How to Clean Your Birkenstocks 2022

How do I Clean my Birkenstocks? Tiffany breaks down the 3 steps to cleaning your Birkenstocks and talks about what NOT to do with your favorite shoes.
****** WATCH THIS NEXT 📍 How to Clean the Footbed: • How to Clean your Birk...
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📒 Show Notes 📒
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to see the UPDATED version of the following videos as we release them.
1️⃣ 💡VIDEO: How to Clean your Oiled Leathers
• Shoe care and repair s...
2️⃣ 💡 VIDEO: How to Clean Birko-Flor
• How to Clean Birkensto...
--------Products Mentioned in This Video------
Purchase Directly from DesertBirkenstock.com:
SoxSols: tinyurl.com/3pdd8chy
Cleaning Kit: tinyurl.com/bdds56u7
Cork Seal: tinyurl.com/5n85stft
Nubuck Block & Brush: tinyurl.com/yckhesc3
Suede Cleaner: tinyurl.com/yzad8evh
Leather Lotion: tinyurl.com/4ykdeu9s
Footbed Cleaner & Deodorizer: tinyurl.com/5n82j28x
Weather Guard: tinyurl.com/58uamxbm
Grab these supplies on Amazon:
Vaseline: tinyurl.com/58uamxbm
‘Crepe Eraser’ - Abrasive Cleaning Eraser: amzn.to/3rqSPnu
Magic Eraser: amzn.to/3SuemaS
Medium Sandpaper: amzn.to/3fxP3Gu
Simple Green: amzn.to/3RwDMDn
409: amzn.to/3RwDMDn
FIRST Things FIRST
WATER 00:45 - DO NOT GET YOUR BIRKENSTOCKS WET by taking them to the pool, ocean, river, lake - wear them to the edge of the water, keep them away from the water, dry off before wearing them again.
HEAT 00:21 - These are not shoes that should be left outside in the elements, especially heat.
Do not leave your shoes sitting outside on your patio, or in the sun, in a hot car, or near a fireplace or fire pit. The sole material is EVA and it will shrink, curl or separate from the footbed.
DON’T WORRY, they're repairable.
On a quick side note, having your Birks repaired is one of the best perks to having the shoes - if they are limited edition, leather, or hold sentimental value we can make them brand new by taking those uppers or straps and putting them on a brand new footbed and sole for less than the cost of a new pair. Send in your repairs here: tinyurl.com/3da9deuu
02:40 - Straps/Uppers
03:13 - Oiled Leather
05:27 - Birko-Flor
06:53 - Birkibuc
08:58 - Suede
10:05 - Footbed
11:05 - Sweat / Hyperhydrosis
12:00 - SoxSols
13:53 - Why Should I Clean My Footbed?
15:40 - Cork Seal
Continue reading on our blog here: tinyurl.com/4y56ja94
Thanks for watching!!

[@caesarsalad798]

This is so helpful. Thank you!

[@DesertBirkenstock]

I'm so glad this was useful. We try to make it easy so everyone can do it right. Thanks for the response. Amy

[@mideseoerestu]

This video is so helpful! I was about to get abking soda and water to clean the footbed of my Birkenstocks but now I know better! Thank you

[@desertbirk]

I'm glad we could help. The Baking soda and water trick was all I saw when I was checking what was being recommended and it's really not great for your shoes. Thanks for watching!

[@tochnitm]

Unique video from a true Birkenstock connoisseur! Differs from all the weird baking soda cleaning videos without even considering the specific material! It breaks your Birkenstock heart when you see how some destroy their Birkenstock sandals when cleaning them, at best putting the break in process back to the beginning. I've been wearing Birkenstocks for a quarter of a century, not because they're trendy, but because I love the footbed. No water is one of the most important tips. Thank you for the hyperhidrosis tip, I haven't really had a good experience with the soft footbed. On the other hand, unlike the "Generation Insta", I don't mind that the footbed gets darker on the inside over the years, that's the individual foot print and shows that you like to wear the sandals and wear them often :) I have them too Cork care for the outer edges and otherwise only a very soft cloth, I usually do at the change of season, so now in autumn I'll get my Mayari and Madrid in the shoe closet and Boston clogs out of the shoe closet :) Corky greetings 👣🤎🤗

[@DesertBirkenstock]

