Anyone living in a cold place knows that UGG boots are optimal footwear for chilly days; the warm and cozy sheepskin ensures that your feet do not lose precious heat. However, you might be wondering whether cleaning these boots with Dawn dish soap is the best idea.
You can clean your UGG boots with Dawn dish soap, provided you use warm water. Additionally, it would be best if you did not scrub the boots aggressively when using this soap because you may damage the material or remove the boot’s coloring.
The rest of the article will expound on the topic, including how to clean UGG boots using Dawn dish soap and how the soap removes the dirt and stains. Let’s get started!
How To Clean UGG Boots Using Dawn Dish Soap
Regular cleaning is essential to maintaining your favorite pair of UGG boots. Here is a list of supplies you will need before beginning the cleaning process:
- Water
- Dawn dish soap
- Sponges
- Suede brush
- Cotton cloth
- Rags
- Scissors
- Apple cider vinegar
Let’s look at how you should clean your UGG boots.
1. Prepare the UGG Boots for Cleaning
You should not pour water on your boots immediately; because it is likely that the shoes have accumulated a layer of surface dirt. When this dirt mixes with water, it will become significantly more challenging to clean your boots.
Thus, you should gently use a suede brush to remove the dirt and excess salt. Ensure the brush has soft bristles. Scrub the boots for a few minutes until you notice that all the loose dirt has been removed.
For the suede brush, consider the Shacke Suede & Nubuck Brush Cleaner (available on Amazon.com). This brush restores your shoes to their pristine state because it removes heavy dirt and scuff marks on your shoes.
2. Dampen the Boots With Cold Water Containing Vinegar
Pour cold water into a bucket and add a few ounces of vinegar. You can use a plastic bottle cap to measure the vinegar.
Consider Goya Foods Apple Cider Vinegar (available on Amazon.com). This vinegar is 5% acidic, which aids in removing the stains on your boots. In addition, it will not corrode your hands when mixed with water in the right proportions.
Soak your sponge in the water containing the vinegar and squeeze it before rubbing it on your boots. You want the sponge to be damp, not soaking wet.
3. Add the Dawn Dish Soap in Water To Clean the Boots
Ensure your water is warm before adding the Dawn dish soap. The rule of thumb is to add the soap to the water in the ratio of 1:2 for the best outcome.
Consider Dawn Dish Soap Dishwashing Liquid (available on Amazon.com). This soap has 3x more cleaning power than competing products, and it requires less scrubbing. This particular package supplies 56 fluid ounces of soap, which will be sure to last you a long time.
Dip your brush into the water and scrub the boots to clean them. It’s best to scrub in circular motions around the boots to remove all the dirt. Moreover, do not scrub the boots aggressively. Aggressive scrubbing will damage the suede material.
Continue scrubbing the boots for a few minutes until you notice that all the dirt has been removed.
4. Rinse the Boots With a Cotton Cloth
Rinse the boots to eradicate the excess soap. However, do not soak the boots in a bucket of water to rinse. This will cause them to take an excessively long time to dry.
As such, you should use a cotton cloth when rinsing. Dip the cloth in water and squeeze it before wiping the excess soap on the boots.
5. Remove Any Shaggy Shearling on the Boots
After rinsing, you will notice a shaggy shearling on the boots. You should not be alarmed if this occurs—it means that you scrubbed the boots too aggressively in some areas.
It would be best to use your scissors to trim the excess shearling, thus leaving your boots looking good.
6. Insert Rags for Shaping and Leave Them To Dry
You should insert rags in the boots to ensure they do not lose shape when drying. Roll your rags and insert one in the toes and the other in the top part of the boot for both pairs.
Leave the boots to dry in a cool and dry place. Ideally, they should be away from sunlight.
Additionally, do not place them in a heater or next to a fan because they may dry quickly and shrink.
How Dawn Dish Soap Cleans Your UGG Boots
Various scientific theories apply to using Dawn dish soap to clean your UGG boots.
Dawn dish soap is a surfactant that reduces the surface tension of water. This ensures the boots get wet uniformly when scrubbing them with water containing the soap.
The molecular structure of the Dawn dish soap contains two parts, which include the following:
- hydrophobic tail
- hydrophilic head
The hydrophobic part of the molecule is not attracted to water but is attracted to dirt and grease. In contrast, the hydrophilic section has a high affinity to water.
When cleaning your boots, the hydrophobic part is attached to the dirt and stains on the boots, while the hydrophilic head mixes with the water molecules. Thus, the dirt is pulled from the boots and washed away when scrubbing, leaving your shoes clean.
Additionally, using warm water instead of cold water aids in cleaning the boots. Warm water contains molecules with high kinetic energy, meaning that they will be pulled away from each other faster.
Dawn dish soap will dissolve faster in warm water than in cold water, thus minimizing the amount of soap you will use to clean. Furthermore, when cleaning, the hydrophobic part will easily be attracted to the dirt in warm water, making it easy for you to clean the boots.
Conclusion
As you have seen from the description above, you can use Dawn dish soap to clean your UGG boots. Furthermore, certain steps in the cleaning process aid in maintaining the boots. They include the following:
- Properly prepare the boots for cleaning.
- Use warm water to clean the boots.
- Remove the shaggy shearing after scrubbing.
- Insert rags to shape the boots during the drying period.
Moreover, the chemical structure of the Dawn dish soap helps you to clean your UGG boots because it removes all the tough stains.