How to Clean Jordans, According to Toronto’s Shoe Laundry

One of the most tortuous decisions every sneakerhead has to make is whether to risk wearing his or her shoes out of the house. On the one hand, that’s the point of having a fire pair of grails—you want to show them off, especially if they’re the product of a hard-won raffle or an over-inflated resale price tag. On the other hand, it’s a dirty, dangerous world out there, and there’s nothing worse than stepping out in an immaculate pair of shoes only to sulk back home with them half-ruined. 

That’s why Amir Alam—a former scientist and DJ from Toronto—created Shoe Laundry, a premium, plant-based shoe cleaning kit designed to keep new sneakers looking new and restore old sneakers back to their former glory. A standard kit from Shoe Laundry comes with a microfiber cloth, a proprietary (non-chemical) cleaning solution, and an agave-bristle brush, and used correctly, this is all it takes to completely repair and overhaul the look of a pair of beaters. For shoes that are looking ragged, scuffed, or just plain beaten up, there’s no better fix.

We caught up with Alam over the phone recently to walk through the process of how to restore a messed up pair of Air Jordans, just to see how the whole thing really works. If you’ve got a pair of Jordans in your closet that could use some love and attention, look no further than this complete guide.