How To Remove Yellow Stains From White Shoes (6 Methods)

Looking for tips on how to remove yellow stains from white shoes? This post gathers the easiest and best ways to clean dirty white shoes that turned yellow.

White shoes get stained and mucky with daily use. Proper care is important to keep them looking brand new. Whether you need to wash leather, mesh, or canvas white shoes, I’ve got the best cleaning hacks to clean your shoes without damaging them!

Let’s get started!

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How To Remove Yellow Stains From White Shoes

Below, I’ve listed the best hacks on how to remove yellow stains from white shoes. Under each tip, I’ve also included a helpful product I felt had the most value for the cost.

Here’s how to wash and restore white shoes that turned yellow!

Best Products To Remove Yellow Stains From White Shoes

1. Use A Soft Bristle Cleaning Brush To Remove Yellow Stains From White Shoes Without Damage

Got dirty white shoes? One of the easiest and best ways to clean white shoes is to use a gentle cleaning brush to scrub away dirt and grime. Soft bristled brushes help clean shoes without damaging or scratching them.

Here’s how to remove yellow stains from white shoes with a soft bristle cleaning brush:

  1. Wet the cleaning brush with water (for extremely dirty shoes, add a drop of dish soap to remove dirt easier).
  2. Using the brush, scrub the dirty sections of your shoes in circular motions.
  3. Run water (use a hose or sink faucet) over the scrubbed areas of your shoe to remove loosen dirt.
  4. For leather shoes, dry with a gentle microfiber cloth. Allow other shoes (like canvas and mesh shoes) to air dry outside in the sun.

To keep white shoes spotless and pristine, remember to clean them regularly using this method. For everyday shoe cleaning, I highly recommend owning a soft bristle cleaning brush like this one from Amazon. This is an excellent quality cleaning brush perfect for scrubbing shoes and getting into dirty, hard-to-reach places.

For only around $5, this is a great basic household cleaning brush to maintain squeaky clean white shoes. The bristles are soft enough to be used on all materials like leather, canvas, and mesh. It’s a handy, inexpensive brush to easily remove dust and dirt off white shoes. Otherwise, try using a toothbrush to clean your shoes.

2. Use Dish Soap To Gently Clean Dirty Shoes

Looking for an easy hack on how to remove yellow stains from white shoes? Try using a mild dish soap like this one from Mrs. Meyer’s to help loosen dirt and stains from your white shoes.

To use, add a few drops of dish soap onto a wet soft bristle cleaning brush or tooth brush. Scrub your brush in circular motions over the dirty sections of your shoes. Rinse out the excess soap and loosened dirt with water. Dish soap breaks down surface dirt quickly, making it super easy to clean your shoes with minimal scrubbing.

For everyday home cleaning, I highly recommend trying out Mrs. Meyer’s Liquid Dish Soap in honeysuckle scent. This dish soap smells amazing, is gentle on your hands, and cuts through grease like nothing. It’s a great cleaner and mild dish soap to use around the home, as well as, on shoes that turned yellow.

Dish soap is a staple cleaning product at my home. It’s hard on grime and dirt, but gentle enough to use on most surfaces without damaging them. For more ideas to use dish soap, check out this post on 11 clever and cheap ways to use dish soap around the house.

3. Can’t Remove Tough Stains? Use A Commercial Shoe Cleaner + Whitener

If you own a large collection of white shoes, it can be a huge headache to keep them clean and spotless. One of the easiest and best ways to remove yellow stains from white shoes is to use a commercial shoe cleaning and whitening kit. A well formulated shoe cleaner will bring your dirty white shoes back to life with little effort.

Beware of bad shoe cleaners and whiteners with harsh, abrasive ingredients. Poorly made cleaners can stain and permanently damage your shoes. Before purchasing a product, make sure to check out reviews.

If you are looking for quality shoe cleaner and whiter set, I highly recommend this Alloda Shoe Cleaning Kit (it’s only around $15!). This kit comes with all the shoe cleaning essentials: a shoe cleaner, white shoe polish, two-sided cleaning brush, and microfiber cloth.

The white shoe cleaner is gentle, biodegradable, and doesn’t contain any harsh ingredients. There’s also no drying time so you can immediately wear your shoes after cleaning. This kit works well all fabrics (leather, suede, canvas, mesh, nylon, etc.). If you own several pairs of white shoes, I high recommend keeping a shoe cleaning and whitening kit at home.

4. Use A Magic Eraser

Looking for a tip on how to remove yellow stains from white shoes? Use a Magic Eraser to clean white shoes and make them look new again. Magic erasers are excellent at cleaning white canvas shoes, running shoes, and sneakers that turned yellow. A little Magic Eraser goes a long way. Tip: you can cut the Eraser into smaller sections to use for later.

Note: avoid using Magic Erasers on white leather shoes. Magic Erasers might remove the leather coating, making your leather shoes less protected and more vulnerable to damage.

Here’s how to remove yellow stains from white shoes with a Magic Eraser:

  1. Clean off surface dirt from your shoes with a wet microfiber cloth.
  2. Wet a Magic Eraser and scrub the dirty parts of your shoes in a circular motion. As you scrub, eraser bits will fall off. Make sure to clean your shoe over a trashcan.
  3. Hose down your shoes to get rid of loosened dirt and eraser bits. Allow your shoes to air dry outside in the sun.

