Baseball cleats have become very standard in the sport of baseball. Of course, the reason they are used is because they provide great traction. Those studded cleats allow players to really dig into the ground with each step for maximum forward momentum.
It also prevents them from slipping on a slippery surface, such as wet grass. That said, baseball fields are covered in dirt and grass. In other words, those baseball cleats are going to get dirty, and quite quickly too.
If you don’t clean and maintain them on a regular basis, they’re going to wear down and become useless. Therefore, how to clean baseball cleats is exactly what we are going to teach you today.
How to Clean Baseball Cleats: Step by Step
To help make your life as easy as possible, we’re now going to provide you with a step by step tutorial on how to clean baseball cleats.
1. Shake & Pound
When cleaning baseball cleats, the first thing that you want to do is to take one in each hand. You are going to hold them by the rear.
Hold the cleats in each hand, and then clap them together quite hard. Clapping the cleats together will remove large chunks of dirt and turf. Keep clapping the cleats together until nothing else comes off.
2. Remove the Laces
For a really intensive cleaning process, you are going to want to remove the laces from the cleats. Removing the laces from the baseball cleats will allow you to clean under the laces.
It will also allow you to clean the laces themselves, something which many people disregard.
If your laces are damaged, you may want to consider replacing them. Remember that dirt can get trapped under the laces, so this step is not something that we would ignore.
3. Soak the Cleats
If your baseball cleats are extremely dirty, you will want to soak them in some warm water first. Remember that you want to use just warm water, not hot water. If the water is too hot, it may damage the plastic or the leather that your cleats made out of.
That said, get a bucket of warm water and submerge the cleats for up to seven minutes. It is recommended that you not soak your baseball cleats for longer than seven or eight minutes at the most, as this may damage them. At this point, you can also soak the dirty laces.
4. Scrub the Cleats
You are now going to use some kind of soft scrubbing brush to scrub the cleats to remove all possible mud and dirt. Remove as much dirt as you can with this brush. Be sure that you get your brush in between all of the studs on the cleats.
Also make sure that you clean the shoelace area as well. At this point, you can also scrub the laces. Once the laces are clean, you can put them aside to let them dry.
You may not be able to remove all dirt with just a brush. This is especially the case for the dirt in between the studs on the cleats.
Here, you are going to want to take some warm water and add a bit of dish soap to it. You are then going to use a rag and that soapy water to scrub your cleats. You’re going to use that cloth to get in between all of the nooks and crannies.
The aim here is to use that cloth and soapy water to remove all possible dirt. Just keep in mind that you really don’t want to soak your shoes in that soapy water. Getting all of the soap out can be really difficult. It can actually cause suds to form when you are wearing the shoes and get sweaty.
5. Rinse the Cleats Off
You now need to rinse away any remaining soap and dirt. First, use clean water from your tap to rinse the exterior of the baseball cleats.
Just hold them under warm running water to clean away any residue. Remember that you do also need to rinse out the interior of the baseball cleats.
Just hold the baseball cleats under running water and make sure that water gets on the inside. Swirl the water around the inside and pour it out. Repeat this a few times until the water comes out perfectly clean and clear.
6. Let the Baseball Cleats Dry
The last thing you need to do is to let the baseball cleats dry. Use an absorbent and dry cloth to pat down the exterior.
You can then use kitchen towels, a dry cloth, or some newspaper to dry the inside. Stuff the interior of the cleats with any of those things, and let them soak up the water.
Remove the cloth or newspaper after about 15 minutes. Then, put both the baseball cleats and the laces out in a warm place to dry. Just make sure to not place the baseball cleats in direct sunlight, as this can cause them to dry too fast and suffer damage.
Cleaning Baseball Cleats – Final Thoughts
As you can see, cleaning baseball cleats is really not very difficult. That said it is necessary for you to do this on a regular basis.
Thanks for stopping by ~Jeremy
