Taking your mountain bike out on the trails is a great way to enjoy some fresh air, exercise, and adventure—but it can result in muddy or dirt-covered shoes. Unfortunately, leaving your shoes in this condition can significantly shorten their expected lifespan.
In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about cleaning and maintaining your mountain bike shoes. That way, you can enjoy your shoes for a longer time, as well as keep your closet mud-free.
Why Clean Your Mountain Bike Shoes?
A filthy pair of mountain bike shoes might be a badge of honor, a testament to your adventurous ride. But they’re also a ticking time bomb of mold, mildew, and rot.
Keeping your MTB shoes clean is an excellent way to prevent premature rot and damage, and it’s also a wonderful way to keep your home clean. But can you put MTB shoes in the washing machine, or can you wash bike shoes in the dishwasher?
Though these options might be tempting, cleaning by hand is often the better choice.
How to Clean MTB Shoes
Just like cleaning a helmet, cleaning your mountain bike shoes may be easier than you think, especially if you decide to rinse them off directly after a ride. But, of course, getting rid of long-term dirt is a little trickier. Still, let’s explore both options and discover how to clean muddy mountain bike shoes.
Directly After Your Ride
The best time to clean your mountain bike shoes is directly after returning home from a ride. In most cases, the mud-splattered on your shoes will be relatively fresh, allowing it to slide off with ease.
To clean your footwear after riding, place each shoe beneath a running tap or hose outside if they are super muddy. It will help if you have a soft-bristle brush to scrub the stubborn bits of mud off. When clean leave them to dry in the sun or by a heater inside. A boot dryer is the ultimate way to dry them if you have one.
Cleaning Dried Mud
If you’ve tossed your mountain bike shoes onto the floor or into a closet without cleaning them, it might be a little more challenging to get them clean. The longer dirt is allowed to sit on or in your shoes, the more likely it is to stain or damage the shoes.
As such, you’ll need to follow a series of quick steps to get them clean and keep them maintained. For example, when cleaning dried mud off your mountain bike shoes, it’s best to:
- Gather your cleaning supplies
- Fill your bucket with hot water (but not burning hot)
- Gently brush off the dirt
- Rinse the suds and mud away
- Dry your shoes
- Store your shoes
You’ll need a medium-sized bucket (one to two-gallon capacity), some dish soap, hot water, and a soft-bristled brush to get the job done. You can also use a plain Castille liquid soap if you’re low on dish soap.
It’s best to clean your shoes outside, as you’ll be creating a fair amount of mess. A patio or yard area is ideal.
Fill your bucket halfway with hot water, adding between five and fifteen drops of soap as you fill. Then, dip your brush into the soapy water, being sure to get plenty of suds on the tips of the bristles.
Gently begin to scrub away any dirt or caked-on mud, being sure to never apply too much pressure. If you notice excess dirt on the brush bristles, dip it back into your bucket to clean it off and get more suds.
Continue this process until all the visible grime is gone. Then, use a garden hose to rinse away the soapy mixture (and any small bits of dirt), being sure to avoid the inner part of the shoe as much as possible.
When the water dripping from your shoe is clear, you can remove the insole and set it out to dry. If you own a boot dryer, you can plop your shoes onto its drying arms. When both shoes are entirely dry, go ahead and store them away in a clean, dry area.
Things to Avoid
The first thing you’ll want to avoid is using laundry detergent, bleach, or other common cleaning chemicals on your shoes. These substances may be fine for your laundry, but they can cause significant damage to your mountain biking shoes.
Another common mistake is letting your shoes soak in a pool of soapy water. While this idea might seem logical on the surface, prolonged exposure to water is a surefire way to invite mold and mildew to live in your shoe.
For that reason, it’s also crucial to always remove the insoles of your shoes when allowing them to dry.
A shoe’s insole is almost always padded, making it one of the most absorbent parts of your MTB footwear. Forgetting to take it out to dry separately is bound to lead to unpleasant results, including musty odors and moldy insoles.
Finally, consider the brush you’re using to clean your mountain bike shoes. Is it rough, with stiff bristles? If so, you’ll want to invest in a soft-bristled brush instead. The rougher the cleaning brush, the more likely it is to damage the shoe’s fabric, rubber, and plastic components.
How to Store Your Mountain Bike Shoes
If you clean your MTB shoes directly after each biking session, you may not need to go through a lengthy washing, rinsing, and drying process each time you wear them. Still, it’s crucial to never store your shoes when they’re dirty.
Instead, always store your mountain bike shoes when they’re clean and dry. Doing so will help you avoid premature wear and unwelcome mold growth.
After removing any dirt or mud from your shoes, stick them onto a boot dryer to dry out. You can also let them air dry by placing them in the sun. Once completely dry, you should place them in a clean area, such as a shoe rack or closet.
Wrap Up
Hopefully, this guide will help you keep your mountain biking shoes clean and in excellent condition. That said, MTB shoes are only one piece of gear you’ll need when mountain biking. Explore the rest of our blog for more helpful tips!