Cleaning Satin Shoes

[Deenie]

Anyone know how to clean satin shoes? I've tried dabbing at them with soapy water but this doesn't remove the marks and just adds water marks to the fabric. I've heard you can dry clean shoes but Johnson's won't touch anything without a "dry cleanable" label and these don't have one. Any ideas?

[Ethel]

What sort of marks?

You could try gently rubbing with a clean, white eraser.

[Deenie]

Thanks - I'll try that.

The marks are general grubbiness from walking around on grass. (They're my wedding shoes).

[Ethel]

If the eraser doesn't work try a good shoe repairer or the shop where you bought them for advice.

Also, try another dry cleaners. Look in your Yellow Pages for dry cleaners that advertise 'specialist clean'.

As a very last resort, pad them out with clean cloth and hold over a boiling kettle for a few minutes. Then dab with a dry clean cloth. It is important that you leave the cloth inside until they are properly dry to keep the shape.

A last thought - you can buy 'dry cleaning' sheets that clean in your tumble drier. It might be worth a try on a low setting.
Good luck!

[Nelbelmom]

My daughter just arrrived home in tears, because there was a firedrill at school and she was forced to stand outside on wet grass in her favorite pink satin flat shoes. Meanwhile, during the school day her shoes dried and left watermarks on the satin. She didn't have grass stains or much dirt, just watermark stains.

So, I did something that seems to have worked.extremely well. My daughter is exstatic!

1. I used a bit of soap and water, and pressure from my fingernail, to dlean off the tips that were a bit dirty.
2. Then I used a washcloth and dabbed the entire shoe surface to make it evenly wet. -- not soaked all the way through, just evently wet.
3. I stuffed dry wash cloths into each shoe to make sure they retained their shape.
4. I tightly wrapped each shoe in several layers of paper kitchen towels -- makeing sure to cover the toes and the heels as well..
5. Then I left them that way for a while, figuring that the paper towls would wick or blott away some of the moisture and help them to dry evenly without a watermark..

I got the idea because I know that when you wrap used paint brushes in paper, it keeps them from hardening when t hey dry by wicking the mositure out of the brush. somehow, it seemed like it might also work for satin..

[frankiepaige]

What Nelbelmom proposed works a treat, but to make sure the shine stays on, I afterwards smooth the satin of my shoes with a sponge dipped in lukewarm water with a splash of white wine vinegar in it, making sure I rub with the weave. It has an additional advantage of killing any odours, but needs a few hours to dry and air.

[shoppy-holic]

I know this question was asked a while ago but thought I might be able to help, just in case your shoes are still sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe or anyone else is reading this!!

Remove the crusts from a slice of white bread and roll the crust into a ball. Rub this over the stain & it'll either fade dramatically or come out completely!

Sounds crazy but works! Almost completely removed a big black mark from the toe of my ivory satin shoes and it's free!

[jdunkeld]

I tried surgical spirit as suggested on other sites but it was no use. However Lakeland Carpet and Upholstery wipes removed all the grime and grease from my shoes and left them looking like new.

[jdunkeld]

I tried surgical spirit - didn't work - but not washing as I knew it could ruin my shoes. I cleaned them with Lakeland Carpet and Upholstery wipes and they are like new - grime and grease gone.