Why You Should Coat Your New Shoes Before You Wear Them

So you just got the clean cop on some new shoes, and you can’t get home fast enough to start flexing in them. Of course, like every other sneakerhead, you want to put your new whips on now, and I mean NOW. But before you do that, you and your shoes would benefit from a nice treatment and coating of a rain ‘n stain of your choice before you wear them.

But I want to wear my new joints already!

Yes, I’m sure you do, but giving them a generous, liberal spray of that water/stain repellent will do them really good should something unfortunate happen, like spilling some beverage, someone stepping on them, stepping in mud, etc.

But I’m gonna clean them anyway when it’s time to clean my shoes.

And as you should, but applying the repellent before your first wear (and after you clean them) will make it easier for you to clean them in the future because your shoes won’t take on as much dirt and stain as it normally would without a coat of repellent.

I’m not going to step in dirt or mud in them, though.

Unless you live in the CDC headquarters, the ground/floor you step on will more than likely be dirty. And said dirt will accumulate and stain the outsoles of your shoes, slowly but surely. So, coat them.

So, you’re telling me that a repellent will keep my shoes clean.

Well, cleaner, and for longer. It will minimize stains and marks that your shoes will take on. Less dirt to clean means less time spent cleaning your shoes. And if you’re a sneakerhead with 15+ shoes, thoroughly cleaning your shoes could take 1-2 hours minimum. Wouldn’t you like to reduce that cleaning time, even by a little bit?

Where can I find a stain repellent?

Any shoe store should and more than likely will have a little display full of stain repellents, along with other sneaker cleaning materials you definitely should have. Even Payless has stain repellent, so any Finish Line, Foot Locker, Shoe Palace and other sneaker boutiques will definitely have some.

But if I use the repellent, won’t I have to wait to wear my shoes?

Yes. Depending on the brand, you may have to let your shoes sit for 10 minutes, an hour, or even a day; it depends on the brand and its recommendations. But your shoes aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so you can wait. And if you love your shoes and value your money, you will.