Can You Put Steel Toe Shoes in the Dryer?

All types of shoes should not be put in the dryer. You can put sneakers or tennis shoes in the dryer. But when it comes to drying steel toe shoes, you should look for other ways to dry them. In this post, we will show you some of the best alternative ways to dry your steel toe shoes.

The question is still there: can you put steel toe shoes in the dryer? The answer is a hard no. You will have to deal with some problems. Shoes made of leather may not survive in good condition in a low-heat dryer. If you need to dry steel toe shoes, try these alternative ways to dry them.

Mistakes to avoid

Most leather boots have a problem: the outside often falls apart. For this issue, the manufacturers are not always to be blamed. Very often it happens due to poor maintenance. As a consumer, you should try to avoid a couple of mistakes and here they are:

First, do not expose your shoes to direct heat such as camp fires, blow dryers, wood stoves and heaters. They can be some good sources of heat, but this heat can be a bit harsh to your shoes. The glue in your shoes may be affected by the direct heat.

If a campfire is your only option, you should be very careful when you are using it to dry your shoes. Make sure the shoes are kept at a safe distance. The distance between your shoes and the campfire should be at least 2 meters.

Use a fan

You can use a strong fan to blast air into your steel toe shoes. This is a good way to dry your shoes quickly. The moisture will evaporate overnight when you are fast asleep! Choose a large table fan to dry your two shoes together. The fan should be wide enough to blast air into a pair of shoes.

Before you switch on the fan, make sure that the shoes are clean. If the shoes have removable insoles, take the soles out. Toss them into the dryer. But if they are leather, you must dry them in the sun.

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Use an old wire to make an “S” shaped hinge. Then the hinge should be attached to the fan, and the boots should be hung on the flap. Your shoes will be dry if the fan is ON just for a few hours.

Use newspaper!

It is easy to harm delicate shoes when you dry them. Using paper is a very effective way to dry your shoes. This is an effective way to dry your shoes, because it does not stress out your shoes. But this technique takes a while to work.

Before you apply this process, make sure your shoes are clean. It is better to take off the insoles. Now pack some newspapers into your shoes and then wrap the shoes with some paper. Although this process takes a while, it does not damage your shoes.

To speed up the process, you can change the newspapers every couple of hours. But you will get satisfactory results if you leave the newspapers inside the shoes overnight.

Keep them in the sun

Keeping your steel toe shoes in the sun is one of the most effective ways to dry them. It is not only effective but also free and natural. Find a sunny place and simply keep your shoes there. If the day is sunny, the moisture will evaporate and the pathogens will die within a short time.

Can you put steel toe shoes in the dryer? It is not safe, and keeping your shoes in the sun seems to be a better way to get the job done. But this process is time-consuming. Of course there are faster solutions than this one, but it is simple and effortless.

Mother Nature does not always behave predictably, and can be an issue. So you can not always rely on this method.  There is also the risk of too much sun exposure. Too much sun may not be good for your shoes if they are made of leather.

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What about using rice?

Pour some rice in a plastic bin. The bin should be big so that you can keep both of your shoes in it. Then keep your shoes on the rice and shut the opening of the bin. The rice will take just a few hours to suck out the moisture. This trick is pretty useful.

But please note that it may not work very well if your shoes are very wet. However, you will get satisfactory results if the shoes are not too damp. If you are wondering how to dry your damp shoes, it is one of the simplest and most effective ways to do it.

Use a towel

You can also use a towel sheet to dry your steel toe shoes. Before you use the towel, make sure it is completely dry. But what is the procedure? Here is goes: at first, wash to shoes to remove all the dirt and mud.

Then take off the insoles and the laces. Put the corners of the dry towel inside the shoes. Then wrap the shoes with the towel and place them in front of the fan. After some time, replace the towel with a new one.

Can you put your steel toe shoes in the dryer? You do not need to when you can dry your shoes with a used towel. For the best results, you can repeat the process. Using this process you can dry your shoes; but the process is a bit time-consuming. It is a very safe process because it does not damage your shoes at all.

Use a shoe dryer

Using a boot dryer is one of the smartest ways to dry your steel toe shoes. If you have more than one pair of shoes, you can invest in this device so that you can use it when the sun takes a holiday. You can use this device to dry shoes, garments and gloves simultaneously. To get a warm blow, a small version of 2 horsepower is enough.

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It can make your shoes completely moisture-free within a very short time. Again, you have to be careful because a shoe dryer may not be suitable for drying all types of shoes. Can you put steel toe shoes in the dryer? Maybe you can, but using a boot dryer is a safer option.

Additional tips

Once your boots are wet, they will take some time to dry. The following tips will help you take care of your shoes and prevent getting them wet and dirty in the first place.

When there are solid particles and mud all over your shoes, do not dry them. What if you do? In the long run you may notice some permanent spots and weird color spots.

Before your dry your shoes, make sure they are clean. Let us examine the question again: can you put steel toe shoes in the dryer? You should not do it when there are a lot of mud and solid particles on your shoes.

There are some steel toe shoes that come with detachable soles. Dry the soles separately if possible. They will dry fast if they are exposed to enough warm air. Another great idea is to remove or loosen the laces before you dry the shoes.

There will be less moisture in your shoes if you keep them in a dry room.  So try to find a warm room in your house and keep your shoes in that room.

Remember, the solutions provided in this post are not permanent. They will help you dry your shoes when they are wet, but they can not keep your shoes dry. So you have to use and store your shoes carefully. Try to keep them dry.