Whether you’re a dedicated runner or just a casual one, sports shoes are a vital investment. Investing in a quality sports shoe can protect your feet and ankles from injury and make your workout more enjoyable and comfortable.
Although sports shoes don’t require much maintenance, they need to be kept clean while they are in use. It’s essential that your shoes smell fresh, but you also want to prevent moisture and mud from getting in them.
Once you’ve made that investment in those valuable sports shoes, isn’t it also important to maintain those shoes properly to be able to use them for a long time?
As you read ahead on this blog, you will discover some of these major tips on how to choose sports shoes, as we present major tips on how to take care of your valuable sports shoes.
5 Tips You Can Use To Take Care Of Your Sports Shoe
1. Comfort Is Necessary
There is a correlation between technology and comfort features incorporated in the shoes. Many sports shoes have very basic insoles that don’t usually support the entire surface of your feet.
With foam insoles that mold to the shape of your feet, you can improve your comfort while correcting any imbalances. Suitable for all types of sports shoes, preventing foot slippage inside the shoes and relieving pressure on the ball of your foot, bunions, sore feet, and joints, and enhancing balance.
It is best to replace your shoes if they start losing their bounce before their material breaks down and causes injury.
2. Do Not Cross Train
Different companies use different technologies to achieve the same goal – comfort and grip. Sports shoes are all designed with this in mind, but there are many different classifications for them. Sports shoes should never be used as cross-training shoes but rather for their intended purpose.
These shoes have been designed for a particular surface and purpose. For example, trail sports shoes are distinct from road sports shoes.
Road shoes don’t have the grip and protection of rock plates and toe caps you need for rugged trails, but you will be cushioned and have good traction on unforgiving sidewalks. Dirt and rock-resistant trail shoes often have extra-grippy rubber lugs designed to last, but will break down much faster on asphalt and concrete.
It is important to wear them on the surfaces to which they were designed.
3. Rotate a pair of sports shoes
It is equally important for your shoes to take rest days just as your body does.
Over time, the foam in your shoes will become more permanently compressed, providing less shock absorption, and foam needs time to rebound and dry out after getting compressed and sweaty.
Keeping your shoes rotated will extend their cushioning life and allow the foam to rebound to its original state, giving your shoes needed rest and decompression time. Shoes last longer when left unworn for a few days.
Running in a wet or humid climate where your shoes often become saturated, rotating your shoes also gives them time to dry out. An even greater benefit comes from wearing shoes with different stack heights and toe-to-heel drops, which help strengthen tendons and leg and foot muscles.
4. Know Where To Store Them
Excessive heat exposure can cause damage to the glue holding shoes together. The shoes may disintegrate or delaminate, and the material on the upper may shrink, altering its fit.
Make sure you don’t store your shoes at room temperatures that make you feel too hot and you won’t degrade the material. The same applies to leaving them out in rain.
5. Cleaning Is The Key
Your shoes can become extremely dirty when you run outside. You can leave stubborn stains on your shoes from grass, mud, leaves, and water, and sweat, while you work out, can also do damage.
Leaving your sports shoe’s soles in a dirty state can damage the quality of the rubber, and it contributes to the buildup of bacteria you carry around with you wherever you go.
Keeping your shoes clean is required to maintain the quality of your shoes for as long as possible and keep them looking fresh.
Here are some tips to get your shoes clean:
- Unlace them and take their inserts out.
- Use a cleaning brush to remove mud and dirt from your sports shoes.
- Air dry your shoes at room temperature after you clean them.
- Make sure to protect them from water and mud by applying Sneaker Anti-dirt.
6. Let Them Dry Properly
You should air dry your sports shoes completely instead of putting them in a dryer or in direct sunlight if you want them to last long.
It is best to remove the insole from sports shoes, set them aside where they can dry, and insert something absorbent on the inside of the shoe. Let them sit for several hours or overnight, then remove the absorbent material.
When it’s raining or you’re running extra hard, keep a pile of newsprint readily available rather than a glossy magazine, and you’d be good to go.
Avoid These Maintenance Mistakes
Even though there are a few things you can do to keep your sports shoes in good shape, refrain from doing these things:
- Avoid direct or close heat exposure
- You put pressure on the laces and heel collar if you pull them off with your other foot.
- Never machine wash your shoes
- Boxes made of plastic or cardboard can prevent the soles from breathing.
- Save your sports shoes for running/exercise
Conclusion
There is no doubt that regardless of how carefully crafted a sports shoe may be, it will wear out eventually and the glove-like fit will loosen up, the bounce will become spongy, and the sole will lose its traction and wear away.
But with proper maintenance and care will definitely prolong its life. You can extend the lifespan of your shoes by taking good care of them and knowing what to do.
Use these simple steps to ensure that your sports shoe is properly maintained, so you will have a shoe that fits correctly and will enhance your exercise experience!
