Both women and girls alike seem to adore canvas/fabric Blowfish Malibu shoes because they come in a wide variety of styles and prints and they are very affordable. However, there’s a little bit of a learning curve on how to wash them and keep them looking clean and cute for as long as possible. I live in a house full of five girls that all love Blowfish shoes, so here I am sharing how to clean them at home in a washing machine.
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I don’t know why, but it seems that blowfish shoes get dirty pretty quickly, at least they do with my messy kids, and I am not a fan of letting them walk around with gross-looking shoes on their feet if I can help it.
I know, call me crazy, but I don’t want myself or my kids walking around dirty & looking like we might be homeless.
So, over the years I have tried many different ways to wash all of our blowfish shoes and this is the tried and true method that I like to use to get them clean.
This should work on your shoes whether they are floral, animal print, white, and covered in layers and layers of dirt… & you can even probably use the same strategies to wash any types of canvas shoes as well.
If you are wondering to yourself “can you put blowfish shoes in the washer?” you have probably done a bit of digging around on the internet and found that the company that makes Blowfish Shoes does not recommend washing them in a washing machine because it will break down the glues that they have used to make the shoes…however, I have found that it is a little bit more of a temperature issue than it is an issue with the washing machine itself.
Well, my answer to “can you machine wash blowfish shoes”…is this. Yes you can, but you basically just need to switch up the way that you wash things in order to do it without damaging your shoes by breaking down the glues that were used to make them. This tutorial shows the way that I have been washing them for myself and my four daughters for years.
Keep in mind that I DO NOT recommend putting them in a dryer….EVER.
I typically only full on wash, not spot cleaning, the blowfish shoes when it is absolutely necessary because they are so dirty that they’re either going in the trash can or else we are going to try to save them by seeing how well we can get them to wash up…
I definitely wouldn’t try to wash a new pair of blowfish shoes because they are easy to spot clean there at the beginning.
So, that being said, this is my disclaimer before you wash your shoes in the ways that I am suggesting below.
Do so at your own risk, this is just how I have been doing it for years, so I thought that I would share.
How to machine wash blowfish shoes
I mentioned above that you will need to switch things up a little bit to machine wash your Blowfish shoes because we have to work around a temperature issue that will break down the glue, that holds them together, if you’re not careful.
- To do so, you are going to want to start out with a large bucket or washing tub. In the bottom of the bucket/tub add one cup of Oxiclean Odor Blasters and two cups of warm water…mix it well.
- Then add about a gallon to one and a half gallons of COLD water to the bucket/tub and mix well.
- Now it’s time to put your shoes in the prepared Oxiclean-water, but put them in upside down and allow them to soak for about fifteen minutes.
- Once they’re done soaking, take an old toothbrush, or scrub brush, and scrub the whole exterior of the shoe (minus the bottoms, unless absolutely necessary)…dipping the toothbrush/scrub brush back in the Oxiclean/water mixture as needed.
- If the white rubber parts are still looking gross, you can get out some baking soda and dip a toothbrush into the Oxiclean-water bucket and then into the baking soda and use it as a soft scrub to get in all the little nooks and cranny’s that aren’t cooperating.
- Once I have thoroughly scrubbed the rubbery part of the shoes I am ready to put them in the washing machine. I like to wash them with a load of colored towels (or white towels if I’m washing white blowfish shoes). Place the shoes in a protective mesh laundry bag and toss them in the washer.
- Make sure to wash using cold water only, as well as use a detergent that is specifically meant for washing in cold water also use a gentle washing cycle if possible.
- Once they are done getting clean in the washer, absolutely do not put them in the dryer, they will need to air dry either out in a sunny spot or in an area of your home that gets good air flow, especially if you are in a humid area.
*Keep in mind that it can take a couple or so days for them to dry out enough to wear again, so plan ahead and don’t rush it or they’ll get stinky fast.*
That’s really all that I have to share with you guys today on cleaning up those old Blowfish shoes, and I hope that you found this post helpful.
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*Please note that this article was originally published to this website on September 7th of 2022, and has since been updated to improve user experience, remain current, as well as to be as shareable as possible on the social medias.