour fastness and stress tested to 50 cycles at 60°C and 1400rpm, which is the durability test, not a usage instruction. Recommended use is a cold wash, on a delicate or gentle cycle, with the spin set to 600 to 800rpm, air dry only. Designed for canvas, mesh and synthetic shoes. Not designed for leather or suede.
Clean by material, at a glance
| Part of the Jordan | The right method | What ruins it |
| Leather panels | Damp wipe, leather cleaner, condition | Soaking, harsh soap |
| Suede toe or heel | Dry suede brush and eraser, no water | Water, scrubbing |
| Textile or mesh | Soft brush and mild soap, blot dry | Stiff brush, bleach |
| Midsole | Soft brush, mild paste, baking soda | Bleach, eraser on paint |
| Laces and insoles | Wash separately or replace, dry fully | Leaving them in, hot drying |
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About Mudroom Co
Mudroom Co is a small Australian premium brand making home care tools for active families. We build for the way people actually use their homes, not the way the catalogue says they do. We launch in July 2026 with one product, the Shoe Wash Kit: a three-compartment bag plus a pair of adjustable shoe trees, built chalk cream inside and out, with a eucalyptus zip, piping and tag the only colour you see. It is tested to ISO 105-C06 grade 4 colour fastness and stress tested to 50 cycles at 60°C and 1400rpm. We are based in Melbourne and we sell direct. The machine washes the shoes. The bag protects them. That is the whole brand in one line.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clean Jordans to look brand new?
Work by hand and by material: a soft brush and mild soap on textile, a leather cleaner on leather, a dry suede brush on suede, and a gentle paste on the midsole. Remove the laces and insoles, blot rather than rub, keep shoe trees in, and air dry only.
Can you put Jordans in the washing machine?
Leather and suede Jordans should not go in the machine, because water and detergent damage those materials regardless of a bag. Canvas or fully textile pairs can be machine-washed cold and gentle in a structured bag with shoe trees, then air dried.
How do I whiten a yellowing Jordan midsole?
Use a soft brush with a baking soda and water paste, work it in gently and rinse. Avoid bleach, which yellows and weakens the material over time. Serious yellowing from age may not fully reverse, so gentle and early beats harsh and late.
How do I clean suede on Jordans?
Keep water off it. Use a suede brush to lift dirt with the grain and a suede or pencil eraser for marks. For a stubborn spot, a cloth barely dampened with white vinegar can help. Let it dry and brush the nap back up.
How do I get my Jordans white again without bleach?
Clean the uppers with mild soap and a soft brush, use baking soda paste on the midsole, and replace grey laces with fresh white ones. Bleach yellows over time, so the gentle route gives a cleaner, longer-lasting white.
How should I dry Jordans after cleaning?
Air dry at room temperature, out of direct heat and sun, with shoe trees or paper inside to hold the shape. Never use the dryer, as heat melts the sole adhesive and can warp the shoe.
Related reading
Going deeper on the topics above. Each of these is on the Mudroom Co hub.
In short. Brand new comes back one material at a time: gentle soap on textile, a cleaner on leather, a dry brush on suede, a mild paste on the midsole, fresh laces and a proper air dry. Slow and by hand beats the machine, the bleach and the heat every time.
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About the author
Catherine Spiteri is the founder of Mudroom Co. With two teenage kids, an overflowing mudroom and a washing machine running twice a day, she noticed how few quality tools existed to make busy home life easier, and to protect the things we use every day so they last.
She started Mudroom Co because, while the tools existed, she could not find any made properly for the lives people actually lead. She has thirty years in development and construction, working with global corporates on projects of every scale and complexity, and now applies that skillset to household products with proper manufacturing and quality control behind them. Mudroom Co is based in Melbourne, Australia.
References
External sources cited in this article.