Tip the Water Out of a Soaked Sneaker

The sneaker in your hand still sloshes. You tip it over the mat before it goes on the rack. A few cold drops splatter your bare ankle, and you wince, remembering the puddle you stepped through three blocks back when you misjudged how deep the gutter ran under the streetlamp. Its mate is already propped against the wall by the front door, laces tangled where you ripped them loose ten seconds earlier, still dripping small dark circles into the welcome mat. You shake the sneaker in your hand once more to dislodge any loose water before you start working on it, because every extra drop you remove now cuts down on how long it takes to dry enough to wear tomorrow.

Check This Soaked Sneaker for Trapped Debris

You flip the shoe over to inspect the tread first, picking out a small piece of mulch that got wedged in the grooves when you stumbled through the park cut-through after the rain picked up. You run a finger around the edge of the rubber toe cap, wiping off a streak of mud that would dry hard and flake off all over your floor if you left it on now, leaving tiny brown specks that you’d have to vacuum up later when you get around to cleaning the entryway. You tilt the shoe to peek inside, making sure no leaves or small pebbles got washed into the toe box when you plunged through that deep puddle, because those would rub against your foot the next time you wear it and create annoying blisters you don’t have time to deal with this week, when you’re already running between work meetings and a handful of after-work plans you can’t reschedule. You don’t want to drag wet fabric across the wooden Doorstep Bench you just finished staining last weekend, so you kneel on the mat instead, holding the shoe over the edge of the welcome mat to catch any crumbs that fall out as you check it over, so you don’t have to sweep up small bits of mulch later. Once you confirm the inside and outside of the shoe are free of hard debris, you set it next to its mate for the next step.

Wring Excess Moisture From This Shoe’s Liner

Once you confirm there’s no hard debris stuck inside the shoe, you can move on to pulling out as much trapped water as possible without damaging the mesh upper or rubber sole. Follow these steps to get the most water out without stretching the shoe’s shape:

1. Pull the removable insole out of the shoe, holding it over the mat so excess water drips off instead of pooling on your entryway floor. Gently squeeze the insole from toe to heel, pressing out water without twisting it, because twisting can warp the foam and make it fit weirdly the next time you wear it.
2. Ball up two sheets of paper towel and push them all the way into the toe box of the sneaker, pressing gently so they make contact with all the wet inner fabric. The paper towel will absorb standing water that you can’t squeeze out by hand, cutting down on overall drying time.
3. Fold a third sheet of paper towel and press it against the inner sides of the shoe, working your way from the toe back to the heel collar, dabbing instead of rubbing to avoid fuzzing up the inner lining.
4. Hold the shoe upside down for 20 seconds, tapping the heel against the edge of the mat once to dislodge any last drops of water that are trapped in the seam between the sole and the upper.

You repeat this process for the other shoe in the pair, taking an extra 10 seconds to squeeze its insole a little more because it was even more soaked than the one in your hand when you walked in. You resist the urge to wring the mesh upper of the shoe, because you know that would stretch the fabric out and make it fit looser around your foot than you like, so you stick to dabbing it with paper towel instead to pull off any surface water that’s sitting on the outside. Illustrative example: 45 minutes of direct vent airflow will pull most surface moisture off the shoe’s upper, even if the inner sole is still damp, so you don’t have to worry about leaving them out all night if you don’t want to. You don’t need to use a hair dryer or any heat source, because high heat can warp the rubber sole and make the mesh upper shrink, so you stick to manual drying for now.

Set This Pair Near the Overhead Vent to Dry

Once you’ve squeezed as much water as possible out of both shoes and their insoles, you prop them up against the wall under the hallway vent that blows cool air into your entryway. You leave the insoles out, leaning them against the side of each shoe so air can circulate on both sides, instead of shoving them back inside where they’ll stay damp for twice as long. You untangle the laces and lay them flat on the mat next to the shoes, so they dry evenly instead of staying knotted and damp in the middle. You make sure the shoes are angled so their toes point slightly down, so any remaining water can drip out onto the mat instead of pooling in the toe box overnight, which would lead to a weird musty smell you don’t want to deal with later. You step back to make sure they’re not in the way of the door swinging open, in case your roommate gets home later than you and doesn’t want to trip over a pair of wet sneakers when they walk in. You also make sure they’re not too close to the potted fern you keep by the door, because you don’t want water dripping off the shoes into the plant’s pot and overwatering it, since you already watered it yesterday and it’s prone to root rot if it gets too much moisture. You don’t leave them right next to the heater by the couch, because you know the high heat will make the glue holding the sole on break down faster, and you don’t want to have to replace these sneakers any sooner than you have to.

Grab This Sneaker Pair Before Your Morning Errands

You wake up the next morning, pad out to the entryway in your socks, and reach for the pair first thing before you make coffee, because you need to wear them to run to the grocery store and drop off your package at the post office before work. You pick up the insole first, pressing it between your thumb and forefinger to check if it’s fully dry, and it is, so you slip it back into the shoe, adjusting it so it sits flat against the sole. You run a finger along the mesh upper to confirm there’s no damp spots left, then lace the shoes up quickly, tying them the way you always do, tight enough to stay on but not so tight they cut off circulation. You notice the small streak of mud you wiped off last night is completely gone, no stain left behind, so the shoes look almost as good as they did before you stepped through that puddle. You slip them on your feet, wiggling your toes to make sure they feel right, and they do, no weird damp spots or rubbing that you can feel. You grab your reusable bag and your package off the counter, lock the front door behind you, and head out, already thinking about the iced coffee you’re going to pick up on the way to the grocery store. If it’s still spitting rain on your walk, you make a mental note to step around the deeper puddles this time, so you don’t have to repeat this process again tomorrow night when you get home.