8 great shoe hacks every man needs to know

You need to have different shoe types for different occasions – dress shoes for official wear, sneakers for casual wear and other trendy designs like boat shoes or mandals if you’re someone who cares about fashion.

When you do buy your shoes, you have to take care of them otherwise they will wear out pretty quickly. It’s also necessary to know some shoe hacks as one day they could come in handy. Here are a couple:

1. When your shoes are stinky

Put tea bags inside your shoes at night and leave them overnight. You could also use baking soda instead if you do not have tea bags. Simply sprinkle some amount of baking soda on the insides of the shoe and leave it overnight.

The smell will be absorbed and will go away.

Remember shoes smell due to all the moisture trapped in them; so make sure you change your socks daily and avoid wearing the same pair of shoes every other day as well as maintain good hygiene by cutting your toenails and cleaning your feet well to prevent the foot's odor.

Smelly shoes (Courtesy) ece-auto-gen

2. If your shoes are slippery

When you buy a pair of shoes and it ends up being so slippery, rub the sole with a sand paper. This will give the shoe some grip and you will be able to move around comfortably without sliding and potentially falling and hurting yourself.

Shoe sole (Courtesy) Shoe sole (Courtesy) Pulse Live Kenya

ALSO READ: 7 important things to look for when buying official shoes for men

3. The shoe is slightly big?

Happens sometimes, especially when you buy shoes online. What you can do is buy insoles and put them inside the shoes for them to fit.

4. Dirty white sneakers?

Well, if you have time, hydrogen peroxide is always the easiest way to make white shoes super clean.

However, if you’re in a rush and you’re looking for a quick fix, use any whitening toothpaste and an old toothbrush that you no longer use.

Brush your shoes gently then wipe with a damp cloth. Be sure to remove the shoe laces and clean them separately to achieve a perfect finish.

How to clean dirty sneakers (Courtesy) Pulse Live Kenya

5. When your leather shoes get wet

Perhaps on a rainy day, crumple up old newspapers and stuff them inside the shoes. This will help absorb excess moisture.

6. To prevent suede shoes from getting wet

If it’s a wet day and you’re planning on wearing your favorite pair of suede or canvas shoes and you do not want them to get wet, create a water barrier – break a candle and rub this gently all around the shoes or on areas that are likely to get submerged in water or get wet.

What you wanna do after is apply some form of heat onto the shoes, if you have a blow dryer or your girlfriend has one, heat them for a few minutes and they will be water-proof.

7. Squeaky shoes

Ever worn shoes and as you walk there are noises? Well that’s from all the friction between the shoes and your feet. Sprinkle baby powder in the shoes before wearing them.

Baby powder (Courtesy) Rodale

8. Spruce them up

Once you get bored of the same old shoes and look, try a few DIYs, even something as simple as switching the laces from a normal color to something colorful can make a big difference!