How to Clean White Canvas and Cloth Sneakers

What do you need to clean white canvas sneakers?

Very little. A soft brush, an old toothbrush, a microfibre cloth, warm water and mild dish soap or laundry detergent handle most canvas sneakers. Add baking soda for stains, a stiffer brush or melamine sponge for the rubber toe cap and sidewalls, and plain paper to stuff the shoes while they dry.

What you need:

• A soft brush for the canvas, an old toothbrush for stitching, and a stiffer brush for rubber only.
• Mild soap. Converse suggests a little mild dish soap in lukewarm water; Vans suggests a few drops of dish soap in warm water.
• Baking soda, plus white vinegar or 3% hydrogen peroxide for a stronger paste.
• Two microfibre cloths, one to scrub and one to rinse.
• A melamine sponge, sold as a “magic eraser”, for scuffs on rubber.
• Plain paper or shoe trees to hold the shape while drying.

What to use and what to skip:

Job	Use	Avoid
Everyday dirt	A few drops of mild dish soap in warm water, soft brush	Heavy-duty cleaners (Converse)
Stains on white canvas	Baking soda paste (Vans); 2 parts baking soda to 1 part 3% peroxide (Nike)	Chlorine bleach (Vans)
Rubber toe cap and foxing	Soapy water, stiffer brush, damp melamine sponge, toothpaste (Nike)	Melamine sponge or stiff brush on the canvas itself
Drying	Room temperature, paper inside, indirect light	Dryer, radiator, heat vent, direct sun
Laces	Hand wash, or a mesh bag on a gentle cycle	Heat, which can deform the tips (Nike)

How do you clean white canvas sneakers by hand?

Remove the laces and insoles, knock off dry dirt, then scrub the canvas with a soft brush dipped in warm, soapy water, working in small sections. Spot-treat stains with a baking soda paste, rinse with a clean damp cloth until no suds remain, and air dry at room temperature with paper inside.

Step by step:

1. Prep. Take out the laces and insoles. Converse suggests testing your soap mix on a hidden spot, such as the inside of the tongue, first.
2. Dry brush. Clap the soles together outside, then brush the dry canvas so you don’t turn dust into mud.
3. Wash. Dip a soft brush in warm, soapy water, shake off the excess and scrub in small circles, panel by panel. Clean the whole upper, not just the stain: Jason Markk warns that spot-cleaning one patch can leave a ring as it dries.
4. Spot treat. Vans suggests a paste of baking soda and water, scrubbed in gently and left for 15 to 20 minutes. For white canvas it also gives 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 1 tablespoon of baking soda, left for 30 minutes. Nike’s stronger option is two parts baking soda to one part 3% hydrogen peroxide, left for 30 minutes.
5. Rinse. Wipe with a cloth dampened in plain water, rinsing it often, until no suds or paste remain. Don’t soak the shoes: Vans says long soaks can loosen glue and warp the shape.
6. Dry. Stuff with paper, change it when it’s damp, and leave the shoes at room temperature. Vans says to dry them in indirect sunlight.

How do you clean the rubber toe cap and foxing?

Treat the rubber separately from the canvas. Scrub the toe cap, foxing stripe and sidewalls with a stiffer brush and soapy water, then work on scuffs with a damp melamine sponge or a little toothpaste on an old toothbrush. Keep the sponge and stiff brush off the canvas, which they can rough up.

A few specifics:

• Gentle first. Converse suggests rubbing rubber soles gently with a cloth, sponge or soft brush. Use a stiffer brush only for stubborn grime.
• Melamine sponges work like very fine sandpaper. Use light pressure on rubber and wipe away the residue afterwards.
• Off-white is sometimes the design. The Converse Chuck 70 Low has a varnished off-white midsole and toe cap, so it will read cream however well you clean it. Don’t try to bleach it white.

The rubber sidewall on the Vans Old Skool cleans the same way. If clean rubber still looks yellow, that’s usually the material ageing, not dirt: see our guide to whitening yellowed soles.

Can you wash white canvas sneakers in the washing machine?

Brands mostly say no. Converse says Chucks shouldn’t be machine washed or dried, Nike says machine washing canvas shoes can damage their construction, and Vans’ US guide says to avoid it. Vans’ UK guide allows a cold, gentle cycle for all-canvas shoes only, while calling it a little risky.

Brand	Machine washing canvas sneakers
Converse	No. Not machine washed or tumble dried
Vans (US guide)	Avoid, to keep the glue from lifting
Vans (UK guide)	All-canvas pairs only: cold water, gentle cycle, air dry
Nike	Not advised for canvas shoes; laces in a mesh bag are fine
Veja	No. Laces only, at a low temperature

If your care label allows it, or you accept the risk on an inexpensive all-canvas pair, reduce the damage:

1. Brush off dirt and remove the laces and insoles.
2. Bag them. Put the shoes in a mesh laundry bag or pillowcase. Vessi uses the same precaution for its machine-washable knit shoes.
3. Go cold and gentle. Cold water, a gentle cycle and a small amount of mild liquid detergent. No bleach.
4. Skip the dryer. Stuff with paper and air dry at room temperature.

Keep canvas shoes with leather or suede trim out of the machine entirely. Our Lab hasn’t run its cleaning tests yet; results for canvas, including hand versus machine washing, will be added here.

Why do white canvas sneakers turn yellow after washing?

Usually because something was left behind. Soap or detergent that isn’t rinsed out can leave yellowish marks as the canvas dries, chlorine bleach can yellow canvas over time, and drying in strong sun can discolour foam and rubber. Rinse thoroughly, skip chlorine bleach, and dry the shoes indoors out of direct light.

How to avoid it:

• Use less soap. A few drops is enough.
• Rinse until the cloth comes away clean, then blot the canvas with a dry towel so it dries faster and more evenly.
• Skip chlorine bleach. Vans says it can weaken the fabric and make it go yellow over time.
• Dry out of direct sun. Veja says to air dry away from heat sources, including the sun. Polyurethane foams made with aromatic compounds are known to yellow in light, and many insoles and midsoles are foam.

If marks appear as the shoes dry, wet the canvas evenly, rinse again and let it dry a second time.

How do you look after canvas sneakers in a Canadian winter?

Canvas soaks up slush, so salt gets into the weave rather than sitting on top. If you wear canvas sneakers in winter, wipe them as soon as you get in, dissolve salt marks with diluted white vinegar once dry, then wash and rinse. Dry them slowly indoors, away from heat vents and radiators.

A winter routine:

1. Wipe at the door with a damp cloth, top down toward the sole.
2. Dissolve salt once the shoes are dry: dab the marks with two parts water to one part white vinegar, as Cottage Life suggests, then hand-wash the upper.
3. Dry on a rack or tray at room temperature, not on a floor vent or radiator.
4. Protect clean, dry pairs. Crep Protect’s directions are two coats from about 20 cm, 10 minutes apart. A spray repels water; it doesn’t make canvas waterproof.

Our salt stain guide has the full method. For slush, a waterproof knit like the Vessi Weekend is a better choice; see our winter guide. Other materials are in our main cleaning guide.