Footwear maintenance keeps your shoes strong and looking good. Here are the 12 best shoe cleaning kits for different kinds of shoes.
If you want to always look like a grown, well-adjusted man, do two things. First, always wear a good wristwatch. Second, always keep your shoes clean.
Always. All of them. Your dress shoes and your sneakers. Yes, even your rugged work boots, too. Leather boots are meant to be worn in quickly, not worn out quickly.
That being the case, as much as a low-profile trainer and a timeless oxford or loafer are menswear essentials, so are cleaning kits for shoes. And, of course, different shoe materials need different treatments.
The 12 best shoe cleaning kits here represent all of that.
Quick Take
Here are our recommendations from the list:
Our Pick
The greatest aspect of the TAFT Shoe Care Kit is the variety of brushes. It features a concentrated dauber for shoe cream application, a horsehair brush for cleaning and buffing, and a double-sided brush for both suede and scuff erasing.
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Budget Pick
This kit offers effective foam cleaning for sneakers and delicate materials. Notably, it includes a hog hair brush known for detangling and ideal for various sneaker materials due to its keratin-rich bristles.
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Upgrade Pick
Read on for more info and the complete list…
12 Best Cleaning Kits for Shoes
Here they are, at all different price points. We’ve even subcategorized some kits that are best for specific kinds of shoes!
Best Leather Shoe Cleaning Kits
Some are better for rugged leather boots and others for dress shoes, but for the most part, leather cleaners are universal.
After cleaning your leather footwear, you’ll likely want a nice shine. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to shine your shoes.
Cobbler’s Choice Essential Leather Kit
What makes the Cobbler’s Choice Essential Leather Kit special is that it goes full helicopter parent on you, avoiding all of the potentially harmful chemicals found in many cleaners. It comes with a phosphate-free cleaner, a petroleum-free leather conditioner, and a propellent-free waterproofing spray.
I like it when cleaning kits separate the beeswax and the carnauba wax into two steps.
Manufacturers sometimes combine these two elements in the formula of the conditioner. But with this kit, the leather conditioner (step two) lets the beeswax work alone to re-oil the leather, while the waterproofing spray (strep three) follows that up with a sort of forcefield of carnauba wax.
Also, this kit is great for almost any kind of leather, but that shoe brush is explicitly made for buffing footwear.
TAFT Shoe Care Kit
The best kind of brush you can use on your shoes is a horsehair brush. The hairs are substantial and closely packed, perfect for grabbing dirt, but won’t scratch any sensitive surfaces. Anyone who’s ever played with a horse will know what I’m talking about.
The brushes are one of my favorite parts of the TAFT Shoe Care Kit. There’s a concentrated dauber that you’ll use to spread the shoe cream on the leather surface.
On top of that, it includes a horsehair brush for cleaning and buffing, and even a double-sided brush that has suede-friendly bristles and rubber bristles for scuff erasing.
Pro-tip: You can use the tips of the rubber bristles to dislodge dirt particles in crevices, tooth-pick style.
Like the Cobbler’s Choice kit, the shampoo comes in a spray bottle, which is always convenient.
Stone and Clark Shoe Polish & Care Kit
The Stone and Clark Shoe Polish & Care Kit is a good old-fashioned shoe cleaning system, likely not that different from what your grandfather used on his saddle shoes when he was a lad.
It even comes with three different-colored shoe polishes. There’s brown, black, and neutral. Just remember that a little goes a long way with these kinds of polishes. Still, they’ll give your shoes that HD treatment, bringing vividness to their original color.
I know that sometimes “neutral-colored” shoe polishes can leave a bit of a residue. Just take the shine sponge and the buffing cloth to it until you get the right amount of natural shine.
By the way, this kit comes with a shoe horn that’s adaptably portable.
Tecovas Leather Care Kit
I especially recommend the Tecovas Leather Care Kit for boot lovers. As with any good shoe cleaner, this comprehensive kit comes with leather cleaner, leather conditioner, and even a neutral shine that you can use to add a bit of polish to your shoes.
Additionally, Tecovas packed this kit with a bottle of edge dressing. So, if you’ve been stomping around dirt and rocks in your favorite service boots, you can use this tool to repair any visual damage on soles, heels, and edges in general.
It’s a super-pigmented formula, so it almost even recolors your outsoles.
Of course, you can use the edge dressing on the outsole of any shoe, but let’s be real: we tend to put our boots through a lot.
Horse Hair Brush Leather Shoes Oil Set
Here’s a great budget pick almost as thorough as the other kits on this round-up. It even comes with the coveted horse hair brush and a mini shoe horn.
The reason it’s so cheap is because it’s mainly for oiling and polishing your shoes, so it doesn’t come with a shoe soap of any sort. It’s still a good choice for two situations, though.
First, use mild soap and water on your shoes if you’re on a budget. Remove all the soap, and don’t use too much. The brushes will ensure a good cleaning, while the moisturizer will bring the leather back to life.
Second, this is a great abbreviated kit for traveling and wanting to carry as little liquid as possible. You can always dry-brush dirt off slightly dirty shoes and move on to the conditioning. Obviously, you’ll need a more comprehensive kit for exceptionally filthy shoes.
Luxury Pick Shoe Cleaning Kit
If you’re willing to shell out for a comprehensive upgrade, I’m a big fan of the Saphir kits. Here’s why I think they’re so great.
Saphir Shoe Shine Medaille D’or
Whether you go for the starter kit or a more complete version, the Saphir Shoe Shine Medaille D’or kits are the holy grail of shoe polish kits. They don’t skimp out on any component; all brushes are hand-made. This is likely why it’s a go-to kit for professionals.
