Table tennis shoe care guide? Easy steps to make them last.

Alright, so my favorite pair of table tennis shoes, the comfy blue ones with the orange stripe? Looked like I’d dragged them through mud after just one match. Way grosser than usual. Figured I better figure out how to clean ’em proper before they fell apart completely. Decided to actually try some stuff out and write down what kinda worked.

The “Oh Crap” Moment & Gathering Stuff

Dumped the shoes out on my kitchen counter. Couldn’t ignore the smell anymore, and the sides of the soles were black. Not cool. Took a quick look in my cleaning cupboard. Grabbed:

• A toothbrush (an old one, obviously)
• A pack of wet wipes (the normal baby-kind, nothing fancy)
• Some dish soap (regular blue stuff)
• A big plastic bowl
• Lots of paper towels or old newspaper
• White vinegar (yup, the cooking kind)

Actually Doing the Work

First, pulled out the insoles. Oh man, the funk! Just held them under warm water from the tap and gave them a good scrub with the toothbrush dipped in dish soap. Used fingers too. Rinsed ’em really well and squeezed out most of the water. Laid them flat on paper towels to start drying.

Then, took off the laces. Chuckled a bit thinking how neglected these little strings always are. Tossed them into the bowl with warm water, a big glug of dish soap, and like half a cup of white vinegar. Left them soaking while I dealt with the shoes themselves.

For the shoes? Took the wet wipes and just rubbed them all over the outside fabric parts – the mesh and whatever that fake leather stuff is. Surprisingly, a lot of the grime just wiped off! For tougher spots, especially the white rubbery bits, wet the toothbrush again with warm soapy water and gave them a solid scrub. Didn’t go crazy, just enough elbow grease. Avoided pouring water directly into the shoe, just wiped it down.

Now the big challenge: drying. Everyone says don’t use heat, right? Okay. Stuffed the insides tight with crumpled paper towels or newspaper balls. Changed them out after like an hour when they felt damp. Kept swapping until the towels came out mostly dry. Stuffed them again and just left the shoes near an open window overnight.

Pulled the laces out of the bowl the next morning, rinsed them super well under the tap, squeezed out the water, and just laid them flat to dry.

Put the dried laces back in, popped the dried insoles back in. Holy cow, the blue looked blue again! They still smelled, well, like shoes – but fresh air instead of locker room doom. And honestly? Piece of cake. Maybe 30 minutes of active work total.

Did It Work?

Used them again last Tuesday night. Still looking decent, feel supportive, no weird glue failure or splitting sole happening. Definitely breathed some extra life into them. Simple stuff lying around the house did the job just fine. Give it a shot!