If you want to know how to clean used shoes for resale, the answer isn't complicated: you need a good soap, something to scrub with, and a logical sequence. The goal isn't to make a thrifted shoe look like it just came off the shelf — it can't, and buyers know that. The goal is to make each pair look like the best version of what it actually is. Clean soles, a neutral-smelling interior, no price writing on the midsole, no loose threads. Shoes that look well-prepared sell faster and generate fewer questions before the sale and fewer complaints after. Here's exactly what I use, and when in the process I use it.
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Before anything gets wet: tags off, then shoe trees in
The very first thing I do is remove any price tags and stickers — before water touches the shoe. I use the Homidic Mini Heat Gun for this. Hold it a few inches away for five to ten seconds and the sticker peels off cleanly, adhesive and all. The reason this has to happen before cleaning: once a sticker or tag gets wet, it doesn't come off cleanly anymore. The paper tears, the adhesive smears, and you end up picking at it. Thirty seconds with the heat gun before you start saves that whole problem.
After tags are off, shoe trees go in. I use the Angelus Adjustable Shoe Trees. A shoe without trees flexes under scrubbing pressure — the upper creases and moves, which means you're fighting the material instead of working across it. The midsole area near the toe box is particularly difficult to get to on a collapsed shoe. With trees holding the shape open, the shoe sits stable and you can work around the full perimeter without repositioning constantly.
The trees stay in through drying too. I don't pull them until the shoe has air-dried enough to hold its own shape. From there they go directly into photography — the Angelus trees do double duty as a photo prop, which I cover in the photography process article. For cleaning purposes: tags off first, trees in second, then everything else.
Cleaning the outside: soles, midsoles, and uppers
The primary cleaner I use for soles, rubber midsoles, and most upper materials is Dawn Powerwash Spray — specifically the starter kit with the 32 oz refill, which is the spray version, not the original dish soap bottle. The spray format matters. Being able to apply directly to a specific section of the shoe — the heel edge of the midsole, the lug channels on the outsole — without saturating the entire upper is the difference between a targeted clean and just getting everything wet. I spray, let it sit for about thirty seconds on heavily soiled outsoles, then scrub.
The main reason I use Dawn Powerwash over a dedicated shoe cleaner for most jobs is that it handles soles and a wide range of upper materials without me having to switch products mid-shoe. On more delicate materials — suede, nubuck, or anything I'm not sure about — I'll reach for Grandma's Secret Sneaker Cleaner instead. It's a milder formula, and I keep it stocked as the backup for anything I don't want to risk with something stronger.
For scrubbing, my default tool is the Drillbrush Drill Brush Attachment Set, which comes in three sizes: 5", 4", and 2". I attach a head to a drill and work across the sole. The 5" and 4" are close in size and both cover the full width of most outsoles — I use one or the other and don't typically switch between them mid-shoe. What sold me on the drill brush upgrade in the first place was simply speed: a drill attachment moves through a heavily soiled sole in a fraction of the time and with more consistent pressure than I can sustain by hand on a busy cleaning session. The 2" head is there for the midsole edge and tighter sections, though it's not something I reach for on every pair.
The hand brush still gets used, but as an exception rather than the default. I use the YoungJoy 3-Piece Dual Sided Sneaker Brush Set on materials that can't handle the mechanical pressure of a drill attachment — suede, nubuck, woven fabric uppers, and any material where a stiff power brush would rough up the texture or pull fibers. On those, I hand scrub with the same cleaner, just slower and with less pressure. The drill brush is the default; the hand brush is the call when the material needs something gentler.
After scrubbing, I wipe down with Chemical Guys Microfiber Towels. I keep a pack of 24 on hand. The dual-sided design actually matters here: the long-fiber side absorbs suds after scrubbing and does most of the wipe-down work on the underside of the shoe, while the short-fiber side has more grab and is what I use for the midsole — it's firm enough to clean a white midsole without scratching it, and after everything is dry, a quick pass with the short-fiber side brings a small shine back to the rubber. It's a subtle thing but it comes through in listing photos.
Marks that soap won't remove
Price writing on rubber midsoles is one of those problems that looks minor until you're trying to get a black marker price tag off a white midsole and regular cleaner isn't doing it. Thrift stores, estate sales, and church sales all have their own tagging habits — some use stickers, some write directly on the rubber with a Sharpie or paint marker. Soap moves some of it, but not all of it.