Magic Erasers easily remove tough stains like magic. I highly recommend keeping a box at home for everyday home cleaning. You can get a 6 pack of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for around $5 on Amazon!

If you’ve ever used a Magic Eraser, you’ll know how amazing they are at “erasing” grime, dirt, and stains. When I first used a Magic Eraser, I was surprised by how effortless it was to scrub off difficult dirt from my bathtub. It’s currently a staple cleaning product at my home!

5. Remove Tough Stains From White Shoes With Baking Soda

Baking soda is a staple multipurpose home cleaning product. You can use it to effectively and affordably clean your entire home! It is no surprise that it’s one of the easiest and best ways to clean white shoes.

Here’s how to remove yellow stains from white shoes with baking soda:

  1. In a small bowl, add a tablespoon of baking soda and warm water. Mix the solution until a paste is formed.
  2. Dip a soft bristle cleaning brush or toothbrush into the mixture and scrub the dirty sections of your shoes in circular motions.
  3. Let the baking soda paste sit on your shoes for an hour before rinsing it off with water.
  4. If needed, repeat steps 2 to 3 until your shoes are completely clean.
  5. Dry your shoes with a microfiber cloth or under the sun outside (don’t put leather shoes out in the sun).

Baking soda is an excellent cleaner for dirty white shoes. If you don’t already have baking soda at home, I highly recommend this 12 ounce baking soda by Clabber Girl.

Most baking soda products come in a flimsy cardboard box. Thankfully, this baking soda has a secure lidded container so you can easily store the baking soda and keep it fresh! This is an excellent, high quality baking soda for cooking and cleaning. For only around $1, I highly recommend it!

6. Wipe Off Surface Dirt With Baby Wipes

Above, I’ve gathered the best hacks on how to remove yellow stains from white shoes. In order to maintain white shoes and prevent them from turning yellow, it’s important to routinely clean your shoes.

Baby wipes are one of the best wipes to gently clean off dirty shoes. Baby wipes quickly clean and remove surface dirt from shoes, making white shoes look new again. They are gentle enough to be used on most fabrics like leather!

I highly recommend using unscented baby wipes like these ones from Kirkland Signature. You get 100 wipes for just under $10! It’s way cheaper and works more effectively than shoe cleaning wipes!

A baby wipe is a super easy and cheap product to clean your white shoes fast. Baby wipes can help white shoes look brand new again. For extremely dirty shoes with tough yellow stains, you might need to try using other solutions from this post.

Summarized: How To Remove Yellow Stains From White Shoes

Not sure how to remove yellow stains from white shoes? Here are the easiest and best ways to clean white shoes summarized:

Note: The recommended products listed below can be used on most shoe fabrics (leather, canvas, mesh, etc.) unless noted. Always double check to ensure that a product works well with your shoe’s material.

White Shoe Cleaning Tips:

  1. To scrub your shoes without scratching or damaging them, use a soft bristle cleaning brush or used tooth brush. A brush allows you to easily clean dirt in hard-to-reach spots.
  2. Dish soap can be used to loosen up dirt for easier cleaning. To use, add a few drops of mild dish onto a soft bristle cleaning brush and scrub.

Best Tip On How To Remove Yellow Stains From White Shoes

One of the quickest ways to clean white shoes is to use baby wipes. Baby wipes are gentle, are easy to use, and clean off surface dirt and gunk from shoes effortlessly.

White Shoes Cleaning Hacks: Tough Yellow Stains

  1. If you own multiple pairs of white shoes, I highly recommend keeping shoe cleaning and whitening kit at home. A well formulated product will help you bring your white shoes back to life with little effort.
  2. Magic Erasers are excellent at making white shoes look new again! To use, add a little water onto a Magic Eraser and scrub. Note: avoid using Magic Erasers on leather shoes.
  3. Baking soda is excellent at removing tough stains from white shoes. Make a paste (1 part baking soda and 1 part warm water) and apply using a soft bristle cleaning brush.

Conclusion

In this post, I’ve included the best tips and tricks on how to remove yellow stains from white shoes. Dirty white shoes can seem impossible to keep clean, but with the right tools, it’s totally possible to keep your white shoes looking immaculate!

If your white shoes have turned yellow, I highly recommend scrubbing them with a soft bristle cleaning brush and a couple drops of dish soap. For tough stains, try using a Magic Eraser (avoid using on leather shoes), or baking soda.

If you own multiple white shoes, I highly recommend keeping a quality commercial shoe cleaning kit and whitener at home. A good shoe cleaner and whitener will make your white shoes look bright and new. To clean your shoes quickly, use unscented baby wipes to get rid of surface dust and dirt.

Before purchasing a shoe cleaning product, determine what fabric your shoes are. One product that cleans white sneakers well may be harmful for white leather shoes, so make sure it performs well on your shoes’ fabric.

This post lists the easiest and best ways to clean white shoes. I hope these cleaning tips were helpful. Good luck!