Washing your cycling shoes

[shootingstar]

After the "joy" of cycling through continuous rain, I tend to stuff shoes with paper towels or newspapers as last resort, to absorb moisture and leave shoes out to dry.

Sure, the shoes won't look spanking new...but you earn your cycling stripes by having shoes that do look abit used.

[jdubble]

We've been hosing them off after cross races, taking out the insoles, and then putting them on a chair in front of the dehumidifier in the basement. They dry overnight there. They're not spotless, but it's good enough.

[jolie]

I don't think cycling shoes can washed by washing machine. I just wash it by my hand. Most of time I think needn't clean the inside of the shoes, for a long term wearing.

[bcipam]

I hate to admit I do this cause die hards will think me crazy... but I love my leather Sidi's for road and mountain biking (I have two sets of the same shoe - one for each). For road riding what I do is spray the inside of the shoe with alittle alcohol and run over the outside with a clean cloth.

Now for mountain biking, my shoes, especially this time of year get all muddy and wet. I could (and have) let the shoes dry out and try and knock off the mud but i find the shoes get stinky if I do so what I do now is this:

I rinse the shoes off in the kitchen sink with luke warm water. I then take out the insoles and fill up the sink with enough warm water to cover the shoes. I put in two cupfuls of bleach and allow the shoes to soak a short period of time. I then rinse the shoes again and set them out to dry, preferable in the sun. The shoes are clean, smell fine and appear to be OK. I have been doing this with my shoes for about 3 years, they are OK.

Now tennis type shoes, I would have now problem soaking them or washing them. Just take out the insoles first.

[arielmoon]

I am assuming you have cleats on your shoes... they would probably damage a washing machine.

[WindingRoad]

I usually squirt a little WD40 on my cleats occasionally to keep them from rusting. Especially good after a good hose down.