How to Clean Leather Sandals – 2023 Guide [to Prepare For Summer Footwear]

Published by Ahmad Jamal on March 15, 2023

Who doesn’t love a pair of durable, good looking, and ventilated leather sandals? I would love to keep mine for as long as I possibly can.

However, if you have no idea how to clean leather sandals, then you’ve come here for advice.

And advise we shall, this CleanersAdvisor guide will help you know more about your sandals, How to Clean Leather Sandals, and what tips can help you keep them for as long as you’d like, without wearing them down, or leaving stain spots here or there on the sandas.

Some would say that all you need to do is use a damp cloth, and it works.

But it’s not that simple, and it has to be done methodically, so you have yourself a long-lasting cleaning solution, instead of one that works on easy stains only.

With that being said, the good pair of leather sandals that helped you through summer need some cleaning, and this is How to Clean Leather Sandals.

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What Are Leather Sandals

Understanding what leather sandals are and how they became trendier over the course of hot seasons is the first step before attempting to clean them.

Unlike most materials creating sandals, leather is naturally durable, long-lasting, and is treated to stand up against decomposition.

It’s considered high quality footwear, especially when compared to other sandals created from less-durable materials.

However, despite their durability, they tend to show signs of wear easier than other types, hence the importance of keeping them as clean as possible.

Therefore, here’s How to Clean Leather Sandals.

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How to Clean Leather Sandals 

We’ve already established that leather sandals are going to get dirty sooner or later, therefore, here’s how to clean leather sandals in 5 different methods, based on the materials used, size and type of the stain you’re encountering, and the time consumption.

1. Using a Soft Brush

2. Using Liquid Cleaners

3. Using Vinegar

4. Using Saddle Soap

5. Using Baking Soda

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1. How to Clean Leather Sandals with Soft Brush

Soft brushes are ideal against most types of dirt and debris.

They tend to get the job faster, especially when there’s no stain spots disturbing the overall cleanliness of the leather sandal.

Therefore, use the soft brush to remove dried dirt, debris that are stuck on the sandal, or anything that’s easy to remove with a simple sweep.

This works for the buckles, straps, and the inside of your sandals, and it works -most of the times- on the outside of your sandals.

2. How to Clean Leather Sandals with Liquid Cleaners

The aforementioned stain spots can be easily dealt with using liquid cleaners.

All you need to do is add a few drops of your liquid cleaner to a clean soft cloth, a little bit of water, and gently start rubbing your sandals.

However, you don’t want the cleaner to remain on your sandals, so you’ll need to use a soft damp cloth to rub it off, and leave the sandal to dry for a couple of hours afterward.

We’ll explain in depth how to dry leather sandals in a bit.

3. How to Clean Leather Sandals with Vinegar

Vinegar is an excellent cleaner for leather sandals, and can be a great option when dealing with light discoloration, or stain spots.

Create a water-vinegar mixture using a 1:1 ratio, and use a soft damp cloth dampened in the mixture to work on spot in check.

However, you should never saturate the area, only spot clean the stain or discolored area, then let it out to dry.

4. How to Clean Leather Sandals with Saddle Soap

Why did we choose saddle soap? Because it’s made specifically for cleaning leather.

Take a soft cloth, dampen it a bit in water, then pour a small portion of the saddle soap on it.

Use the soft dampened cloth to rub the leather sandals, then after you’re done, just wipe the whole area with a clean soft cloth, then leave it out to dry.

5. How to Clean & Deodorize Leather Sandals with Baking Soda

Sometimes when you’re done cleaning the leather sandals, you’ll still notice a bad smell out there.

The simple solution would be to put your sandals in a plastic bag, sprinkle them in baking soda, then leave the plastic bag shut and leave it overnight.

Once you have your breakfast next morning, remove the sandals from the bag, and wipe off the baking soda with a soft dry cloth, as the baking soda has been working overnight to kill the bad smell and sources of bad odor.

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How to Dry Leather Sandals

You may have noticed that no matter the cleaning method, it’s always a great idea to leave leather sandals to dry afterward.

Therefore, no matter if you’ve spot cleaned the sandals, or cleaned the whole sandal, always leave them to dry.

The best way is to use natural sunlight and clean fresh air to dry your leather sandals.

However, don’t leave the leather sandals to dry under direct sunlight or using any heating source, this would be more damaging than helpful.

Until they’re completely dry, never attempt to wear the sandals again, no matter how in a rush you were.

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Tips on How to Clean Leather Sandals

1. Never rush things when it comes to cleaning leather sandals, the precise beats the fast.

2. Don’t forget to clean the side of the bottom of your leather sandal, it’s one of the most easy-to-forget spots in your sandal.

3. Never put leather sandals in direct sunlight or near any heating source (we’ve said this earlier, but it’s an important note so here we are)

4. Rubbing leather sandals with towels damages the sandals more than it helps cleaning them.

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To Wrap Up

This concludes our guide to How to Clean Leather Sandals, explaining in-depth every possible method to clean your precious leather sandals.

However, never miss the tips we already discussed, so that you can maintain them for as long as you’d like.

If you have any questions in regards to how to clean leather sandals, feel free to contact our CleanersAdvisor experts via the comments section below, and they’ll get back to you soon.

Per our usual procedures, here’s a video to help you with your cause: