How to clean used shoes from ebay

I purchased a great pair of pre-owned ("gently used") leather LL Bean shoes for the husband to wear when he's working outside around the house (less than $20, including shipping...thanks, eBay!). They're in great shape.

As a general rule, I don't buy used shoes, so I have little experience with this. How does one go about sanitizing pre-owned leather shoes? Because they're leather, I can't really throw them in the washer...

I don't know if this is the the right place to post this, but this had been bugging me for quite a while. I've been lurking in the shoes ebay thread and have noticed there are actually lots of NICE shoes on ebay. I've never bought any shoes on ebay, simply because of the fear of catching some kind of skin prob (like athlete's foot). I know I know I'm extremely paranoid

ush:. Because with clothes, you could bleach and wash them. But how do you ladies clean used shoes bought on ebay?

For the inside of the shoes, I use rubbing alcohol (99% is good) and give it a good rinse. After that, I apply a leather cleaner and conditioner. The outside of the shoe I usually apply leather conditioner as well, along with a coat of waterproofing spray. I usually take it to the cobbler to replace the heel tips (if worn) and add a rubber sole on top of the scruffed leather sole (for added protection of the sole, prolonged wear)

Whew! That was a lot, but that's what I do with my ebay purchases!

Be very careful with rubbing alcohol as it has a drying effect and could make the shoes crack. If you use that it's absolutely vital you wipe it/rinse it off throughly and then feed the leather

I use lysol desinfecting wipes. I dont buy shoes from ebay but I've gotten shoes from marchalls and ross wich could be worse IMO. you can also spray some lysol on a little rug and wipe down the insole and the shoe.

This article was co-authored by Marc Sigal. Marc Sigal is the Founder of ButlerBox, a dry cleaning and shoe care service based in Los Angeles, California. ButlerBox places custom-designed, wrinkle-resistant lockers in luxury apartment buildings, class A office buildings, shopping centers, and other convenient locations so you can pick up and drop off items 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Marc has a BA in Global and International Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. This article has been viewed 502,051 times.

Co-authors: 25

Updated: June 4, 2020

Views: 502,051

Article Rating: 89% - 18 votes

Categories: Care of Shoes | Disinfection

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  "Gave a lot of different options, but all methods are simple and use common household items that are usually already on-hand. Really liked the dryer sheet idea. I'm donating shoes, and they're not "dirty," but need a little sprucing up."

• "I am trying to disinfect dark suede tennis shoes I bought at Goodwill. I will launder the insole and spray inside with Lysol. Thanks for all of the help. I will use a lot of the other methods you mentioned when cleaning other shoes."

• "I'm trying the Lysol method to disinfect dark suede/faux suede dress shoes. I hope they dry odorless. I'm not really a fan of the scent of Lysol, but the shoe innersoles are permanent, so wish me luck!"

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  "I love my many pairs of SAS shoes, but all feet have many sweat glands (and, of course, odor). I want to have nice-smelling shoes. I now have two avenues to deodorize my shoes."

• "What I appreciated the most was that the article provides helpful chemical and non-chemical options. I also appreciated the very budget-friendly choices."

• "If I hadn't had access to the info in this article, I might have ruined my granddaughter's used Toms that I just purchased for her; thanks much!"

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  "I don't have a success story yet. But I'm eager to try out these ideas as I'm sure they will work. Thank you for the information. Sincerely."

• "I now have info for trying and comparing methods for summer shoes in winter storage."

• "Awesome tips. I have used them and they really clean your shoes. "

• "Lysol disinfectant was the most helpful tip. I will use it."

• "I used spray disinfectant and sanitized the insole. "

• "Disinfecting shoes with chemicals helped me the most."

• "Needed to clean shoes, so I found this information!"

• "Helpful tips on cleaning shoes from thrift stores!"

• "Baking soda was a good tip, thank you!"

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