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HOW TO MAINTAIN AND WASH YOUR TRAIL SHOES?

Designed to get off the paved roads, trail shoes have an annoying tendency to get dirty and quickly! Admittedly, cleaning your trail shoes after a great outdoor outing is not the most enjoyable part of the experience. However, to make your shoes last as long as possible, regular maintenance is necessary. Here are the essential steps to maintain and wash your trail shoes.

Maintaining a trail shoe

Three key actions:

  • Dusting the outside
  • Ventilate the inside
  • Keep a clean outer sole

Taking care of your trail shoes starts by not leaving them at the bottom of your gym bag, locked in their moisture, for days. Each time you return from an outing, take your shoes out and tap them together to remove as much waste as possible (dust, dirt, mud...) from under the soles. Sometimes this will require letting the mud dry, which will then come off more easily. If not, rinse off the accumulated dirt with water.

Take the shoe out to air dry. Purists will take out the insole to dry it separately.

Finally to clean the mesh, and unclog the pores that let moisture escape, all it takes is a swipe or two with a brush to remove the dust.

WATERPROOFING YOUR TRAIL SHOES

Washing trail shoes can compromise their waterproofing. To keep your feet dry, there are sprays to apply to the mesh to reactivate the waterproofing.

Washing your trail shoes with a washing machine: it's a no-go!

Regular maintenance allows you to space out the washing of your trail shoes.For all that, it is impossible to do without them completely. It is strongly advised against washing your shoes in the washer. What are the risks of this "modern" type of washing? The washing machine, like the dryer, exposes the shoe to high temperatures, which can melt the glue in places, deform the plastics, damage the mesh or even damage the cushioning. In addition, the shocks in the drum will contribute to deforming them even more.

As you will have understood, washing your trail shoes in the washing machine is a mistake. So, you're left with only one option: hand washing.

DRYING TRAIL SHOES

Drying is part of an important step in maintaining your trail shoes. Being completely wet during a major cleaning, it will take between 12 and 24 hours of drying. You should therefore plan to do this outside of training periods, or have a second pair of trail running shoes. In fact, it's recommended that you have two pairs of trail shoes so that you can use them in rotation, giving each one time to air out.

How to properly wash your trail shoes

To do this, you will need: a basin of warm water, soap such as Marseille soap and a soft brush. Start by rinsing the shoes under water to remove most of the mud, stones, dust... Then let your pair soak in the basin for a few minutes. Once well soaked, you can start brushing gently.

For a perfect result, we can take a toothbrush to access the nooks and crannies where waste likes to lodge such as under the seams or between the sole and the mesh.

To make sure you don't forget any details about washing your trail shoes, you can also wash the laces separately. Otherwise, only the visible part will be clean, leaving the dirty lace under the hooks. Move the shoe and rub the laces along their entire length, ideally drying them separately too.

On the shoe side, let them dry in peace! To ventilate as much as possible, unlace as much as possible and take out the insole. Drying the shoe and the insole together can lead to microbial growth between the two parts, and thus bad odours. The latter will dry faster out of the shoe, retain its shape better and allow the inside of the shoe to air out.

Beautiful and clean, your well-maintained trail shoes will be a treat to wear. In addition to the look, it is above all hygiene that counts in order to combat bad odours and limit the risk of infection.

THE THREE KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN MAINTAINING AND WASHING YOUR TRAIL SHOES

  1. Trail shoes should be maintained regularly
  2. Hand washing your trail runnings shoes with water and Marseille soap
  3. They should be left to dry in the open air, away from a direct heat source

TRAIL SHOES