This question comes up a lot – wrestling shoes are a big investment, and with a little care you can extend the life of your shoes.
The most common complaint is odor – nobody likes stinky shoes. The best thing you can do is make sure the shoes dry out fully after a sweaty practice or workout. Don’t zip them up in your bag and leave them overnight, try to air dry as much as you can. If they start to get the funk, you can sprinkle some baking soda inside, or put a dryer sheet inside when they’re not in use.
To keep them clean, the best practice is to limit wearing them off the mat as much as possible. Wearing them in the parking lot on the way in or even around the arena is not good for the sole of the shoe, and will reduce their lifespan. We carry a line of wrestling shoe covers designed to slip over the sole so that you can wear the shoes around after a match without having to change your shoes. You can see our shoe covers here:
https://www.bluechipwrestling.com/wrestling-shoes-and-gear/wrestling-shoes/wrestling-shoe-covers.html
If your shoes do have dirt or marks on the outside, the first thing we would suggest is to gently wipe them with a clean cloth dipped in plain warm water. You can add a few drops of dish soap to the water as well if necessary. If you do use soap, make sure to do a final wipe down with a cloth and plain water to remove the soap.
The last resort is to put shoes in the washing machine. Most shoes will handle the washer just fine, just make sure not to run them through the dryer. Before washing, remove the laces and inserts. Put your washing machine on the least aggressive cycle (usually “gentle”) and use just a small amount of detergent. To reduce the noise, you can include some old towels or put the shoes inside a pillowcase. The most important step after washing is to completely air-dry the shoes. Open them up and put them in a warm, sunny, well ventilated area.