We all have stepped on dog poop at some point in our lives. It’s the most upsetting thing when it happens. It can ruin your day, especially when you’re not going home. If you’re going to work, a date or school stepping on dog poop will bring all sorts of misfortunes. You don’t have an easy way to clean it. You know that sooner or later it will stink badly. There’s not much you can do about it. And that sucks.
That’s why you need to know how to get dog poop off shoes. It’s a matter of survival. Maybe not survival, but “social survival”. You can’t show up in a fancy restaurant with your shoes smelling dog poop. Everyone will immediately notice and look for the culprit. Then, they’ll quickly realize that it’s you. That’s why you need to clean it as fast as you can.
Not only that but you also need to know how to clean it because the dog poop can get into the pores of your shoes. This means that the particles containing the bacteria can reach your feet. Obviously, this is terrible for you. Also, the more it penetrates, the harder it is to guarantee that you have thoroughly cleaned it.
You don’t want to be wearing shoes that you’re not confident are clean. As you can see, you need to know how to get dog poop off shoes, and this is the best guide you’re going to find. In it, we’ll explain 3 different methods that you can use to get rid of not only the poop and every particle of it but also the smell. A lot of methods try to masquerade the smell. The goal here is to eliminate it.
So, make sure that you read it till the end. Completely removing the dog poop off your shoes is a matter of your health. There’s a vast number of bacteria in dog poop. They can harm our bodies and transmit all sorts of diseases.
Put The Shoes In A Plastic Bag And Throw Them In The Freezer
This is a great lifehack, although it isn’t for everyone. What you have to do here is to get a plastic back and Ziploc it. Now, you must make sure that it’s completely sealed. After all, you don’t want any particle getting out of the bag and into your freezer.
So, the first step is to put the shoes in the plastic bag. Then, you have to seal it and make sure that it’s perfectly done. After that, you can throw it in the freezer. This method is not for everyone because a lot of people are not comfortable with putting their crapped shoes in their freezers.
The good news is that the freezers’ temperatures don’t allow the bacteria to spread. Also, the sealed bag won’t allow the bacteria to come out either. It’s not conventional, but there’s no sanitary problem doing so. Ideally, though, you’d do this with an empty freezer. Just to be sure.
So, throw the shoes in a plastic band and into the freezer. The poop will freeze and come out way easier than otherwise. Dog poop is usually soft and sticky. The freezing process hardens it and makes it easier for you to remove it. If you don’t have the bag, the Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags is a great plastic bag that comes with a sealed system. Check it out here.
Remove The Frozen Poop With A Stick
Once you let the freezer take care of business for you, it’s time to remove the poop. When it’s properly frozen, you must get a stick to remove the poop. Ideally, you have already selected a stick to do the dirty work for you. It’s important to make sure that you don’t touch the poop with your hands at all. Only the stick.
What you’re going to do is to remove the poop from the shoes with the stick. Be careful not to make any particle fly onto your skin. You should do this precisely but quickly enough so the poop doesn’t go back to its normal state. It’s all about doing it fast enough while it’s still frozen. The stick will remove every tiny bit of dog poop left. This is method is great because often times poop particles stay when you remove it in its normal state.
So, make sure to remove the frozen dog poop with a stick. Do it quickly enough before it gets unfrozen but not so fast that you don’t do it right. Obviously, discard the stick afterward. As long as you make sure that the poop is frozen and that you remove it with a stick, there’s very little that you can get it wrong here.
Use Alcohol Gel To Remove The Odor
A lot of people like to remove the poop, and then, use a product with a scent to masquerade the odor. The only problem is that when you masquerade the odor, it’s still there. This means that when the scent comes off, the odor of the dog poop will emerge again, filling up the room. The best way to handle this is to use alcohol gel. It destroys the particles that make your shoes stink.
Now, you’re only supposed to do this when you have already frozen the shoes and removed the poop with the stick. Then, you can use the alcohol gel to eliminate the odor.
It’s important to not use too much alcohol since it can damage the fabric of the shoes. Also, verify that the specific fabric of your shoes can handle alcohol gel. Most can so you don’t need to worry.
So, use alcohol gel to remove the odor. It’s better to use alcohol gel because it eliminates the odor instead of just masquerading it. Now, before you do it, make sure that it’s okay to do so with the particular fabric of your shoes. The PURELL Advanced is the perfect alcohol gel for this job. Take a look here.
Get A Toothbrush To Brush It Away
The next method is the most popular. Still, it requires some adaptation to work it the way it’s supposed to. What you’re going to do is to get a toothbrush to clean the poop off. Now, you obviously need a used toothbrush for this or get a new one. Whatever you do, you need a toothbrush for this.
The reason it has to be a toothbrush is that most other brushes are too large for the job. You need to reach every area of the sole of the shoes. You need to be certain that you’ve removed everything. The only way to do this, it’s to use a toothbrush that is capable of reaching those areas.
What you’re going to do is to brush every inch under your shoes. Make sure that you don’t get poop on you or your clothes. Clean as thoroughly as you can. If you do it patiently, you’ll notice that you can get the job done easily.
So, remove the poop with a toothbrush. Make sure to clean those areas that other types of brush wouldn’t be able to reach. It’s important to clean everything well because there can’t be any bacteria left.
Use Soapy Water To Avoid Damaging The Fabric
Ideally, you should only use soapy water with this method. Do not use anything fancy because the chemicals might ruin your shoes. So, the best thing is to go with basics and avoid anything but soapy water. It won’t damage the fabric and will clean your shoes as efficiently as any other product. You must use the soapy water while you brush the shoes.
