How to Wash Shoes in the Washing Machine.

How to wash your shoes in the washing machine

A 5 step method from Mudroom Co.

Most Australian families already wash their shoes in the machine. We do not tell you to. We give you the tools, and the method, to protect your shoes and your machine when you do.

What you will need

Tools: a soft cloth or brush, The Shoe Wash Kit (it includes two adjustable shoe trees), a drying rack, and a front loader or a top loader without an agitator.

Supplies: liquid laundry detergent, bicarb soda, and shoe cleaner for any stubborn marks.

Step 1. Prepare your shoes

Knock the loose dirt off first. Before the wash, brush or rinse any clumps of mud or dirt off the soles and the uppers, because loose mud sticks to the drum. Use a soft cloth or soft bristle brush on the uppers, and a separate medium bristle brush for the soles. For stubborn scuff marks the machine will not shift, work a little shoe cleaner in with a cloth before you wash. A toothpick clears debris out of the tight grooves in the soles.

The Shoe Wash Kit has three compartments: two outer compartments, one for each shoe, and a centre compartment for the small items.

Step 2. Put them in

Take the insoles out, and loosen or remove the laces. Insoles hold water if you leave them inside a closed shoe, so they need to come out - put them in the centre compartment. Laces can stay tied loosely or come out entirely; either is fine, and if you take them out they go in the centre compartment too. For stubborn marks, scrub the insoles and laces by hand first, with a little detergent and a soft brush.

Then place one shoe in each outer compartment, close the zipper, and secure the pull in the zipper protector.

Step 3. Wash

Put the closed Kit in the washing machine. Wash in cold water, on a delicate or hand-wash cycle - cold water helps prevent shrinking and damage. Use half the dose of liquid detergent you would use for a load of clothes. No bleach, and no powder detergent, which can lodge in the shoe if it does not fully dissolve. A delicate cycle usually spins between 400 and 800 rpm; do not spin your shoes faster than that. The cycle can take up to an hour.

One tip worth knowing: run the Kit with a load of old towels. Not new ones, which can leach dye. It fills the machine, keeps the load balanced, and gets an extra wash done at the same time.

Step 4. Take them out

When the cycle finishes, take the shoes out and stand them on a drying rack with the shoe trees inserted. Air dry only, indoors or in indirect light - direct sunlight yellows white sneakers. Take the insoles and laces out of the centre compartment too; these can go out in the sun, which helps them dry and freshen.

One tip for the insoles: sprinkle a little bicarb soda over them while they dry. It deodorises, and it helps draw the moisture out.

Step 5. Done

Give the shoes 12 to 24 hours to dry, depending on humidity. Never tumble dry - the heat and the rotation warp the structure and weaken the glue. Once they are dry, they are ready to wear.

What you can wash in The Shoe Wash Kit

Canvas runners, mesh trainers, synthetic sneakers, kids' canvas school shoes, gym trainers, trail runners after a brush or rinse to remove any mud or clumps of dirt.

What you cannot wash

Leather shoes, suede shoes, work boots, dress shoes. Leather softens when wet, glue weakens, the shape collapses. We do not promise what we cannot deliver.

Why the kit works

Three compartments stop the shoes hitting each other. The chalk lining is tested to ISO 105-C06 grade 4 colour fastness, so no dye transfers onto white runners. The bag is stress tested to 50 wash cycles at 60 degrees, 1400 rpm, without structural failure.

Launching July 2026. Join the waitlist for early access when The Shoe Wash Kit goes live.