How to get rid of sand from your shoes?

Question

I know I shouldn't indulge in something like going on a beach while wearing shoes with breathable fabric.

But, it happened the other day and now I still feel like there is some sand hidden somewhere in the shoe fabric which I want to get rid of.

What are the possible way to get rid of all the sand from your shoe if you don't have a vacuum cleaner with you?

Ben · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-14 17:02:19Z

I really hate it when that happens. These are my steps for getting sand (and other small debris) out of shoes after an adventure:

Take out the insoles if you haven't already. Lots of stuff will be trapped under/around them. I usually wash my insoles in the washing machine, I've never had a problem doing that.
Use some force to beat as much as you can out of the fabric, then shake out anything that fell out inside.
Rinse the shoes thoroughly with water. A source of pressure is best so you can run water through the fabric itself. Best is a hose, because then you can run the water both outside to inside and inside to outside.
Let them dry thoroughly. Use a fan to speed this up if needed. Leaving them out in the sun or in a heated area to dry isn't recommended as this can damage both the fabric and the other material of the shoes.
Once they dry beat them together again. If more stuff comes out, repeat the process.

The only downside to this is that your shoes are wet and out of commission until they dry.

Pack wet shoes in newspaper, replace after an hour or three, shoes will be dry in no time. (Dry enough to wear after 2 cycles of newspapers) — user5330, Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 0:41
I'd happily wear them in the sun, so I'd dry them in the sun. Things have to be really dry for sand not to stick as it has such an affinity for water. — Chris H, Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 7:04

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