How to Dry Shoes

How to dry shoes? After it rains or you step into a puddle, it is important to fully dry your shoes. But drying shoes can be a challenge. In this article, I’ll describe exactly how to dry your shoes every time they get wet.

6 ways to dry your shoes are as follows:

Newspaper
Rice
Toilet Paper
Electric Fan
Shoe Dryer
Clothes Dryer

Perhaps the easiest method for drying shoes is the newspaper method. The steps for drying your shoes with the newspaper method are as follows:

Remove the insoles of the shoes and dry them separately.
Loosen the shoelaces and open up the shoes.
Roll pieces of newspaper into a ball and stuff them inside the shoes.
Put the shoes in a dry spot indoors.
Get a fan or a space heater and put it near the shoes but not directly.
Replace the newspapers if they are already soaked, and your shoes are not yet dry.

Wet shoes left to dry by themselves will degrade the material they are made of. If you don’t fully dry your shoes after they get wet, they will not last long. By following the advice in this article, your shoes will be dry in no time.

Read on to learn more about drying shoes, including the exact steps for the 6 different methods.

You can’t avoid getting your shoes wet occasionally. Your pair of shoes can get wet from heavy rains, flooded streets, or if you accidentally step in a puddle.

It’s a mistake if you will let your shoes just lie there and let the air do the drying. It will destroy the beauty of your shoes. Below are 6 different ways to dry your shoes, including the steps for each method.

1. Newspaper

As mentioned earlier, the most common way most people dry shoes, and one of the easiest ways, is with rolled-up newspaper stuffed inside.

The steps for the newspaper shoe drying method are as follows:

Remove the insoles of the shoes and dry them separately.
Loosen the shoelaces and open up the shoes.
Roll pieces of newspaper into a ball and stuff them inside the shoes.
Put the shoes in a dry spot indoors.
Get a fan or a space heater and put it near the shoes but not directly.
Replace the newspapers if they are already soaked, and your shoes are not yet dry.

Besides putting balls of old newspaper inside the shoes, you can also wrap the shoes with sheets of newspaper. Follow these steps:

Layer 2 to 3 sheets of old newspaper.
Set one shoe on top of the sheets of newspaper.
Wrap the newspapers around the shoe. Do it as tightly as you can to enable the sheets to absorb as much moisture from the shoe.
Get 2 to 3 rubber bands and use them to tighten the newspaper wrap so it won’t get undone.
Wrap your other wet shoe in the same way.
Wait for the shoes to dry.
Check the shoes after 2 to 3 hours if they are already dry.
You may have to repeat the process if you see that the newspaper sheets are already soaked up with moisture, and yet the shoes are still wet. It could take several hours and even overnight before they become completely dry.

Tips When Using the Newspaper Method:

Don’t use newspapers with large prints of dark or black ink.
Don’t use newspapers on white shoes. The ink colors in the newspaper may blot the surface of your white shoes.
You can buy blank newsprint if you are worried that newspaper ink will leave blot marks on your shoes.

2. Rice

You can also use rice to dry your shoes. Here are the steps:

Get a suitable container that can fit your wet pair of shoes. Next, fill the container with rice up to about 1 inch from the bottom.
Lay your shoes sideways on top of the rice and allow a space of about 1 to 2 inches between the shoes. Then push the shoes down so that they are slightly buried in the rice.
Cover the container and wait for about 2 to 3 hours. Make sure that there is a tight seal on the cover and the container.
After 2 to 3 hours, remove the cover. Check the shoes if they are already dry. If there is still some moisture left, cover the container and wait for one more hour.
If your shoes are fully soaked, you may need to let the rice dry them overnight.

3. Toilet Paper

Toilet paper can dry a lot of things, including wet sneakers. Here’s how to use toilet paper to dry your shoes faster:

Remove your wet sneakers.
Wrap your wet socks with paper towels. You may need several layers of toilet paper to wrap your feet.
Put on your wet shoes.
With your feet wrapped in toilet paper, press them against the shoes.
This method will dry both your socks and your sneakers.
If your sneakers have inner soles, you may need to pull them out or put some toilet paper under them.

Here’s an alternate way of using toilet paper to dry wet shoes:

Stuff the toilet paper inside the shoes. It will absorb the moisture left inside.
Cover the outer parts of the shoes with toilet paper to absorb the moisture on these parts.
To quicken the drying time, hang the shoes on a running table fan.