Thank you! My goal is to educate and guide you through the small learning curve that comes with maintaining these amazing shoes. Be sure to subscribe as we release more How To videos. Thank you so much for watching! - Tiffany

[@dudeonbike800]

Ok, I have to quickly check in and say THANK YOU again for your help! I was looking at alternative ways to renew and protect my older Pisas when the folks here chimed in and suggested I consider having a "recraft" done to my favorite old pair. I had mentioned that I bought my first pair over 25 years ago on a whim (and great sale price). Despite them being a woman's model and kinda funky colors, I found a pair that fit me and I liked. Well, long story short, these became so beloved that I decided to NEVER wear them outside so I could preserve them and have them last as long as possible. Well, after several years and LOTS of Barge cement, they finally gave up the ghost. Well by this time the Pisa was harder to find in the US, especially in my size. But a friend was in Switzerland at the time and could buy me a pair that fit. Oh joy! Well, that was already 14 years ago and that pair was finally giving out. Turns out today the Pisa is no longer made - in any size, so I was out of luck. So this is when Desert Birkenstock suggested I have my favorite old ones completely redone. (And to think I ALMOST threw out my original pair of Pisas since they had been sitting around forever and not being used.) Oh and Desert Birkenstock even recommended a local place for me to patronize, even though they could have done the work as well. I'm sorry I didn't ship mine to you. I basically have TWO brand new pair of Birkenstock Pisas now! Oh and get this.... while researching this whole thing, I actually happened to find a "New Old Stock" pair of Pisas in my size on Ebay and snapped them up. BRAND NEW! OMG, how lucky! So I went from one pair of sad, dying Pisas and wondering what I'd do a month ago to THREE PERFECT PAIR today! Oh joy! You can't believe how happy this has made me! (Actually, I'm guessing you can :) Thanks again!

[@DesertBirkenstock]

You are so welcome, it was truly my pleasure to help! We are always here to help in any way we can. I LOVE that you found so many gems recently! You can reach out to us anytime with more questions. Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to share with future viewers and customers. We appreciate YOU ❤. - Tiffany

[@ollol5981]

Thank you so much!❤

[@desertbirk]

I'm glad it helped. 😄

[@keris5471]

Thank you!! So knowledgeable and so helpful! I do have a question about cleaning the footbeds. You said if you clean them and get the footprint completely off, it will come right back when you wear them again. So if you get a used pair and clean the footprint off completely, when you begin to wear them again, will the old foot print appear again also? Or just your own footprint will appear from wear?

[@desertbirk]

If the shoe wasn't yours to start it might still be molded to their foot shape - but - No - the footprint would be yours.

[@riverrock335]

Great video but the music is stressful

[@DesertBirkenstock]

Sorry about that. We try for it to be generic and upbeat.

[@ccartwright2348]

Hello- I have real leather gold Arizona Birks. I Love looking at them. I bought them in NYC 6 years ago. I cannot wear them. The leather rips up the tops of my feet. Is there anything I can do to soften the leather straps? I’ve worn them with socks to try and break them in… they are still hard and rough against the tops of my feet. Any advice is SO appreciated.

[@desertbirk]

Hello Couple things you can do. 1) Take an emery board to the edges. Rough it up a little. When the straps are made they use a big "cookie cutter". If it is a good piece of leather it can be very stiff. The metallic leathers have always been very stiff and we don't carry them because of your exact complaint. Use a little vaseline or leather lotion or balm on the underside of the straps to help moisturize the leather. I know it gross - but people forget that it is skin. It might take a little bit of work - but that will soften the leather more than the sock treatment. Hope that helps. Amy

[@katesewardchambers6707]

Hi, I’ve watched a couple of your videos 👍🏼 have you got any specific tips for cleaning coloured shearling? I’ve just brought some Birks with navy shearling, do I use the same method as the undyed wool? Thanks

[@DesertBirkenstock]

Hello. In store we carry a shearling cleaner but if you are somewhere else - your cleaner might be best bet. I'm not really familiar with that - but just from the name it sounds like it should work fine. Thanks Amy

[@katesewardchambers6707]

@@DesertBirkenstock, thanks I’m in the U.K.

