Cleaning my TOMS

This is a unique cleaning solution, as my TOMS in need of cleaning were white.

The difficulty with cleaning TOMS is the fact that they have a canvas body and a leather sole. I would throw them in the washer if they didn't have that leather sole - leather and water don't go really well together.

Anyway, I was frustrated because my white ones had gotten sooo dirty very quickly. I told someone, "just think, I paid $45 for these shoes, and the white lasted 3 weeks!" Well, when I got some grass stains on them (really, I'm not careless - just thoughtless), I decided to do something about them. I figured they were already ruined, so I didn't have much to lose.

Since my shoes were white (originally), I grabbed my Clorox bleach pen, and got to work. The directions for the bleach pen say to wash immediately, but since I was trying to avoid getting the leather part wet, I went for hand washing in the sink. Tip the shoe upside down and rinse the bleach out without getting the sole wet. Briskly rub the canvas with your fingers to get the bleach out, then use an old towel to towel dry the shoes.

I tried to be careful about not getting the leather sole wet, but it didn't work out that way. The leather got wet.

Because the leather got wet, I had to get creative. I figured letting the leather air dry wasn't the best idea, so I grabbed my hair dryer and started blowing. I didn't completely dry the soles, but I got them mostly dry.

After getting a jump start on the drying process, I let them dry overnight. The shoes aren't perfectly white, but they look 50 times better than they did before I washed them. They were slightly snug after washing, (the canvas shrunk a little), but after a little bit of wearing, they went back to their comfy fit.

Something I wish I had done: when I bought the white TOMS, the salesgirl suggested getting some of that spray-on shoe stuff that gives shoes water resistance, etc. She said that would help the shoes to resist dirt, also. I didn't do it, because I think it smells funny, and besides, I wanted to wear my new shoes RIGHT NOW. Next time, I'm soo doing that - it probably would have saved me a lot of work!