It's usually a Sunday night when this question comes up. Muddy football boots, trainers that have gone from white to grey, a pair that just smells. The washing machine is right there, and it's tempting.
The honest answer isn't a flat yes or no. Some shoes come out of a wash cycle absolutely fine. Others come out ruined. And almost everyone runs into the real problem one step later, when it's time to dry them.
Here's what actually survives washing trainers in a washing machine, how to do it properly, and why drying is the bit that decides whether the whole exercise was worth it.
The quick answer
- Usually fine: canvas trainers, gym shoes, fabric running shoes, laces and insoles
- Only with care: synthetic trainers with glued soles, kids' trainers with lights (check they're washable first)
- Never: leather, suede, nubuck, anything with a waterproof membrane, walking boots, leather football boots, steel toe-cap work boots
The rule of thumb: the more glue, leather and tech a shoe has, the worse it copes with water and detergent.
What a wash cycle actually does to a shoe
A washing machine isn't gentle. On an 800rpm spin, a shoe bangs around the drum on its own for the best part of an hour, in water somewhere around 30 to 40°C, with detergent designed to strip grease and oils.
Three things tend to go wrong.
The glue lets go. Most soles are attached with contact adhesive. Warm water plus repeated impact is exactly the combination that adhesive can't handle. You often don't see it straight away, the seam opens up a fortnight later instead.
Leather stiffens up. Leather stays supple because of natural oils. Detergent washes those out. What's left dries into something stiff and cracked, especially along the crease where your foot bends.
The cushioning changes. The foam in a running shoe's midsole soaks up water like a sponge. Wash it and dry it badly, and the bounce is measurably worse afterwards. For a £100-plus pair, that's a real loss.
How to wash trainers in a washing machine, if you're going to
For shoes that can take it, here's the way to do it without wrecking them.
- Let mud dry and brush it off first. Wet mud just smears and clogs the pump
- Take the laces and insoles out. Wash them separately, otherwise they stay damp inside the shoe
- Put the trainers in a mesh laundry bag or an old pillowcase. This is the step people skip, and it's the one that actually protects both the shoe and your drum
- Add two old towels. They cushion the noise and keep the drum balanced
- Use a delicates or wool cycle at 30°C
- Liquid detergent, half the usual dose. Powder doesn't fully dissolve and leaves white streaks
- Skip the fabric softener
- Spin on the lowest setting, or off completely
That last point trips people up, because without a spin the shoes come out soaking wet. That's true. But the spin cycle is where most of the damage happens, and you're going to sort the drying separately anyway.
The bit that actually goes wrong: drying
This is where nearly everyone comes unstuck. A soaked trainer left on a radiator dries on the outside while the insole stays damp underneath. At normal room temperature, drying shoes properly after washing can easily take 24 to 36 hours.
The usual fixes all come with a catch.
| Drying method | The problem |
|---|---|
| On the radiator | Local heat can hit 60°C or more, warping soles and lifting glue |
| In a tumble dryer | Heat plus hours of tumbling, the fastest way to wreck a shoe |
| Stuffed with newspaper | Works, but slow, and you need to swap it out every hour |
| With a hairdryer | Only reaches the outside, the insole stays wet |
| Left to air | A day and a half, and thick fabric goes musty in the meantime |
That last one isn't a minor detail. Damp that hangs around is exactly what odour-causing bacteria need. Wash a shoe to get rid of the smell, leave it damp for two days, and it'll be back within a week.
Why washing rarely fixes the smell
A wash deals with the dirt you can see. The smell lives in the foam of the insole and the footbed, and that foam soaks up detergent and moisture, then releases it slowly.
So what actually happens a lot of the time: a clean shoe that smells of detergent for a few days, then goes right back to where it started. Sometimes worse, because the shoe never fully dried out.
The more lasting fix works the other way round. Keep a shoe properly dry after every wear, and the smell never gets the chance to build up in the first place. We go into why moisture, not dirt, is the real cause in our guide on tackling smelly shoes.
Drying shoes without wrecking them
This is where we started as a company: a shoe dryer that pushes warm air through the shoe from the inside, at a temperature the materials can actually cope with.
The Shoefresh Opod (€129) blows air at around 35°C through both shoes at once and carries the moisture away instead of just circulating it. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes for a slightly damp pair to a few hours for something properly soaked, and active oxygen tackles the bacteria and fungi behind the smell while it dries. The Opod Detect (€179) measures how wet the shoe still is and stops on its own once it's dry, handy if you don't want to guess at a programme length.
If you'd rather not spend that much, the ShoeDry Airo (around €50) is a fair budget option. It uses ION rather than active oxygen, so it's weaker on stubborn odour, and you go without the extra programmes, the heel dryer and the automatic start, but it'll still get a wet shoe dry.
One warning worth repeating: steer clear of anything sold on UV light alone. UV only works on surfaces it can actually reach, and there's no evidence it does anything inside a shoe, where the seams, folds and insole sit in shadow the whole time. More on that in our complete guide to shoe dryers.
Washing shoes: what to do by type
Canvas trainers. Fine to wash following the steps above. White canvas can yellow slightly from leftover detergent, so give it an extra rinse.
Running shoes. Only if there's no waterproof membrane, and as rarely as possible. They're built to get dirty, and drying them properly between runs matters more than washing them.
Football boots. Never in the machine. Rinse the mud off with cold water and a brush, then dry straight away. Leather boots that go through a wash cycle turn stiff and crack across the instep.
Walking boots. Don't wash them. A membrane clogs with detergent residue and stops breathing properly. Brush them off and wipe with lukewarm water instead.
Steel toe-cap work boots. The toe cap is glued in and can start rattling. Water also tends to get trapped inside the construction and never fully clears.
Insoles. Wash these separately at 30°C, or by hand. Insoles are often the main source of the smell, so this small extra step is worth doing on its own.
FAQ
Can you put shoes in the washing machine?
Fabric and canvas trainers usually can, on a 30°C delicates cycle in a laundry bag with no spin. Leather, suede, walking boots and anything with a membrane shouldn't go in at all.
What temperature should I wash trainers at?
30°C. Anything hotter attacks glue and materials and doesn't get shoes noticeably cleaner.
Can shoes go in the tumble dryer?
No. The combination of heat and hours of tumbling damages soles and warps the shape of the shoe.
How do you dry shoes quickly after washing?
A shoe dryer that pushes lukewarm air through from the inside will do it in 30 minutes to a few hours, depending on how wet they are. Left to air, expect a day to a day and a half.
Does washing trainers get rid of the smell?
Only temporarily. If the shoe stays damp afterwards, the smell comes back. Drying properly and consistently works better than washing regularly.
Why do my shoes smell worse after washing?
Almost always because they never fully dried out. A shoe that stays damp for days goes musty, even though it's technically clean.