If you are a sports person, then you know the importance of your shoes – not only do you need specific shoes for specific reasons, such as non-marking shoes for badminton and spikes for football; you also need to make sure that you take really good care of them. High quality shoes can cost you a good amount, which is why you need to make sure that you take proper care of them and keeping these tips to maintain sports shoes in mind, should help!
The ground rules of how to take care of sports shoes
Although, specific care might vary from shoe to shoe – so the type of care you would give to cricket shoes might not be the same as tennis shoes – but the overall ground rules remain the same or at least similar.
- Treat your shoes with love – It is easy and almost satisfying to come home and just kick your shoes off, but you need to remember that the more you treat your shoes with love and respect, the longer they will last you. Rather than using one shoe to remove the other, take the time to remove the laces and take your shoes off carefully.
- Get them some air – When you are working out or playing a sport, you are bound to sweat and some of the sweat will accumulate in your shoes too. When you take off your shoes, you need to make sure that you give it enough air – this means that all the sweat should be able to dry off and most of the body odour should also go away. You can consider some shoe scents or powders that can help speed the process up a little.
- Away from heat and light – Even though you are wearing your shoes during harsh games, an important step of how to take care of sports shoes has to be what you do post the play time. You need to make sure that once you clean your shoes out, you keep them away from direct heat or sunlight. So, while you need not lock them away in some dark cupboard, you might want to keep them indoors or at least away from direct sunlight. You will also want to make sure that the shoes are kept away from any sources of moisture. Excessive heat and moisture could lead to the glue of the sole coming apart.
- Shoes need space too – Books are meant to be stacked one on top of the other, but not shoes, because stacking on top of each other could mean that the basic shape of the shoe is lost. This is all the more important to remember when you are using heavy shoes, as these will weigh the upper part of the shoe down. The upper part of the shoe is the most flexible part and placing shoes on top of that could cause damage that your cobbler might not be able to repair. It is best to keep shoes side by side and leave some space between each pair.
- Give them a rest – Your sport shoes are built to go through an immense amount of pressure, but they too need some time to rest. If you are someone who trains on a daily or fairly regular basis, you might want to consider investing in a second pair of shoes, because that will allow your first pair to get some much deserved ‘rest’. This rest period will allow the foam of your shoes to return to normalcy, ensuring that you have full cushioning for your next session.
- Machine wash or hand wash? – Although not all sports shoes can be washed, there are many that can be, and learning more about the best way to wash sports shoes is an important factor. Even though machine washing might seem like the easiest way out, it is not the best. Shoes might look tough, but they need gentle care. The best way to clean your shoes is by hand – take some wet wipes and clean out all the visible dirt. Then you can use a small brush that can be dipped in a soap solution to clean out everything else. Use a soft cloth to ensure that all moisture and soap has been completely removed.
- Dry them right – If your shoes do get wet or you have washed them out, you need to make sure that you dry them properly. You can use a hair dryer to remove most of the water, and then leave them out to air dry. Another way to dry shoes well is to stuff them with newspaper that is rolled up tightly. This will not only help retain the shape of the shoe, but also suck away all the moisture, giving you dry and odour free shoes.
- Wear the shoes for the sport – When you shop at SportsBunker, you can be sure that you will be able to find shoes that are designed for the sport you play. However, it is important that you wear the shoe only for the sport they are designed for – so badminton shoes should be worn only on the badminton court and football shoes cannot be worn when playing basketball!
Just like you would throw your sports shirt and shorts into the wash after every workout session or game, you need to take care of your shoes, every time too. Setting up a routine to clean sport shoes and make sure that you stick to it is important. While SportsBunker brings to you the best sports shoes and all the best brands, how long they last will depend solely on how well you take care of them.
