Peed on shoe rack.

September 9, 2015 4:23 AM

A person - who will remained unidentified - pissed on my shoe rack. Most of the urine was directed INTO suede, lace-up shoes with a squishy, fabric bottom. A second pair of suede shoes (below) was affected by overflow. Otherwise, the urine sprinkled.

I poured out urine out the first pair mentioned. I have placed the suede shoes (plural), the shoe rack, and other affected item in the shower, under water.

Questions:
1) How else can I clean the items - particularly the first pair mentioned.

2) Is the first pair remotely salvageable?

Thank you for your advice. I am stunned and overwhelmed.

posted by kiki_s to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

Response by poster: A couple of clarifying details:

The culprit owns the soaked pair of suede shoes. I own the other, lesser affected pair.

I took action immediately after it occurred.
posted by kiki_s at 4:28 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Sorry, but I'd toss out both pairs --- getting them that soaked in water would probably kill them, but urine? The suede is soaked in it, the liner is soaked in it; even if it dried, the smell is never completely coming out, and no way would I want to walk around in that. Any liquid is going to damage the glue that sticks the fabric liner to the shoe, as well as 'clumping' and probably staining the suede.
posted by easily confused at 5:46 AM on September 9, 2015 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I'm not too squeamish about this kind of thing - some soap and water would be completely ok for the rack as far as I am concerned - but for suede shoes, and on the inside? I'd go for the Lebowski solution - toss both pairs, offender owes you a pair of shoes.
posted by Dr Dracator at 5:52 AM on September 9, 2015 [11 favorites]

Depending on how affected they were, how good the suede is and how much you like the shoes, you might try this for the second pair (the first pair....well, if they're, say, shoes belonging to a small child, you might just try washing them in the washer on cold gentle and drying them in a cool place stuffed full of newspaper. Still kind of ew, but shoe glue is variable - some pairs are pretty sturdy):

Rinse the shoes well with cold soapy water.

For the exterior, get some suede cleaner and follow Put This On's instructions. Don't be afraid of a lather. If you don't want to pay for suede cleaner and want to take a chance on the shoes, use a couple of drops of a gentle shampoo.

Let the shoes dry in a cool place with shoe trees or newspaper inside.

Using a suede brush, restore the nap.

I've cleaned suede shoes this way (though not, so far, under such kind of circumstances) and they're fine. The nap will be a little altered but not unwearable.

Basically, if these were shoes that I really liked and by "affected" you meant "not that much fluid", I might take a chance on this process. At worst, they're still destroyed and you toss them out.


Good quality suede is actually quite robust - it's the thinner, cheaper stuff (and occasionally the thinner, heavily dyed stuff used for expensive women's evening shoes) that is fragile.
posted by Frowner at 6:15 AM on September 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Another note: when shoes get saturated with water, it is almost always worthwhile to dry them out slowly. I've gotten suede shoes completely soaked in the rain, dried them out and brushed the nap, and they were perfectly fine. Don't toss shoes just because they are soaked. Drain them, and if you're worried about mildew, fill them with crumpled newspaper and change it out every couple of hours until they are really on their way to drying.

With the exception of very cheap glued leather or pleather shoes (glued canvas/mesh/etc is usually more resilient) shoes are sturdier than you think. It's wear on the soles and tugging on the glue between sole and upper that does most of them in.
posted by Frowner at 6:18 AM on September 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Listen to Frowner! I've successfully put a pair of pink suede Kate Spade desert boots through the washing machine. Totally agree: good suede is robust. Definitely don't toss good shoes without at least trying to clean them.

I get the best results from drying shoes in a place that is warm and ventilated but not too warm and ventilated -- think near a heating vent rather than right on top of one, about that level. On a windowsill on a hot day, etc.
posted by kmennie at 7:02 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

For dealing with the urine smell, I'd give Nature's Miracle or a similar enzymatic cleaner a try. I've never had occasion to use it on human urine, but it's pretty much the only thing that works for getting the smell of cat urine out of things. You can buy it at most pet supply stores.
posted by biogeo at 7:34 AM on September 9, 2015

Nature's miracle works on people pee too, so you may want to use that on the rack or carpet or splashed shoes, though I'd spot test each pair first.
posted by wwax at 7:42 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Recently I stepped into a urine soaked elevator and the cloth shoes I was wearing were a total loss. Whether or not your shoes can be successfully cleaned, A Person owes you (at minimum!) an equivalent pair and a profuse apology. Sorry you have to deal with this.
posted by Space Kitty at 8:35 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

There are professional shoe repair and cleaning shops out there, if your home attempts don't work!
posted by erst at 11:05 AM on September 9, 2015

Throw them out. Have had this happen with cat pee, it is the end of the shoe no matter what you do. Get your friend housebroken too.
posted by mermayd at 12:14 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

I don't have the recipe with me but we used a remarkable combo of Dawn dishwashing liquid, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water to clean the dog pee from our carpet (after all store-bought remedies had failed.)

You sound desperate, so I would Google the recipe (I don't want to mis-advise you) and throw the shoes in a bucket of it for ten minutes.

Rinse and hope for the best. It sounds like they're most likely ruined, so desperate measures seem in order.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:14 PM on September 9, 2015

Throw away the shoes. Here's why.

Every time you wear those shoes, you will be slightly disgusted and it will remind you of the crime against you and your shoes. You don't need this negative energy in your life.

Just buy new shoes.
posted by Piedmont_Americana at 10:02 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]