Thursday, April 16, 2009

TOMS Shoes - How awesome, how smelly, and how to wash them!

TOMS Shoes are quickly becoming a favorite where I live --
Mobile, AL.


I'm not going to act like I'm the biggest TOMS advocate out there because I'm not. i do LOVE my two pairs and will probably invest in more in the future, but I'm not going to join in on wearing NO shoes today. I just did a blog post on how plantar warts are CONTAGIOUS! Do you think I'm an idiot? But I will be wearing my TOMS. I think that counters my support.

For every pair of TOMS you buy a child in need gets a pair. To check it out and buy yourself some sweet TOMS visit:

TOMS Shoes.com

Anyways, the one down side of these shoes is that they get smelly fast, especially if you walk in water. I highly recommend NOT walking in water. Also, I have sweaty feet so they get smelly even faster. I thought I couldn't wash these shoes because the insole is made of leather so I bought some Odor Eaters and kept truckin, but now I have found a way to successfully clean them!

How to clean TOMS Shoes:
First, you'll want to wash them by themselves on the most gentle cycle you have in the washing machine. Add laundry detergent, whatever. Wash.

Second, you'll want to dry them on LOW or NO heat and you'll want to do that with a bunch of WET towels, or if you have a dryer rack (They're sold with all Sears appliances, just repping.) then dry them on there. I prefer the dryer rack option, but we don't have those here at college. I also use a dryer sheet.


SIDE NOTE: When you get them out of the dryer and put them back on your feet they may feel shrunk or the leather inside may have curled up. NOTHING to fear. Just wear them for like 10 minutes and they're back to normal, dear!

Now go out and wear some TOMS, support kids in need, and don't be smelly unless necessary!

For more great How to's and articles, I currently blog at www.katieallred.com

47 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this!!! I recently got a pair of black burlap Toms as a gift (and necessary wardrobe item) for being a bridesmaid in my friends wedding. This weekend I went disc golfing and my toms got all dusty and muddy (I'm not a great frolfer) so I've been searching the interweb trying to find something to aid in my desire to fix this dire problem, and alas, here it is! Thank you! We are T minus 60 minutes away from perfect toms.

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    1. Do NOT buy Toms anywhere else but www.Toms.com. Fakes abound and they do not provide shoes to kids in need nor are they well made.

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  2. This method is wonderful! I tossed my TOMS into the washer with some stain-removing detergent, washed them on the gentle/ handwash cycle and they came out looking good as new! I dried them outside in the sun so now they even smell extra nice. Thanks so much!

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  3. Hey thanks for the tip on washing, but I was just wondering where that picture of those TOMS above came from. I looked on the website and they weren't there. Are they just out right now? Because those are super cute and I would like to get some! Thanks!

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  4. Yes, thanks so much for the cleaning tip...I'm pregnant with not only swollen feet but a super sensitive sense of smell and miss wearing my stinky Toms. I'm glad to find a solution for the stink. I too, noticed that eye-catching print and went on the official site immediately but sadly just the usual. Where can I find that print?

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  5. You don't even need to worry about gentle cycle- TOMS are durable. I probably washed my first pair of toms 45-50 times with no problem. Let them air dry in the sun on my balcony for 2 hours and they'd be just like new. Adding dryer sheets inside while drying also helps.

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  6. This is wonderful! I've been researching how to clean my smelly TOMS and this works wonders!

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  7. THANK YOU! my boyfriend and i have been trying to tend to our stinky-TOMS problem :) haha. your method works GREAT.

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  8. Here's something I found to keep them smelling nice. Everytime I put them on I put scented lotion on my feet first. Now they just smell like lotion instead of feet! :)

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  9. Does anyone know if the water needs to be hot or cold for in the washer?

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  10. google search: "How to clean TOMS"...and tada!!
    Thanks :)

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  11. There is a FAQ section on the TOMS Shoes' website, and this is what it says about caring for your shoes.
    Caring for Your TOMS
    How do I wash my TOMS Shoes?
    We've found that washing machines tend to eat loose change, socks and gum wrappers. Save your TOMS from this sad fate! Hand wash them in cold water with a gentle detergent and let them air dry.

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  12. Thank you so much! My TOMS have been in our garage for about a week (I went somewhere with them that had fleas, don't want them spreading to our cats!) and surprise surprise, there are small spiderwebs in my left shoe! They're dirty and smelly and just.. kinda gross. I'm currently washing towels to get some wet ones and clear out the laundry room! I really hope this works, I read the earlier comments and you have my faith in this method! :) Thanks!

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  13. An alternate drying method, that seems to work very well, lay the shoes on their side and place in front of the refrigerator. My refrigerator has the compressor vent in front, on the floor. The gentle warm air dries the shoes without shrinking or damaging the sole.

    Good luck !
    Kat

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  14. Brilliant! I really have been needing to wash my green canvas Toms, I just took hiking! Normal soap and H2O didn't cut it... I shall go off and start a load of laundry right now! Thank you!

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  15. i have a pair of morocco style which are white with a black print and they were starting to look a little dirty and sad. thanks so much!

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  16. THIS IS FROM THE WEBSITE!
    Caring for Your TOMS
    How do I wash my TOMS Shoes?
    We've found that washing machines tend to eat loose change, socks and gum wrappers. Save your TOMS from this sad fate! Hand wash them in cold water with a gentle detergent and let them air dry.