What you have to do is to apply some soapy water and brush the poop away with the toothbrush. Remember that you can and should use an old one. Buying a toothbrush for this purpose only is wasting money. Anyway, use the soapy water to not damage the fabric and the toothbrush to remove the poop.
Now, the soapy water won’t damage even leather, which it’s usually more sensitive. Just be careful not to exaggerate. There’s no need to make your shoes so wet that it’ll take days for it to be dry again.
So, make sure to use soapy water with the toothbrush. As you apply the soapy water and brush the shoes, you’ll notice that the poop comes off easily. All you need to do once it’s removed is to move on to the next step for this method.
Finish With Abundant Water
Lastly, you finish with abundant water. As said above, you must clean the shoes thoroughly to ensure that the bacteria don’t penetrate the shoes. If it gets in, it can easily contaminate your feet and transmit a disease to you. The chances aren’t big enough to make you run home every time you step on dog poop, but it’s enough to know that you should always remove it.
Now, what you should do is to use the water to rinse and remove the debris that the toothbrush left behind. Make sure to also wash the toothbrush. As the water removes what’s left, use the toothbrush to ensure that nothing stays behind. You need to be able to look at the shoes and see not even a small spot in it.
Ideally, you will do all this with gloves. This is the best way to protect your skin while cleaning the mess. It’s also important to make sure to get rid of the water that rinsed the shoes. These are all sanitary precautions to make sure that you don’t come into contact with bacteria that can make you ill.
So, after you’ve used soapy water and a toothbrush to clean the shoes and get the dog poop off of it, make sure to finish with abundant water. Rinsing it’s the final step that ensures that the shoes are clean and ready to be worn again. Obviously, you’ll have to wait a few hours to wear if the inside is wet.
Try The Washing Machine When It’s Not Leather
The last method works with any fabric but leather. This is due to leather having its peculiarities when it comes to maintenance and care. There’s a certain way to get it clean, to store it, and a bunch of other things like the temperature of the room. Now, when it comes to the other fabrics, you can try the washing machine to get the dog poop off the shoes.
All you have to do is to throw the shoes in the washing machine with enough detergent. Depending on how many shoes you put in, the quantity of detergent will change, so watch out for that. Now, there isn’t too much mystery when it comes to this method. You just have to put the shoes in the washing machine, and let it do the dirty work for you.
So, put the shoes in the washing machine and let them be thoroughly cleaned. The only downside to this method is that you won’t be able to wear the shoes for quite a while. If you need those shoes immediately, then you might consider the other two methods first.
Let It Dry Completely For 24 Hours
It will take approximately 24 hours for your shoes to get completely dried again. Unfortunately, this can make this method not the best for you. Still, it’s one of the best because it will definitely get your shoes cleaned.
If you don’t have a drying machine, you can let the shoes rest under the sun. If it’s a sunny day, you may need less than 24 hours. Now, if you live in a colder city, 24 hours is likely to be enough.
Still, make sure that the shoes get completely dried before you store them again. If you put humid shoes in your closet, they’ll get ruined. The fabric will begin to deteriorate and the quality won’t ever be the same.
So, you must make sure that they’re completely dry when you put them back in. Never put wet or humid shoes in your closet. That’s also why it’s ideal that you let them under the sun for a while. This ensures that they’re completely dry. Even in the parts that you can feel like inside the shoe sole.
Always Wear Gloves To Avoid Contact With Particles
It’s important to let you know that dog poop is dangerous for our health. It may seem obvious, but it’s important to highlight. The thing is that you should always be careful to not even touch the poop. In this case, the best that you can do is to wear gloves not matter what method you choose. This is the only way to make sure that you won’t come in contact with it.
Now, the main reason is that dog poop may contain bacteria and viruses that would make humans sick. To avoid those diseases, you must make sure that you wear gloves. The reason is that even if you don’t feel that you’ve come in contact with it, there are always particles that travel through the air and that you don’t feel.
Once they touch your skin, the bacteria and viruses can penetrate your pores and enter your system. That’s why gloves are always a great idea no matter the method that you ultimately use.
So, make sure to wear gloves to protect your health. The whole experience of stepping on dog poop is bad enough. You don’t need to make it worse. The Vgo 10Pairs are excellent gloves for this kind of manual labor. Get yours here.
Wash As Fast As You Can To Avoid It Penetrating The Shoes
The final tip is to wash the poop away as fast as you can to not let it penetrate the shoes. Like human skin, shoes also have micro holes that you can name pores. These are perfect entrances for particles of poop to get in.
The problem is that once they get in, it’s harder to make sure that the shoes are clean. If the stay between the shoe sole and the part that your feet touch, the water is unlikely to reach it. Therefore, it’s not going to be able to clean it.
Still, the best that you can do is use the method that you have available. But it’s a great idea to make sure to thoroughly clean it as fast as you.
So, every time that you step on dog poop, make sure to clean it as fast as you can. Avoid at all costs to have the poop penetrating the shoes. This is the most sanitary way to ensure that you’ll get it off your shoes.
Final Thoughts
So, this is how to get dog poop off shoes. You can put the shoes in a plastic bag and freeze it. Then you’ll be able to easily remove it with a stick. Or you can wash the shoes with a toothbrush and soapy water. Finally, you can just throw it in the washing machine and let it dry for 24 hours under the sun. Whatever you do, just make sure to always do it as fast as you can.
