# Advice on cleaning used road shoes off ebay?



## SNS1938 (Aug 9, 2013)

I've bought a pair of used road shoes off ebay, and am now wondering how do you clean them? I know how I clean my own shoes when they've got dirt on them, but these ones I sort of want to sterilize.

In order to get them 'sterilized', I was thinking they'll need to be dunked into a bucket with some sort of cleaning solution, rinsed and then completely dried. The question is, *what can I use in the bucket that'll sterilize the shoe, but won't damage the shoe (provided I dry it out completely).


*​Thanks


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

I'm tempted to say that if you want sterile shoes, you shouldn't buy used ones. But I think you're being a little overly concerned. Dunking them in a sterilizing solution seems unnecessary, and I wouldn't completely dunk a shoe even in water. There are sterilizing sprays made for shoes that kill fungus and bacteria. I'd use something like that, after wiping with a wet cloth.


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## michaelcogburn.c (Nov 22, 2015)

Well I use first toothpaste to clean up my shoes. You can also use washing powder in the water and drop the shoes for a while. It'll look like very new.


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## oily666 (Apr 7, 2007)

Many shoes today are completely synthetic and probably will be safe in warm water, but I doubt you need to go to that extreme. Try non-scented Lysol.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

SNS1938 said:


> I've bought a pair of used road shoes off ebay, and am now wondering how do you clean them? I know how I clean my own shoes when they've got dirt on them, but these ones I sort of want to sterilize.
> 
> In order to get them 'sterilized', I was thinking they'll need to be dunked into a bucket with some sort of cleaning solution, rinsed and then completely dried. The question is, *what can I use in the bucket that'll sterilize the shoe, but won't damage the shoe (provided I dry it out completely).
> 
> ...


This sounds like overkill to me. I'd spray them with Lysol or a shoe disinfectant spray (the stuff bowling alleys use for rental shoes). You could also use one of those UV shoe sterilizers.


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

Cleaning the surface with a bit of Simple Green and followed by spraying a bit of Ozium inside should do the trick.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

I'd probably just get new inserts. Not so much for fear of germs on the old ones but shoes that someone else has worn for a lot of time never feel quite right to me but new inserts makes them feel like they would out of the box.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

I had a pair of shoes that got pretty funky from a multi day ride where it rained and was really wet for most of it. I soaked them in a bucket of warm water for a couple of yours with some Oxiclean dissolved in it and they came out looking and smelling fresh. Borax would work too. The shoes survived being soaking wet for days while riding so sticking them in a bucket of water was not going to be any worse.


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## gabkr (Mar 30, 2012)

Cascade electric dish washing soap in hot water,let them soak.......has some bleach in it


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Sodium hypochlorite bleach in too caustic. Oxiclean or borax are much less damaging and will work as well, except for getting the whitest whites white.


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## SNS1938 (Aug 9, 2013)

Shoes arrived, and were not dirty/smelly at all. I tried them on, and unfortunately the sizing of the latest shoes differs from my older ones from the same brand. So I'm selling these ones on. Eventually I'll find a set of used $400 shoes that fit for cheap online ... and will oxiclean scrub/soak them.

Thanks all,


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