How do you clean your Birkenstocks?

[buttercrumble]

Have a black patent pair which are an embarrassment at the moment, can I chuck them in the washer or would this ruin them.

I'm building up the courage to put my white pair in the washing machine. They are still as good as new apart from the disgusting colour under the straps.

I'd be interested to know this, I just tend to wear mine till they get disgusting, the buy a new pair...

We put ours in the washing machine on 30° they are fine.

I got caught out in a thunderstorm on a cliff walk. Totally ruined my birkenstocks. I had the papillo type ones and the cork started to disintegrate. I never replaced them. How do you put them in the washing machine?

I've always just replaced them after a couple if summers.

I have heard rumours that you can have the footbed replaced but have never proved this to be true.

I'm going to do as Methe suggests. Going to put them in with a few towels to protect the machine and do it without spin.

Right, I'm going to put mine in a pillowcase in with a towel on 30. Will report back!

They are in. Will let you know in 30mins!!

So, I knotted them into a pillowcase, put them in at 30 for a 30min cycle. They have come out.... just as filthy as they went in!!

They still even have some sand clinging to them and toe prints still very much in evidence.

Epic fail!!

Is it the footbed bit that's dirty? If so, that's normal surely? Mine don't look dirty, just that the suede been rubbed to a shiny leather leather finish and a little darker than the original. If they're on your feet, no one will see the footbed?

I scrubbed the footbed with some vanish and a nail brush. It did clean them up but also made the footbed bit all rough and uncomfortable.

I cleaned my earth Spirit sandal footbed with a toothbrush and antibac handwash quick rinse under the tap, dried in the sun and came up clean!