After a night of dancing - how do I clean my dance shoes properly?

Like all shoes, dance shoes need some care after intensive use to keep them beautiful and comfortable for as long as possible. Werner Kern dance shoes are characterised by particularly high-quality materials, which also has an impact on the best way to clean and care for them.

In principle, you should only wear dance shoes on the dance floor and not on the street. This is because dance shoes have a suede sole that allows you to glide and turn very well on the dance floor, but which is just as resistant to moisture penetration (e.g. from rain-soaked asphalt) as it is to road dirt, chippings, etc. You should therefore take your dance shoes off immediately after dancing and change into a pair of comfortable street shoes for the journey home. You should pack the dance shoes in a soft cloth bag for transport, making sure that buckles or other metal parts on the shoes do not leave unsightly scratches on the heel or shaft.

Cleaning satin dance shoes properly

Satin is a particularly sensitive material that does not tolerate moisture or strong chemicals well. After wearing, satin dance shoes should be carefully cleaned with a damp cloth to remove any visible dirt. Avoid aggressive cleaning agents or sponges so as not to damage the surface and ruin the upper material with the best of intentions. Carefully rub out any dirt using a soft, lint-free and non-staining cloth. Never use hard brushes, rough sponges or aggressive cleaning agents to clean satin shoes. Care should also be taken to ensure that the entire shoe is cleaned to avoid unsightly marks.

Cleaning leather shoes properly

Leather is less sensitive, but you should still be careful. This is because the high-quality, soft goatskin from which our dance shoes are made is one of the most valuable types of leather. To keep the leather soft and supple, you can apply a thin layer of a suitable leather care product with a cloth and then polish the shoes. Make sure that you clean the entire upper and do not leave out any areas. Excess amounts of care product are best removed directly with a soft cloth; such residues can appear on buckles or material transitions, for example.

Careful handling of dance shoes

After cleaning, you should always give your shoes enough time to dry completely. To ensure that the shoes retain their shape, we recommend stuffing them with crumpled newspaper after wearing and cleaning. The paper absorbs the moisture and prevents unsightly creases from forming without overloading and stressing the shoes during drying.

In addition to the upper and the visible upper material, you should also have the heels checked regularly and replaced if necessary. The higher the heel, the greater the risk of the heel patch buckling or loosening during an awkward movement. This is why many dancers use heel protectors, for example during training. They protect the heel from abrasion and can be easily removed again if necessary.

The sole also needs to be checked and cleaned regularly. The wax on the parquet flooring makes it increasingly slippery the longer it is used and it also becomes covered in dust, which also affects the feeling when dancing. With a special buffing brush, you can remove dirt from the suede and make the sole more grippy again without destroying its texture. Only apply a little pressure with the brush, as it is sufficient to roughen the surface of the sole to restore optimum grip.

If your dance shoes are seriously damaged, you can have them repaired by a local cobbler. A broken heel or a worn sole is no reason to throw away your high-quality dance shoes. Such damage can be repaired easily, cheaply and quickly by a specialist company - and then the shoes will be as good as new again!