The fix is isopropyl alcohol at 99.9% — industrial strength, not the 70% isopropyl from a pharmacy. The difference is meaningful: 70% isopropyl is mostly water and doesn't break down dried ink the same way. At 99.9%, I apply a small amount to a corner of a microfiber towel and rub directly onto the mark. On rubber, it lifts pen, Sharpie, and paint marker with very little effort — usually in one or two passes. I use it specifically on rubber and midsoles. I'm careful about applying it to dyed fabric uppers where it could pull color, but on the sole and rubber areas it's the fastest solution I've found for ink marks.
Cleaning the inside
The interior of a used shoe is where a lot of resellers stop paying attention, and it's often where buyers look first. When a pair arrives, the buyer's first instinct is to open it up and check the insole — condition, smell, foam density. Leaving the interior unaddressed is one of the more common sources of post-sale complaints on used shoes.
For most pairs, I wipe the interior down with a damp microfiber towel — the insole, the heel lining, and the sides of the toe box. If the insole is removable, I pull it out and clean both sides separately. Some pairs that were worn without socks will have visible staining on the heel pad and at the toe — that gets documented honestly in the listing photos rather than hidden, but it shouldn't still be dusty or gritty when it ships.
One issue I started addressing proactively after a buyer complaint: pilling on the inside of the ankle collar. This forms on athletic shoes where the sock fabric rubs against the interior lining over time — small lint balls accumulate in the ankle area where the shoe flexes with every step. It's not visible in most listing photos, but a buyer who pulls the shoe on can feel it immediately. Since that complaint, I run a Magictec Rechargeable Fabric Shaver over the interior ankle area on every athletic shoe where I spot it. It takes about twenty seconds per shoe and removes the pilling cleanly. I now do it proactively on most athletic pairs — faster than picking individual pills out by hand, and it makes the interior feel noticeably cleaner on arrival.
Odor is something I try to catch at the sourcing stage rather than treat after the fact — if a pair smells significantly at the thrift store, I generally pass on it. The sourcing checklist I use covers this in more detail in the main shoe reselling guide. But occasionally a pair that smelled fine in the store starts off-gassing at home once it warms up, or a high-value pair slips through that's worth keeping despite a mild smell. In those cases, I use Febreze Fabric Spray on the interior, let it dry completely before boxing, and note in the listing that the pair was treated for freshness. I don't use it as a routine step — it's the exception for pairs worth keeping.
Finishing: the last pass before photography
After the shoe is clean and dry, there's a short finishing pass before it goes in front of the camera. The heat gun already handled the tags at the start — but it comes back here for two more things.
Fogged cushioning panels. Bubble and gel cushioning on certain running shoes fogs up over time from the inside — you can see it on older Nike Air Max models as a cloudiness behind the clear window. A few seconds of gentle heat from the outside, moving the gun slowly to avoid concentrating it in one spot, often clears that fogging significantly. It's one of those things that makes a noticeable difference in photos for the right pair.
Sole repairs and glue drying. If a sole is separating at the toe and needs a small amount of shoe glue to re-bond it, the heat gun speeds up drying time noticeably. Not a professional repair — but for a minor separation on a pair that otherwise shows well, it holds through normal handling and shipping. The heat gun is also useful on boxes: I reuse shipping boxes when I can, and it lifts old labels and tape cleanly without leaving marks on the cardboard.
Loose threads. Seam threads work loose over time at the collar, the lace loops, and anywhere the upper is stitched to the midsole. Left in, they look sloppy in photos and feel unfinished on arrival. I trim them with DEEINN Thread Trimmers — small sewing scissors with a pointed tip that gets into tight seam areas cleanly. The alternative is melting the thread end with a lighter, which seals it and prevents further fraying. On a light-colored thread I trim — the cut looks clean. On a darker thread in a recessed seam where I want the end sealed, I melt it. Judgment call per shoe.
Once all of that is done, the pair goes on the shelf to air out before it gets photographed and listed. The full sequence:
- Heat gun — tags and stickers off before anything gets wet
- Shoe trees in
- Exterior scrub — Dawn Powerwash and drill brush on soles and midsoles
- Isopropyl alcohol on any ink or price writing on rubber
- Interior wipe — damp microfiber on insole and lining
- Fabric shaver on the ankle collar of athletic shoes
- Trim or melt loose threads
For most pairs, the whole process takes ten to fifteen minutes. Heavily soiled outsoles or pairs with a lot of finishing work run closer to twenty. It's not glamorous, but it's what separates shoes that sell cleanly from shoes that generate return requests.