[@DesertBirkenstock]

If you have a local leather shop or shoe repair shop nearby - they could answer easily. Ideally bring in the shoes and what you are trying to use. We would tell yeah or nay - I am assuming they would too. Hope that helps. Amy

[@stephanierogers2257]

I have the madrid big buckle slide and got a drop of blood on it. I have the light tan Leather upper and lining. What do you recommend cleaning for this. I tried a clothing stain remover and it made it worse. help!

[@desertbirk]

Hello. Ok So I would recommend a leather cleaner of some sort. Ideally you could use a nubuck block (if that doesn't work the super fine sand paper) and buff it out. Then use a very little amount of vaseline to even out the finish after you get the blood out. You may have to sand the whole thing - both sides so they match. The cognac is an oiled nubuck so this should work. Clothing stuff - not great for leathers.... Good Luck. Amy

[@sunnie19]

My metallic silver birks turned a lighter color is that normal? Your video is very informative. Thanks! 😊

[@DesertBirkenstock]

Hello. I'm not sure what you mean. There are two type of material that they use for metallics - the leather which can be very stiff and shows marks fairly easy or the birko-flor which is a synthetic. Generally, neither fades. If you send us pictures, I might be able to give a better answer. Sorry, that wasn't much help. Amy

[@GabbyDoglover]

On my first pair of birks, I used the cork sealer on the footbed by accident because I didn't research beforehand.

[@DesertBirkenstock]

OH NO!!! But I can tell you - we've had more than a few people do this. Some -AFTER they watched the tutorial. I've actually had more people do this since we put out the videos and blogs, than the 20 years before we had such things. Don't feel bad. One of my customers did it so thick you could see the brush strokes in the sealant on the footbed and then wore them....needless to say, tore her feet up - walking on glue!! Well now you know - it's all good! Thanks for sharing. Amy

[@diannegruber685]

@@DesertBirkenstock I also put the sealer on my new Arizona Birkenstock. What do I do? Did I ruin them? Should I use the brush to try to scrap it off? It is a very light coat and looks shiny.

[@DesertBirkenstock]

@@diannegruber685 We are talking about the liner - where your foot sits?? IF its on the liner - yes try to peel it off. If that doesn't work, try some sandpaper (180 - 220 grade). Not ruined per se but you really want it off your footbed. Amy

[@kazooboo2431]

I have the real leather rose gold Birkenstocks that have lots of scuffs on them, can this be fixed/repaired? 😊

[@desertbirk]

Hello. I am sorry to say that if leather lotion doesn't get the scuff off - they might be crease marks on the leather from the buckle or legit scuffs from wear. Honestly it's why we don't carry in store. If more than one person tries them on - or when you own for any length of time - the creases can become severe and look like scuff and breaks in the finish. We generally recommend metallic finishes only be done in the birkoflor or synthetics as they generally won't do that. Sorry I wasn't more help. Amy

[@kazooboo2431]

@@desertbirk thank you so much for your reply 😇

[@umrania4779]

Cotton soxsoles made my feet sweat and then they became slippery!😒 Are the wool ones more absorbent?? Also, the Cleaner & Refresher Spray smells VERY strongly of synthetic fragrance 😲 and I have fragrance allergies! 😔 Please, please, is there an alternative way to get out the stink?? HELP! It's so embarrassing!! 😬

[@desertbirk]

Hello I'm sorry that the cotton didn't work. Usually the only people that buy the cotton are ones that have wool allergies. We sell far more wool than cotton. I like the texture better as well. The cleaner refresher will have some sort of chemicals. We do sell a foot spray that is all natural and helps with smell. It's those crystal deordorant stones liquified. Its work - but first you need to get the footbed cleaned. I would sand paper your footbed really good, if you have something already all natural for foot smell- I would try that or order the foot spray we carry. Does your footbed when you wear it against your skin - does it stain your foot? If it does - you may need a new footbed. I call it saturation point - and your footbed is now giving back. It can't absorb anything else and, really, no amount of cleaning will help. I'm sorry the news isn't better.

[@LaughOutLouie88]

Question about the SockSols, You say to order one size down but showed 2 sizes down from 38 to 36. Their website also recommends 2 sizes down. Im confused. Lol.