While I personally don’t own the Saphir kit, I’ve used it (and seen it used when I get my shoes professionally cleaned and polished) several times.
One particularly special item they have is the professional dauber by the Ralyn shoe company. The handle is wildly stable and gets into tight spaces better than any tool I’ve seen.
Saphir’s cleaner and conditioner formulas are made with a secret ratio, but they use a lot of the typically premium ingredients like natural waxes and mink oils. They bring the suppleness back to old leather shoes.
I’ve noticed that their waxes are way smoother and feel more natural than many other waxes out there that can feel hard or caked when they dry.
Best Sneaker Shoe Cleaning Kit
You can use many of the same leather cleaning materials on leather sneakers. However, here are some great sneaker-specific shoe-cleaning kits.
Jason Markk Shoe Cleaning Foam Bundle
When you’re cleaning traditional trainers, whether they’re rubber or leather, foam cleaners are a good way to go.
For example, if you accidentally use too much liquid cleaner on a perforated rubber shoe, it could get too damp and seep into the interior. Foam will help you better assess how much liquid you’re using.
Plus, I love a waterless cleaner.
The Jason Markk Shoe Cleaning Foam Bundle has equally delicate brushes and a microfiber towel to finish cleaning. Mercifully, this towel dries super fast.
Moreover, the cleaner itself has excellent conditioning properties. I’ve noticed that it brings out a slight glisten on the surface of
Angelus Foam Cleaning Kit
The Angelus Foam Cleaning Kit is another excellent choice when it comes to
What’s unique about this kit is that it comes with a hog hair brush.
Hog bristles are often used for hair brushes since they’re rich in keratin and are good detanglers. Still, these very qualities are why they’re perfect for multi-surfaced, multi-material
Unlike dress shoes, which usually feature one material on their upper, leather,
Raffinata Travel Sneaker Kit
So, the Raffinata Travel Sneaker Kit is made explicitly for white
It comes with a stain-fighting foam cleaner and soft and stiff bristle brushes; there’s even a magic eraser. So once you’ve soft-brushed the upper and stiff-brushed the outsoles, you can get rid of even the smallest imperfections, resulting in impeccable whiteness.
This cleaner works well on mostly white shoes and light neutrals like tans and grays.
Best Shoe Cleaning Kit for Jordans
Getting even more specific, many sneakerheads are unsure of what kit is best to clean their prized Jordans. Here are my top picks:
ReShoeVn8er Signature Kit
The ReShoeVn8er Signature Kit is one of the best sneaker cleaning kits. I love them on Jordans specifically because the cleaner is made with soaps derived from coconut and jojoba oil. Using these oils result in a mild, safe, and all-purpose cleaner that’s delicate, even on suede accents.
Moreover, it doesn’t leave any soapy residue and won’t cause discoloration since it’s so delicate. ReShoeVn8er even blogs about specifically cleaning Jordans on their website.
Ever nuanced, the kit comes with a soft bristle brush, a medium one, and a stiff one.
Two other cool things this kit comes with — shoe trees to keep your
Yes, it comes with pods to safely put your shoes in to throw in the washer. Just make sure only to use this system on extra sturdy
Best Suede Cleaning Kit
With its napped surface, suede needs a bit of specificity with how it’s cleaned. Here are two great kits for that.
Care & Cool Suede and Nubuck Cleaner Kit
The Care & Cool Suede and Nubuck Cleaner Kit comes with a hog hair brush, which we now know is effective in delicately navigating changing and varied surfaces.
This kit’s brush is 100% hog hair, which isn’t always the case in other suede-specific kits.
Suede is napped and, therefore, takes to the natural qualities of hog bristles. It combs through the surface gently and comprehensively. However, the non-abrasive cleaner gets into the subtly deeper grain valleys on suede surfaces that aren’t as common on smoother leather surfaces.
Red Moose Suede and Nubuck Cleaner Kit
This Suede and Nubuck Cleaner Kit from Red Moose is one of my favorite suede cleaners on the market. It is versatile and effective for deep cleaning and quick touch-ups.
The suede brush is brass-wired, which aggressively gets into most suede’s napped surfaces without damage, while the suede eraser’s natural rubber composition buffs away stains. (However, wire brushes aren’t the best for all suede types. It’s best to test in an inconspicuous area).
It does exactly what a magic eraser does on white surfaces, but on suede.
Since you can’t always use a lot of the same leather conditioners on suede, it can be difficult to get its vivid color back after cleaning it. This suede-specific system, especially the renewed formula made of natural oils, perks the grains back up and brightens the color.
FAQs
Here are some questions and answers, of course, regarding shoe maintenance:
What is the best product to clean shoes with?
It depends on what your shoes are made of. Use leather-specific soaps on leather dress shoes and boots, like saddle soap. Foam cleaners work best on rubber trainers and delicate shoes.
What shouldn’t I clean my shoes with?
Be wary of laundry detergent and anything with bleach in it. Absolutely avoid cleaning sprays meant for household surfaces. And unless the manufacturer says it’s okay, don’t throw your
How do you deodorize sneakers ?
You can use a careful spritz of vinegar or leave baking soda in the interior of your
Conclusion: Keep Your Kicks Clean
Fortunately, a lot of shoe cleaning kits are comprehensive, but it is a good idea to have at least one for your
Foam cleaners can spiff up either type of shoe, but there’s nothing like a robust leather soap when it comes to a brawny boot.
No different than keeping your clothes washed or dry cleaned, it is important to keep your shoes clean.
Do you prefer to buy a premade shoe cleaning, or to make your own? Let me know in the comments!