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  17. LOVE thank you so much! I washed my toms in the wash with the regular cycles, the problem with that was that the soles started to come unraveled. :/ This sounds great and so much better!

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  18. Thank you! They look beautiful! They still smell kind of, but the dirt is G O N E! I shall be spreading the word :)

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  19. This is awesome! I was sitting here at home and I could smell my Toms from across the room. I googled how to clean them and this came up. Thank you! My toms are gonna be deodorized in no time!

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  20. I have a pair of the silver morocco style TOMS and I wore them to school one muddy day (silly me!) and sure enough, they got some mud/GA red clay on them. EW! From all the comments, I will be sure to try this out! Thank you soooo much! :)

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  21. this won't fade the color right? O.o i <3 my toms so they go through pretty much everything with me.....so they get pretty dirty. :/ i hand washed the first pair i ever owned and..... :[ it really faded them. they went from charcoal gray to a very light gray. ugh. thanks for posting :)

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  22. Thank you soooo much for posting this. I haven't been able to wear a pair of my toms for 3 months because they smelled so bad. Now I can wash both pairs and I will be set!

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  23. When you wash them in the washer though, the color fades. How else should i wash them?

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  24. Can you wash glitter TOMS shoes this way too? Thanks!

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  25. @Eva, if I were you, I wouldn't put the glitter TOMS into the dryer. You should let them air dry! If you put them in the dryer they have to potential of getting seriously ruined. It doesn't even take that long to air-dry, my burlaps dry in only a few hours and my canvas'dry overnight... BEST OF LUCK:)

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  26. WHERE can we find the print of the tops in the pic????

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  27. Thanks for the tips! I did one round on the gentle cycle and dried with towels, but unfortunately they're still a little stinky. May try the wash again then dry outside with dryer sheets... I'm a little disappointed that shoes that cost this much become unwearable so quickly!

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  28. Thank you for the tips! My solid black TOMS have become quite stained and stinky haha (sweaty feet :/ ).

    I hope they're ready for me to wear to my movie outing this afternoon.

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  29. Dude. Seriously, you are a life saver!! I FINALLY found a pair of Toms I can wear without slight;y resembling Link from the Legend Of Zelda. I'm a guy, and consequently wear new shoes into the ground.....so needless to say they are a bit on the smelly side. Ok, ALOT on the smelly side. I thought they were toast, but you have given me new hope for my dearly beloved Toms. Thank you!!

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  30. *AS FAR AS THE SMELL GOES*

    Buy yourself some cotton liners (loafer liners for men), sometimes called invisible socks. They are basically socks that don't show in toms! They're the closest thing to being barefoot. I ALWAYS wear them with my toms, and they still smell NEW to this day. You can find them at most department stores. Do this, and you're guarenteed to prevent the stench!

    IMPORTANT** Make sure to buy some with some sort of rubber or grip on the backs of them (against your ankle) so they don't slide off your feet into your toms as you walk.***

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  31. so my dog peed on my toms is there a way to get the smell out? I've tried washing them and they still smell?

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  32. I just got my black canvas TOMS a month ago and I've worn them about 15 times and they REEK even after wearing them for 20 minutes... I'm afraid to put them in the washer and dryer... I got deodorizer balls and they seem to work pretty well, but the inside of my TOMS and filthy! Any other ways to get rid of the stench without using the washer/dryer?

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  33. Baking soda. Try covering them in baking soda and letting them sit in the sun. Stranger things have worked!

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  34. For everyone asking, the model in the pic are the Flower Power Toms from a few years ago. Not sold anymore.

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  35. Thanks for this blog. I have the blue cordoroy with red and orange anchors and gurl they reek. I had a billiant idea that I was going to use febreze cuz I walked on a wet beach with these shoes. And they need more tlc so excelent washing instructions.

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  36. I have some ash canvas Toms and after only wearing them for a week and a half, they got smelly(sweaty feet)and stretched out. Would this work ?

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  37. I wear them to school and all day long, if that helps too.

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  38. Another good way to eleminate smelly and sweaty feet (specially in TOMS) is to put special cedarsoles from zederna in your shoes. I tried it once and I was still surprised. It really works after a few days because of the "magic" cedarwood.

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  39. I wash my TOMS by hand and with some washing powder. That works very well. And I always wear in my TOMS cedarsoles against sweaty feet. The zederna insole made of high-quality cedarwood absorbs the humidity arising in the shoe, without draining the foot skin. The natural antibacterial antibodies of the cedarwood decompose microorganisms and prevent the unpleasant smell formation and the emergence of athlete’s foot and fungal nail (onychomycosis).

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  40. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  41. I've found that for super-stinky TOMS (like the stink that comes from have three fire drills in three days on wet grass, and then having to teach all day in the dirty wet shoes, yuck), sometimes cold water just doesn't do the trick. I've washed mine multiple times with cold water. They survived fine, but still smelled a bit when I took them out and got bad again soon after. Today I finally broke down and went with a hot wash. For the first time they actually smelled normal when I took them out! I'm hoping it's finally done the trick!

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  42. TOMS Shoes are quickly becoming a favorite where I live --. Mobile, AL. I'm not going to act like I'm the biggest TOMS advocate out there ... tomsslippers.blogspot.com

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