A clip shared on social media showed a woman putting her dirty shoes in the dishwasher to clean them – and people were left horrified by the ‘disgusting’ method
People have been utterly gobsmacked by a mum’s method for sprucing up the family’s trainers.
There is nothing quite like the joy of prying open a box of fresh, snowy white sneakers, but let’s face it, that brilliance is often short-lived. The pristine kicks soon succumb to the rigours of dirt and diverse terrains. While tossing clothes in the wash is a no-brainer, doing the same with shoes isn’t quite as straightforward – or so we thought.
One savvy woman has touted a household appliance as the sneaky solution for spick-and-span footwear. The mum, treated as a bit of a viral sensation known as The Daily Nelly online with a whopping 4.4million followers for her life hack videos, showed her mother chucking various sneakers into their dishwasher.
Not content with just the top rack, some runners made the cut on the bottom shelf too, nestled next to plates and bowls, all ready for a ‘tough’ cycle scrub-down, detergent and all. By the end of the mammoth shoe wash-a-thon, seven pairs of previously grubby shoes went in; what came out were reborn, gleaming, almost-mint condition beauties.
The mum, from Minnesota, the US, said: “They are going to clean up so beautifully, you’ll be so impressed.”
And indeed, once the buzzer dinged, the mother-daughter combo paraded their transformed, now-sparkling white shoes. Despite the victorious revival of the trainers, the viral video, which has snagged a juicy 1.2million views, has left viewers incredulous with bewilderment.
Among the barrage of comments, one person penned: “Prime example of why I don’t eat at anyone else’s home.” “What’s wrong with a washing machine?,” another said.
Another added: “With the f***ing dishes. Yes, the things we learn on TikTok is that people are f***ing disgusting. “With the dishes is diabolical,” chimed in another. “Absolutely not,” said another. “I’m traumatised,” admitted another.
It is worth noting that while your shoes might get clean in the dishwasher, it could ruin them. Leather shoes are generally not recommended for the dishwasher, but rubber-based shoes could potentially survive a gentle cycle without damage.
Previously, cleaning guru, Lynsey Crombie, appeared on ITV’s This Morning and revealed that hot steam melted the glue holding her trainers together. She confessed: “I had to try it, and do you know what? One of my trainers had a little bit of duck poo on it from walking the dog and I thought, ‘those are the ones to put in, lets give this a go’. Do you want to see the result? I don’t recommend this.”
The show then aired footage of Lynsey putting her shoes in the dishwasher, before cutting back to the studio where the Queen of Clean displayed her ruined trainers. She pointed out: “Split there, the inside has all come out, and the pink [on the back] dyed the laces as well.”
The Spruce advises: “Do not use your dishwasher to wash tennis shoes or athletic shoes. The high-heat drying cycle can shrink and melt shoe parts.”
Have you tried this method? Comment below.