Whether you own a dog or don’t, there’s nothing fun about removing dog poop from the bottom of your shoes. It’s difficult and tedious. Fortunately, there are some tricks you can employ to make it easier. Keep reading for information on how to get dog poop off shoes.
Tips on How to Get Dog Poop Off Shoes
If you have dog poop on your shoes right now, don’t worry; we’re going to get that poop off in no time.
Freeze the Poop
If it’s winter, put your shoes into a plastic bag and leave them outside overnight. In the morning, you’ll have frozen poop on the bottom of your shoes. Sometimes, you can just bang your shoes against the ground or the side of something and the poop will just fall off.
If it’s not winter and this doesn’t gross you out too much, especially if you have a deep freezer, you may want to consider putting the plastic bags with your shoes in the freezer. In just a matter of a few hours, you’ll have a much easier time removing dog waste from your shoes.
If the dog’s poop doesn’t fall off as easily as you would like, consider using a sharp object to help with the removal process. Sharp objects like a screwdriver, Philip’s head, or a butter knife works well.
Old Toothbrush
Don’t throw away your toothbrushes! They can be used for cleaning many things, including dog poop off the bottom of your shoes. Use some water and soap and start brushing the bottom of your shoes. If you have a garden hose, that works very well. You’ll have to spray the shoes and old toothbrush once and a while to get it all off. Afterward, you can use the garden hose for cleaning brush bristles.
Small Brush
If you don’t have an old toothbrush, try a small brush instead. Anything you usually use to clean around the house will do. Use a garden house while you’re brushing dirty shoes. It will help with the foul smell and knock off excess poop easier.
Paper Towel
This is probably the first thing you tried to clean dog poop and it can be effective if used the right way. Use warm water and dish soap. Take your time with it. It makes be tedious, but a paper towel is the easiest way and sometimes the fastest way to get dog feces off shoes.
Washing Machine
Throwing your shoes into the washing machine is another easy way to clean a poopy shoe. Depending on the color of your shoes, you can also add bleach to disinfect them and turn those dingy shoes into new-looking ones.
Many dog owners will put their washing machine through a cleaning cycle after cleaning their shoes with dog waste in them. The benefit is that most washing machines don’t get cleaned as much as they should, so cleaning your shoes in the machine serves as a good motivator. No one wants to have dog poop smell on their clothes!
Soak in Soapy Water
If the idea of putting your poopy shoes in the washing machine grosses you out, consider putting them into a bucket with soapy water. You can use dish soap or laundry detergent. The smell of the soap will help with the dog poop smell as well.
Baking Soda and Warm Water
Baking soda is a great cleaner for many things around your house. You can use the formula to get dog poop off your shoes. Mix the baking soda and water inside a spray bottle. With the spray bottle, your brush, or a paper towel in hand spray the shoes and wipe away the remaining poop off the shoes.
Activated Charcoal
This is one of the most unknown tips on how to get dog poop off shoes. Activated charcoal and warm or hot water can help make removing dog feces from shoes easier. It will bulk the poop up so that you can remove more each time.
How to Get Dog Poop Off Leather Shoes
We all know that you can’t get leather wet, so how do you get dog poop off leather shoes?
Freeze Them
The easiest method for how to get dog poop off leather shoes is freezing them. It will remove the poop smell and make removing the dog’s poop easier. Use a sharp object to get the soles clean. On the leather, you’ll have to gently wipe the poop away so you don’t scratch it.
Leather Shoe Cleaner
Leather shoe cleaners can help with the remaining poop if you can’t get it off after freezing the shoes. Leather shoe cleaners often come with a cleaning brush specifically made for leather (soft-bristled), so you can use that with peace of mind that it won’t scratch your leather shoes.
Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar
If after cleaning your leather shoes, you still have a stain on them, you can use lemon juice and cream of tartar (equal parts). Apply the paste to the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. With a damp cloth, remove the paste and the stain will likely come with it. DO NOT use this paste on dark-colored leather as it has a mild bleaching effect.
What to Do About Poop Smell on Your Shoes
Just knowing how to get dog poop off shoes isn’t good enough. You need to know how to get the poop smell off them, too. Freezing shoes does remove the smell from poop shoes. It’s a great trick to remove any foul odors from things.
You can also use baking soda to remove the odor. Place the shoes in a bucket with baking soda sprinkled on the bottom and that will take care of any smell that has decided to stick around.
If it’s your running shoes that have fallen victim to dog poop, you can spray them with an odor remover. The bonus is if they smell from sweat, the odor remover will help with that as well.
To remove odors from leather shoes, TasteofHome has some great tips.
You Now Know How to Get Dog Poop Off Shoes
Now you know how to get dog poop off shoes quickly and easily. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen often so you can simply use one of the ways above to clean your shoes and you can put this all behind you.
If your dog is suffering from soft poop, this is a good read: What Soft Dog Poop Means
You may also be interested in knowing what to do with dog poop until garbage day.