4. Electric Fan

You probably have an electric fan or a box fan at home. It can help you quickly dry your wet shoes. So, how to dry shoes fast using an electric fan? Here’s how to do it with an electric or box fan.

a. Prepare Two Wires That Measure 6 Inches Each

The size of the wire should preferably be 12-gauge. You could use the wires of a clothes hanger. Just cut the hanger into two pieces at 6 inches each.

b. Bend the Two Wires so That Each of Them Will Acquire an “S” Shape

Here is how to make an S-shape wire:

First, grab the middle of the wire. Then, bend it to form a big hook. Hold the other end of the wire and shape it like a small hook facing the big hook’s opposite direction.

So, what you will have is an S-shape wire with two hooks on both ends. One hook is bigger than the other, with the smaller hook facing the opposite direction.

c. Get a Box Fan or an Electric Fan and Hang the Wire Hooks on the Front

Feed the small hook through the front grate of the fan near its top edge. Do the same with the other wire hook but give a distance of about 3 to 4 inches from the first wire hook.

d. Hang Your Shoes on the Bigger Hook, Facing the Fan

Be sure to remove the shoelaces before hooking up the shoes on the fan. And ensure that no part of the wire hooks touches the fan blades.

e. Set the Box Fan on High and Turn It On

The fan should run at its highest speed so that your shoes will dry faster. Check the condition of your shoes every 20 to 30 minutes to see how far they have dried. This method may take one hour or more to dry soaked shoes completely.

You may need to put a thick cloth or towel under the fan to catch the moisture that drips from your wet shoes.

5. Shoe Dryer

If you don’t want to go into all the trouble preparing the tools and drying materials, you can use a shoe dryer instead. Of course, you need to buy this device if you don’t have one yet. The average price of shoe dryers is not that high. But it will be the safest, fastest, and most convenient way of drying your wet shoes.

While shoe dryers vary in styles and sizes, they are generally composed of one or two tubes that can go inside the shoes. This allows for the shoes to dry quickly and without damaging them.

How do you dry shoes with a shoe dryer? Follow these 4 steps for drying your wet shoes with an electric shoe dryer:

Remove the insoles of your shoes.
Put your shoes on the drying tubes. Some models will require you to place the dryers inside your shoes. Make sure that the toes of the shoes are higher than the heels. This trick will ensure that the drying time will be faster.
Allow about 6 inches of free space between the base and your shoes.
Turn on the shoe dryer and let it run based on the recommended time.

6. Clothes Dryer

You can also use a clothes dryer to dry wet shoes, but only if you have no other way to do it. A clothes dryer can ruin both your shoes and your dryer. But if you take the necessary precautions carefully, and if you do it properly, it can be done. Here’s how to dry your wet shoes in a clothes dryer:

Put your shoes inside the clothes dryer. Don’t remove the shoelaces.
Close the door of the clothes dryer with the shoelaces over and outside the door.
Pull the shoes with their shoelaces and let them hang in the middle, inside the clothes dryer.
Tie a knot on the shoelaces so they can’t be pulled inside the clothes dryer. This trick will help the shoes stay in the middle and won’t bang around the clothes dryer and get scratches.
Run the clothes dryer on low heat. Set the dryer to its lowest heating temperature. This setting will reduce the risk of damaging your shoes.
Allow the dryer to run one full cycle and check if the shoes are still wet.
Run the dryer for another 20 to 30 minutes if there is still moisture in the shoes.
After the cycle, untie the knot on the shoelaces and remove the shoes out of the clothes dryer.

It is better to check if your shoes are safe to put in the clothes dryer before resorting to this method. If it is, set the clothes dryer on low heat only to avoid shrinking or even burning your shoes. Don’t set the dryer on high heat, or it will ruin your shoes.

Conclusion – How to Dry Shoes

How to dry wet shoes? 6 of the best ways to dry shoes are as follows:

Newspaper
Rice
Toilet Paper
Electric Fan
Shoe Dryer
Clothes Dryer

The newspaper method of drying shoes is very convenient as newspapers can be easily found. However, my favorite method is using a shoe dryer.

You need to dry wet shoes, especially if it is an expensive pair. Following these drying methods, every time your shoes get wet, you can dry them fully and preserve the quality of your shoes. Your shoes will be able to stay as fresh as when you first bought them.