Yeah, yeah, I know — some people don’t like Crocs. Us though — we’re a Croc family.
Wearing Crocs so often, though, does mean that our Crocs get dirty sometimes. So, we hose them down or scrub them, and then it’s all good for a while. Of course, hosing them down becomes a lot more difficult to do during the winter!
The Easiest Way to Get Your Crocs Squeaky Clean
This past week, it just seemed like everyone’s Crocs were dirty. I loved this idea from Chasing Cheerios for setting up a Croc Wash. But, I was feeling lazy.
Oh, and then there is the fact that there were nine pairs of Crocs to be washed as well. This, of course, means that there were 18 individual shoes. I just didn’t think my kids had it in them.
I kept thinking, “Could I just throw them in the washing machine?” I searched the Internet, and it seemed that this was something that other people were doing, though the actual Crocs company advised against it, as well as some people who talked about it online.
I also found information about washing them in the dishwasher with no heat. If anyone tries it out, more power to you. Personally, I didn’t like the idea of all of our dirty shoes in the dishwasher. It just sounds disgusting, and it wasn’t something that I particularly wanted to do.
A smart person, I suspect, would have checked the washing machine idea on one pair of Crocs, and chance only ruining $30 worth of shoes instead of $270 worth of shoes all at once. I, apparently, am not a smart person. I figured it would work, and didn’t want to find out it worked and then run another load for the other eight pairs.
I threw all nine pairs of Crocs into our front loading washing machine. I put it on the normal cycle, but on the cold/cold setting (which is what I normally do our “normal” cycle on anyway, though it defaults to warm/cold). I put it on high soil level but dropped down the spin speed to “medium,” which was as low as it would allow me to do for that type of wash cycle. I also added in a couple of towels, just because my Mom thought it was a good idea, and it sounded reasonable to me too.
And, then the fun began! We got to watch as our Crocs went this way and that. It was also a treat for our ears, as we listened to the occasional squeak as one Croc would be pushed against the front window of the washer.
Those squeaks were not just for show! When the load was done, our Crocs were, in fact, squeaky clean. And, I was glad that because of my risk taking, there was not another load of Crocs waiting to be washed.
A quick note about washing Crocs with lining: While you can wash them like this as well, you should anticipate having a long air drying time. (When my mom accidentally went into the swimming pool with hers, it took days to dry.)
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Thank you for the tip! Will be trying this very soon!!!
Do crocs make your feet stink? And does your croc make farting noise?
Yes, Stacy! Especially the kind that are lined. I contemplated throwing them away. But I plan to give the washer a try first.
To dry lined crocs after washing, first blot the lining dry with a towel. Then place a fan so that air is moving through them. I tried this after waiting hours, to no avail, for mine to dry. Dried within a few hours after placing in front of a fan. Dry inside an air conditioned space; not outside when hot and humid.
I actually dry my lined crocs in the dryer with no heat.
I’ve done it on low heat, as well, but for a short duration so they didn’t shrink.
I’ve washed my crocs in the washer for years. In fact, I have “house crocs” for guests to wear (no shoes in the house!) that I throw in the dryer after each time they’re worn.
Putting my Crocs in the clothes washing machine did not work. The pink ones are still stained and are gross to look at. I still wear them, I prefer wearing them.
I will put them in the dishwasher and use that method. Any bacteria on the shoes will be washed away. There is so much more bacteria on food than on your feet.
Hopefully, someone has a better solution to this.
If the actual plastic is stained, I wouldn’t think that running them through the washing machine or the dishwasher would help.
Washing them in the washing machine is more meant to be done if they are just dirty and you would like to get them clean. It’s not going to remove stains from plastic, unfortunately.
Did you add any soap or detergent?
Yes, I added some laundry detergent to the load. (Not a ton, but definitely some.)
Excellent source of information for cleaning CROCS, lined or not
Thanks for sharing! Glad you tried it and that it worked. We don’t wear shoes in the house and I’ve been considering to have a set of crocs for guests, who don’t want to bare their feet. The tricky thing is that guests may also wear them to go outside to the patio so I was looking into how to clean them if needed. This post is perfect. Thanks again!
I use a very stiff scrub brush & spray cleanser, with elbow grease.
I buy the first two at Dollar Tree:
* scrub brush has blue & white bristles with white curved handle.
* Awesome brand “Oxygen Orange”, in orange spray bottles.
* for really tough stains, try Ajax or Comet cleansing powder.