4th July 2023
Regardless of hating how the within of my Birkenstock ‘Arizonas’ appeared, it had nonetheless by no means crossed my thoughts to wash them! Till I noticed an e-mail pop into my inbox from Schuh with some useful suggestions, so I believed I’d give it a go.
1. THE BICARBONATE OF SODA TECHNIQUE
Combine 2 elements bicarbonate of soda with 1 half water to create a paste.
Brush the surplus grime off utilizing a suede brush, then use a brush (an outdated toothbrush will do) to rub the paste into the sandal avoiding the cork half.
Wipe with a humid sponge (strive to not soak), dry with a material then put aside to dry away from direct daylight.
When dry, brush them as soon as extra with the suede brush.
The outcome? A barely cleaner Birkenstock. It wasn’t going to win any awards however at the very least I removed some germs.
To say I used to be underwhelmed was an understatement however it did remind me that I by no means actually take time to take care of, clear, brush and restore footwear and it was actually therapeutic.
2. THE SANDPAPER TECHNIQUE
After posting my outcomes on TikTok, a couple of individuals urged the ‘sandpaper’ approach, as beneficial within the New York Occasions – it’s extra of a dry technique and I attempted it on my beforehand cleaned sandals, which got here out splendidly – the kind of outcomes I used to be anticipating the primary time.
However in case my take a look at was defunct (as I had beforehand cleaned mine), I made a decision to check this technique on probably the dirtiest Birkenstocks I’ve come throughout: Chris’s.
The approach is mainly to sand them (we used 180 grit paper) till the highest layer rubs away (you may lose the Birkenstock emblem). If there may be dried crust (!) you should utilize a flat head screwdriver to scrape first.
I then cleaned the straps with a humid material and polished some beeswax into the leather-based (I used some Burt’s Bees child ointment we had from the youngsters). They appeared surprisingly good and I even glued a little bit of the only real again down (though a cobbler can be a greater possibility for this).
I’ve additionally seen Hannah Rochell repainting her buckles utilizing Hammerite paint.
Bringing life again to those sandals (ones which we get a LOT of use out of) introduced again a lot pleasure and inspired me to take a seat and chill out for some time. It sort of wasn’t concerning the finish outcome however the enjoyable of the mend. And I hope to do extra of it.
