Shoe Drying

Just when I thought I won’t be blogging about shoes so soon, here I go again…

For this entry, it’s not on the washing of shoes, rather, it’s about the drying of shoes, as my title suggests. I went to check on my newly washed shoes this morning, & realised they’re not completely dry yet, so I placed them under the beam of sunlight, hopefully to get them to dry at a faster rate. I went back to check them at noon. They don’t feel any drier than in the morning, so I placed them properly back under the intense beam of sunlight.

In the late afternoon, I did another routine check on them. Still very moist to the touch. I’m getting a bit worried if they will dry by tonight so I can get them ready for tomorrow morning. The next thing I did was getting the shoes hanged in front of the table fan with the fan speed at maximum. While the shoes dry in that manner, I went online & searched for the various ways to dry shoes in the quickest way.

Here are some interesting ones. Let‘s compare:

1) After washing, stuff the shoes with newspaper. Check them in a few hours. Remove the moist paper and stuff them again with dry paper. Repeat until dry.

Pros: Shoes dry within 24 hours as the newsprint wicks the moisture away. Not only does it not distort the shape of the shoes, it keeps the shoe shape in better condition.

Cons: The coloured ink of the newsprint may bleed into the fabric of your shoes. May cause soiling/staining of the inside of the shoes.

2) Place the washed shoes in front of a small fan & turn the fan speed up to the maximum.

Pros: They dry usually in less than 12 hours. As no heat is being used, it does not shrink the shoes.

Cons: The fan runs on electricity. This method uses a fair amount of fuel just for drying the shoes alone as the fan couldn‘t be utilised at the same time for other purposes.

3) Place the washed shoes at the area where the warm air escapes from the compressor in your refrigerator. The warm air does a great job in drying the shoes. Be sure to place the inserts to retain the shape of the shoes. Alternate way would be the warm air from the air-conditioner compressor.

Pros: Shoes usually dry within 12 hours. This method also makes use of an appliance that is already running/in use.

Cons: The heat from the warm air may cause certain shoe materials to shrink, making the shoes lose shape.

4) Place heatproof inserts into the shoes. Place both shoes in a laundry bag. Place the bag into the dryer & dry on low heat for 1 to 2 hours.

Pros: This method is the fastest by far, taking only 1 to 2 hours for the shoes to be completely dry.

Cons: Shoes may shrink due to heat exposure.


Well, I guess I’ll still stick to method 2, & hopefully, it’ll dry by the time I head to bed. If not, I may need to use a hair-dryer to speed up the process.