Okay, so last Tuesday, I was staring at my nasty sneakers from yesterday's muddy dog walk, right? Figured I'd toss ’em in the shoe cleaning machine... but the thing looked gross inside. Like, grime and gunk everywhere. Store-bought cleaner costs way too much for what it is, so I thought: heck, let's whip up something at home.

The Stuff I Grabbed From Under the Sink

Went digging in my cabinet and found:

• Plain white vinegar – half a cup
• Dish soap – about 2 big squirts
• Warm water – filled up my old measuring jug
• An old toothbrush I keep for nasty jobs
• Cheap microfiber cloths (the ones I use for car spills)

How I Mixed This Mess Up

First, I dumped the vinegar into the jug. Poured slow ’cause that smell hits you hard. Added the dish soap next – watched it slide down the jug’s side like goo. Then I turned on the tap water real gentle to avoid crazy bubbles. Stirred it around with the toothbrush handle until it looked cloudy but mixed.

Operation: Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

Took the damn machine apart. Soaked the cloths in my brew and threw ’em inside the drum. Ran the machine on quick cycle with cold water. Heard it sloshing around like a drunk washing machine. Stopped it mid-cycle after 10 mins. Yanked out those rags and started scrubbing every corner with the toothbrush dipped in leftover mix. Made a foam party in my sink. Wiped down the rubber seals real good too – hate that mildew crap.

The Aftermath

Rinsed the whole thing with a wet cloth. Stuck my nose in – smelled like pickles at first, but that faded fast once it dried. Threw my muddy sneakers in for a test run. They came out looking way better than before! No weird residue, rubber parts didn’t melt. Honestly shocked it actually worked without wrecking anything.

Total cost? Practically free since I had all this junk lying around. Takes like 15 minutes tops. Next time my kid stomps in soccer mud, I ain’t sweating it.