Your shoes go through a lot. Rain, mud, gym floors, long walks, whatever the day throws at you. At some point, wiping them down with a damp cloth stops being enough, and you start wondering if you can just toss them in the washing machine like a regular load of laundry.

The short answer is yes, for a lot of shoes. But that "yes" comes with some conditions. Wash the wrong material, pick the wrong water temperature, or skip a prep step, and you can end up with a shoe that's technically clean but misshapen, faded, or coming apart at the glue seams. If you wear wide toe box or barefoot-style shoes, this matters even more. The whole point of that design is a roomy, flexible fit, and a hot wash or a hard spin cycle can quietly undo that.

This guide covers exactly how to wash shoes in a washing machine, from checking your care label to drying them the right way, so you end up with shoes that are clean and still fit the way they did on day one.

Is It Actually Safe to Wash Shoes in a Washing Machine?

For most fabric and synthetic shoes, yes, and there's a good reason to bother. One study on footwear estimated that roughly 421,000 units of bacteria live on the outside of a typical shoe, with close to 3,000 more on the inside. A machine wash can remove somewhere around 90 to 99 percent of that bacteria from both spots, according to reporting in TIME. That's a real difference, though it's worth being honest that no wash gets rid of everything, and your shoes will start picking up new dirt the moment you step back outside.

Here's the catch: "safe" depends entirely on what your shoes are made of. A canvas sneaker and a suede loafer have no business going through the same wash cycle. Before anything goes into the drum, it helps to know what your shoes can actually handle.

Which Shoes Can Go in the Washing Machine?

Start by checking the inside tongue or heel of the shoe. Many brands print care instructions right there, and if not, you can usually find them on the brand's website. When you can't find anything, the table below is a solid general guide.

If you wear wide toe box or barefoot-style shoes, here's a detail worth knowing. Many of these shoes use breathable mesh or flexible synthetic uppers, which usually hold up fine in the wash. The part to watch is the sole. Zero-drop and minimalist soles are often bonded to the upper rather than stitched, and heat from hot water or a dryer can soften that bond over time. Stick to cold water and skip the dryer, and the sole bond should stay intact.

What You'll Need Before You Start

1. A mesh laundry bag, or an old pillowcase tied shut at the top
2. Mild liquid detergent (skip the powder, since it can cling inside seams and eyelets)
3. A soft brush, like an old toothbrush, for loose dirt
4. A couple of old towels, to cushion the shoes and balance the load
5. Oxygen-based bleach, only if you're dealing with dingy white shoes (avoid chlorine bleach, which can yellow the glue)

How to Wash Shoes in a Washing Machine: Step by Step

1. Check the care label. This takes ten seconds and can save you a ruined pair. If the label says hand wash only, decide whether you want to follow that advice or take the smaller risk of a cold, gentle cycle.
2. Brush off loose dirt. Knock the soles together outside, then use your brush to loosen caked-on mud, sand, or grass around the eyelets and seams. Skipping this step is one of the more common ways people end up with a clogged or scratched drum.
3. Remove the laces and insoles. Laces can wrap around the agitator or get tangled with other items. Insoles hold onto water and take a long time to dry, so they're better off washed separately in a sink with a little detergent and left to air dry on their own.
4. Load the shoes into a bag. Place each shoe in a mesh laundry bag, or use an old pillowcase tied closed. This keeps the shoes from banging directly against the drum and protects the machine as much as the shoes.
5. Add towels and detergent. A couple of old towels balance the load and muffle the noise of shoes bumping around during the spin. Add a small amount of liquid detergent, roughly what you'd use for a half load.
6. Choose a gentle cycle. Cold water, a delicate or gentle setting, and the lowest spin speed your machine offers, or no spin at all if that option exists. Skip the fabric softener entirely, since it can weaken the glue that holds the shoe together.
7. Run the cycle, then check your shoes. Once it's done, pull the shoes out right away rather than leaving them to sit in a damp machine. Wet shoes left too long can start to smell.

How to Dry Shoes So They Keep Their Shape

This step matters just as much as the wash itself, maybe more. Skip the dryer. The high heat and tumbling can soften the glue holding your soles on and can shrink or warp certain fabrics, especially on shoes with a flexible or minimalist build.

Instead, let your shoes air dry somewhere with decent airflow, away from direct heat sources like a radiator or heating vent. Stuff each shoe loosely with a clean towel or a few sheets of newspaper. This absorbs extra moisture and helps the shoe hold its shape while it dries, instead of collapsing in on itself. Plan on at least a full day, sometimes closer to two, depending on the material and the humidity where you live. Once everything is completely dry, put the insoles and laces back in.