[@desertbirk]

Actually it really depends on how you would like it to sit. We have found that going down one size works just fine. BUT if your shoe is a narrow you have to go down 2 sizes or it will not sit right. If it is the wider or regular width 1 or 2 sizes is fine. With 2 sizes we have found that sometimes your toe will sit on the lip and feel it. Why we recommend going down 1 size. Sorry for the confusion. Hope this helps. Amy

[@LaughOutLouie88]

Thank you for clarifying that you rock! Ive recently got into Birkenstocks and love them so I appreciate all your content in caring for them. @@desertbirk

[@LaughOutLouie88]

​​​​@@desertbirkOk. Just wanted to update that I just received my SockSols for my Birkenstocks 1 size down and they fit perfectly. I love them! No more footbed soiling. 😅

[@robertodavila4340]

How can I remove mold or fungus from my Birkenstocks?

[@desertbirk]

We have found that depending on the material sometimes it is not possible to remove it. We have seen the Birkibuc (mocha and stone) become discolored from a sort of a fungus or mold. As far as we can tell there is no way to remove it. Most of the pictures we have seen seems to originate in VERY high humidity areas. As we are quite dry in Las Vegas we can't duplicate the starting point. We have given suggestions but they never seem to work. Leather can be cleaned with balm or lotion. If it a suede or nubuck, sand paper or wire brushes can rid you of the mold or fungus but the synthetic birkibuc seems to be very predisposed to discoloring. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Amy

[@SomeOne-ji8ny]

How little can you possibly charge to repair these if a new pair is around $130.?

[@DesertBirkenstock]

Hello. It very much depends on how much damage there is to the shoe. Like we stress in the videos - If it is something you can replace easily and for around the same cost - or the uppers are too damaged to really make it cost effective - we try to recommend new. But if you can't replace (color or style) it may be worth the money to get them fixed because obviously you killed them - so you must love them. This page might give better info for you to reference. ( www.desertbirkenstock.com/shoe-care-repair ) Thanks for the question. Amy

[@ginismoja2459]

A new pair is like €60-€70 (which is still pretty expensive, compared to what they used to cost). If you're paying more than that, you're being ripped off.

[@desertbirk]

@@ginismoja2459 The €60-€70 is about $100 which would be the synthetic uppers and yes that would be true. The leathers are in the $130-145 range now. When I started in 1995 the Arizona taupe suede was $90 now $130. They do last and you are paying for about 50 people touching every shoe during it's construction besides the orthopedic nature of the shoe. I guess it all comes down to the value you put on it.

[@melissaadams7702]

My Birks need a clean the footbeds all black with my footprints and my sandals actually are soo stinky 🤮🤮🧀

[@DesertBirkenstock]

Hi Melissa! We have a new video coming out this week that will show you how to clean the footbed, be sure to subscribe and click the bell so you get notified when it releases. In the mean time, here is a link to a video we made a couple years ago on how to clean the footbed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGmsinico9FroKM Thank you for watching!!

[@margaretmoodie3416]

Gawd, is there any where that you can wear these supposedly hardy shoes?? Don’t get them wet? Don’t get them hot? So let’s see, I can wear these expensive shoes indoors with AC in the summer, and heat, but not too hot, in the winter. I like Birkenstocks …. But seriously??!

[@desertbirk]

Hello. What we are talking about are excesses. If the shoes gets too wet it can damage. Sadly we have people tell us they were told to get in the bathtub - get them wet and that helps them break in. Really NOT. If they get a little wet not a big deal - but not to go swimming in. Water expands the cork - can shred out of shoe - plus it makes the leathers all stiff and weird. Too Hot - this is a reminder especially during the summer months not to leave them anywhere they will bake. You can literally walk around all day in 110 degree weather and they will be fine. Sit in a car all day - not so much. We use a heat lamp to take the soles off for repair. Inside of car can get 160 - 180 degrees in the summer - makes sense not to leave them there. I've have shoes I have done all this to - sometimes they need repairs - it's just a reminder to be mindful and not intentionally do stuff that will degrade your shoes quicker. Hope that helps you feel a little better about your shoes. Amy

[@sunnie19]

​@desertbirk Wow! I'm not sure what is happening with everyone with their birks, but I had no idea that I couldn't do this so no one scream at me for doing this, but I washed mine. Luckily for me they are still looking great and still feeling wonderful. I do air dry them. I just I learned about this cleaner kit recently, after washing three sets of birks. Now with my newer pair, I want to try and see if the sealer makes a real difference to me. This video is really good, wish I had this information earlier.