How to Clean and Care for Soccer Cleats

Six weeks into a season is when cleats start dying, and almost none of them die from playing. They die in a hot car, in a washing machine, or in a kit bag that never got opened between Saturday and Tuesday.

Five minutes after each session roughly doubles how long a pair lasts, which is worth doing on an $80 pair and worth doing twice on a $300 one. This is the routine we give people at The Soccer Factory when they bring in soccer cleats that have aged three seasons in one.

Do this after every session, not just muddy ones. Dust and turf crumbs do as much damage over time as mud does in one go.

1. Knock off the loose stuff. Use a brush or a blunt stick along the soleplate. Do not bang the soles together — that is how studs work loose from the plate.

2. Pull the insoles out. They hold most of the moisture and they dry far faster outside the boot.

3. Wipe the upper with a damp cloth. Warm water, no detergent, working with the grain of the material rather than scrubbing across it.

4. Clean the soleplate properly. Grit packed around the base of the studs is what grinds at the plate and hides cracks you want to catch early.

5. Stuff them with newspaper or a boot shaper. It draws moisture out from the inside and holds the shape while they dry.

6. Loosen the laces and leave them somewhere with airflow at room temperature. Not a heater, not a dryer, not direct sun, not the car.

That is it. No special products, no soaking, no scrubbing brush on the upper.

The washing machine question

This comes up constantly and the answer is no, for a mechanical reason rather than a fussy one.

A cleat is not one piece. The upper is bonded to the soleplate with adhesive, and a machine cycle combines prolonged soaking, heat and violent agitation, which is close to the ideal set of conditions for breaking that bond down. The damage is usually invisible for a few weeks and then the sole starts separating at the toe.

Laces and insoles can go in a machine on their own. The boots cannot.

Heat is the main enemy

This matters more here than in most of the country. A car parked in the sun in San Antonio in September gets hot enough to do real damage, and cleats left in a trunk between Saturday and Tuesday go through that cycle repeatedly.

Heat hardens synthetic uppers until they crack, dries leather out until it splits, and softens the adhesive holding everything together. The same applies to drying them on a heater or in front of a vent, which people do because it is faster. It is faster and it costs you the boots.

Leather

Leather needs the moisture management that synthetics do not. Clean it, dry it slowly at room temperature, and condition it occasionally with a product made for leather footwear.

Do not soak leather and do not let it dry hard and fast. A leather forefoot that has dried out will crack, and a cracked leather upper is finished as a performance boot. If a pair is regularly getting soaked, alternate two pairs rather than pushing one through it.

Synthetic and coated uppers

The easiest to maintain. A damp cloth handles almost everything and they do not need conditioning. The failure mode is heat rather than moisture, so the drying rules matter more than the cleaning ones.

Knit

Knit uppers hold dirt in the weave, so brush them dry with a soft brush before you introduce water, otherwise you push mud deeper into the fabric. They also absorb more water than coated synthetics and take longer to dry, which makes the insole-out step more important.

Knit is common on lighter, thinner speed boots, and those are the least durable uppers in the range to begin with, what makes a cleat fast explains why that trade exists. If a player is in a thin upper, the care routine is not optional.

Two local conditions do most of the damage around here. Rubber crumb from artificial turf works into every seam and around every stud, and it is abrasive. Left in place it grinds at the soleplate and at the stitching where the upper meets the sole. Turf sessions need the brush more than grass sessions do, not less.

Dry, baked Bermuda grass in late summer is harder on a boot than soft ground is. There is more impact through the plate and more abrasion on the upper, and the dust that comes with it gets into the same places the turf crumb does.

Mud is the easier problem, oddly. Let it dry completely, then brush it off. Washing wet mud pushes it into the material and takes three times as long.

Odour is bacteria, and bacteria need moisture. Every fix that works is a moisture fix.

• Insoles out after every session, every time. This is most of the battle.

• Never store them in a sealed bag. A kit bag with wet boots in it is an incubator.

• Alternate two pairs if the player trains most days, so each pair gets a full day to dry out.

• Baking soda or a cedar shoe insert overnight for a pair that has already gone. Sprays mask the smell and leave the cause.

Worth saying plainly, because people bring boots in for the wrong reason. Some failures are fit problems wearing a maintenance costume.

Wear concentrated on one side of the sole, a toe box that has stretched out of shape, a collar breaking down on one boot and not the other, none of those are cleaning issues. They are signs the boot is not matched to the foot, and no routine will fix them. How cleats should fit covers what to look for, and a PRO-fit session will settle it in about fifteen minutes.

The same goes for wearing firm ground cleats on turf. That destroys a soleplate faster than any amount of neglect, and the answer is the right sole type rather than better care.

Almost nothing, which is the point. A soft brush, a cloth, newspaper or a boot shaper, and leather conditioner if the player wears leather. Boot bags are worth having if cleats travel in the same bag as everything else, and a stud key if the boots take removable studs, all of that sits with the rest of the soccer equipment in the bag.

Specialist cleaning kits work fine and none of them are necessary. Warm water and five minutes does the job.

If a pair is already showing wear halfway through the season, bring them in. The Soccer Factory can tell you in a couple of minutes whether it is care, the wrong sole for the surface, or a fit problem that will repeat itself on the next pair too.

Shop soccer cleats and care essentials online, or come into any of the five The Soccer Factory stores in San Antonio, San Marcos, Tomball and Katy. Find your nearest on our locations page or call 800-987-6223.

Can you put soccer cleats in the washing machine?

No. Soaking, heat and agitation break down the adhesive bonding the upper to the soleplate, and the sole starts separating weeks later. Laces and insoles can go in on their own; the boots cannot.

How do you dry soccer cleats fast?

Insoles out, newspaper stuffed inside and changed once, laces loosened, somewhere with airflow at room temperature. Never a heater, a dryer, direct sun or a hot car, all of which crack the upper.

How often should I clean my cleats?

After every session. Five minutes each time beats a deep clean once a month, particularly on turf where abrasive crumb works into the seams.

How do I get the smell out of soccer cleats?

Take the insoles out after every session and never store boots in a sealed bag. For a pair that has already gone, baking soda or a cedar insert overnight. Sprays cover the smell without removing the moisture causing it.

How do I clean leather soccer cleats?

Brush off dry dirt, wipe with a damp cloth and warm water, dry slowly at room temperature, and condition occasionally with a leather product. Do not soak them and never dry them fast, because leather that dries out hard will crack.