How to clean and care for your sandals
Sandal Cleaner has step-by-step guides for cleaning sandals by brand and by material. Sandals take a beating: bare feet, sweat, sand, pool water, and summer heat all leave marks, and the wrong cleaning method can crack cork, stiffen leather, or fade suede.
The guides here are for anyone who owns cork-footbed sandals like Birkenstocks, rubber or foam flip-flops, or leather and suede sandals they'd like to keep wearing for a few more summers. Each guide tells you what the sandal is made of, what's safe to use on it, and what to avoid.
Start here
- Own a pair with a cork footbed? Follow our step-by-step guide to cleaning Birkenstocks, including the suede footbed, the straps, and resealing the cork.
- Flip-flops looking grimy or starting to smell? Read how to clean rubber, foam, and leather flip-flops and get rid of the odor.
The one rule for every sandal
Check the material before you clean. Rubber and EVA foam can handle soap and water, but leather, suede, and cork need a gentler touch and should never be soaked, put in the dishwasher, or dried next to a heater or in hot sun. When in doubt, check the care instructions from the brand that made your sandals.
More guides by brand and material are on the way, including leather sandals and suede straps.