Wondering what to do about smell while you wait? Sunlight is genuinely useful here. If you pull the insoles out separately, a few hours in the sun can cut down on odor, since UV exposure breaks down a lot of the bacteria responsible for that smell.

A Note for Wide Toe Box and Barefoot Shoe Wearers

If part of why you chose your shoes is the extra room through the toes, it makes sense to protect that fit when you wash them. The biggest threat isn't the detergent or even the water, it's heat and tension. High spin speeds can pull and twist a flexible upper out of shape while it's wet and pliable, and dryer heat can do the same to a bonded sole.

A simple habit helps here: loosen or remove the laces before the shoes go in to dry, not just before washing. Leaving them tied while damp can hold the upper in a slightly cinched shape as it dries, which works against the natural, splayed fit these shoes are built for. Letting the shoe relax into its full shape while drying keeps that roomy toe box roomy.

Common Mistakes That Damage Shoes in the Wash

• Using hot water. It feels like it should clean better, but heat is usually what breaks down glue and causes shrinking.
• Skipping the laundry bag. Loose shoes banging directly on the drum can scuff themselves and stress the machine's bearings over time.
• Going straight into the dryer. This is probably the single most common way people ruin a good pair of sneakers.
• Washing shoes with a full load of regular clothes. Buckles, zippers, or hardware on shoes can snag delicate fabrics, and shoes need more room to move than a packed load allows.
• Ignoring the care label because "it's just a wash." Materials like suede and leather don't recover well from a mistake, and there's no undoing it once it's done.

How Often Should You Wash Your Shoes?

This depends a lot on how you use them. For shoes you wear casually, a thorough wash every couple of months keeps dirt and odor from building up. If you're wearing the same pair of athletic or walking shoes daily and sweating in them, every couple of weeks is more realistic. Between washes, a wipe-down with a damp cloth and letting the insoles air out overnight goes a long way.

For shoes made of leather, suede, or other delicate materials that can't go in the machine, regular care looks different. A shoe care guide from CHARLES & KEITH points out that suede benefits more from prevention, like protective sprays and regular brushing, than from any kind of deep cleaning after the fact, since the material doesn't hold up well to moisture no matter how careful you are.

What Real Wearers Say

"I used to hand-scrub my walking shoes in the sink every weekend, which got old fast. Once I started using a mesh bag and the cold, delicate cycle, I got that time back, and my toe box still fits the way it did when they were new. I just make sure I never put them in the dryer." — Hobibear customer feedback

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you put shoes straight into the washing machine without any prep? Not if you want them to come out looking good. Loose dirt can clog the machine, and shoes banging around unprotected can scuff themselves or knock against the drum. A few minutes of brushing and bagging goes a long way.

What washing machine setting should I use for shoes? Cold water, a delicate or gentle cycle, and the lowest spin speed available. This combination protects both the shoe's shape and any glued seams.

Will washing shoes in the machine damage the washing machine itself? Not usually, as long as you take basic precautions. Brushing off loose dirt first, using a mesh bag, and adding towels to balance the load all reduce wear on the machine. Skipping those steps is what tends to cause problems.

Is it actually sanitary to wash shoes in the same machine as clothes? Washing shoes on their own, not mixed in with clothing, is the better approach. Running an empty rinse cycle afterward helps clear out any leftover dirt or bacteria before you wash clothes again.

Can I put wet shoes in the dryer if I need them fast? It's better to avoid it. If you're in a real time crunch, a low-heat or air-fluff setting for short bursts, checking often, is safer than a full heat cycle, but air drying is still the more reliable option for keeping your shoes' shape intact.

Why did my white shoes turn yellow after washing? This usually happens when the glue underneath the fabric loosens slightly and seeps through. A paste of baking soda and a bit of dish soap, scrubbed on with an old toothbrush and rinsed off after a few minutes, can help fade the yellowing.

The Bottom Line

Washing shoes in a machine isn't complicated once you know the rules: check the material, prep the shoes, keep the water cold, and let them air dry. It won't work for every pair, and leather or suede shoes are always better off with a different kind of care. But for canvas, mesh, and most synthetic sneakers, including the wide toe box and barefoot styles built for a roomy, natural fit, a careful trip through the washing machine is a reasonable way to get them clean without wearing down the fit you picked them for in the first place.