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Yellowing Ecco sneakers ETA - success update in comments

Christina F.

Veteran

Hi all, I saw Angie posting about deciding between some Ecco sneakers, and I felt compelled to post about my experience with the white-soled ones.

My beloved Eccos have yellowing soles, which started within a year or so of heavy use. I have tried magic eraser, but it didn't help much. I've seen reviews of Ecco's own cleaning kit that say it didn't help with the yellowing.

Does anyone out there have a magic solution.

It's hard to see it in a picture of the shoe on its own, since the metallic skews gold, so I added a sheet of paper to give a better sense of the color by contrast. Since they are kind of gold, I don't mind the yellow as much as I might otherwise.... but I do mind.

ETA - I painted them - after picture in comments

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Ecco 'Soft 7' Sneaker

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25 replies

Latest reply was from Jaime

Runcarla

Veteran

It might not be surface 'dirt' but rather change in chemical composition.

Christina F.

Veteran

Carla, yes, I believe that's the case. I saw a suggestion for whitening toothpaste to be used.... I don't know if that would help, but it seems like it would be a temporary fix and would have to be reapplied. Much like with my own teeth, since I have poor enamel due to medication I took as a child.

I wonder if it's possible to prevent it? Obviously that won't help me now, but would help others. I'll still wear them but with slightly less joy than before.

smittie

Veteran

That amount of yellowing doesn’t bother me, but if it bothers you, then I think you should get a new pair of you can afford it.

Christina F.

Veteran

smittie, it bothers me enough to want to put the effort in to fix it if that's possible, but not to buy another pair (especially if this might happen again). If that makes sense!

My post title was a bit histrionic - I fixed it.

nemosmom

Veteran

I had a pair of similar sneakers that yellowed after a season of walking on salted sidewalks. I was able to get them cleaner with a whitening toothpaste and some patience, but they were never back to bright white. I have since replaced them with a similar slip-on by Dr. Scholls and haven't had them yellow yet, but I have been diligent about wiping them down and not wearing them in winter. I don't know if that's what happened with yours, but I thought I'd mention it.

I wonder if weatherproofing spray would help prevent yellowing of new ones?

Christina F.

Veteran

Thanks, nemosmom. I never treated them for weather, which was a mistake. I wasn't doing that consistently when I got them, but I'm better about it now. I doubt I wore them in snow a lot, but I may have gotten caught in something.

I wear them inside now, for the most part, since my needs for outside shoes at the moment are very specific; these don't 100% meet them. So if I try the whitening toothpaste, maybe it will last for a while. I'll be happy with some improvement, and am glad to hear the toothpaste works to a degree.

Coffeegirl28

There is an oxidation remover you could try. It's called Angelus Sole Bright. I've not tried it myself but I've seen some folks online recommending it! There's a good how-to video here.

JAileen

Veteran

Coffeegirl, the video looked great! One commenter said use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide instead, making a paste of it. I’d be inclined to try that first, since I have both of those on hand anyway (for destinking Mr Skunky).

Anonymous

Shoot . That's too bad . That would end it for me- and I feel your frustration . White is so tricky in any material/form.

Eva

I would probably try some mild household bleaching agent containing
hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite, and try it on an inconspicuous spot first.

Anonymous

Seconding baking soda and peroxide!

Christina F.

Veteran

Thanks, all! I will try the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, probably on the weekend, and report back. To my mind, it's better to start with cheaper and easier to obtain materials before going on to buying specialized products!

I also need to get some baking soda to get a stubborn grease stain out of a tee shirt--I saw online that baking soda plus wd-40 (!!!) might do the trick. In that case, I won't wear the shirt anymore except around the house if I can't get the stain out, so I'm willing to try something crazy sounding.

Anonymous

Wd-40?! Eeep! That sounds like a really bad idea!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I echo the ladies. Scrub with Oxiclean, peroxide and baking soda - and some water. Let it sink in for while.

kkards

Veteran

my go to stain remover is Borax...it's cheap and non toxic...mix it with water and/or Dawn.

Christina F.

Veteran

suntiger - I was surprised too! It's kind of a Hail Mary at this point, though. I may use another oil, per the comments. I haven't finished looking into it and deciding, though. https://www.wikihow.com/Remove.....aking-Soda

Angie, good thought, I may have some Oxiclean stashed somewhere.

kkards, that's a good thought, if the Oxiclean etc doesn't work.

smittie

Veteran

Ah, I see. I hope you find a good solution!

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I dug around some sneaker sites. Found this, mentioning oxidation

https://bldandkin.com/blogs/wa.....w-midsoles

Cheaper than new shoes

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Also found this, reviews are mixed though

https://www.amazon.com/Angelus.....#038;psd=1

Christina F.

Veteran

No photos yet, but I tried some of the options posted about above. I made a paste including Oxiclean and then I took some of the sneaker blog advice and left them out in the limited sunlight I get on my fire escape. I’ll
add photos later, but I think they won’t matter. I think there is a difference, but it won’t be visible to you all in the photos. I don’t think the souls were bright white to begin with. There is a bit of a difference to my eye though, and I want to try the process again in the summer when there is more and stronger sunlight. Thanks all!

That said, these shoes in my size still exist on amazon and I always intended to duplicate. I may order them while I can....

Christina F.

Veteran

I applied some sneaker paint, and things look better! I want to do another coat with a finer brush, but from a distance (which is how anyone but me will see the midsoles), it looks better!

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Bonnie

Veteran

They look great!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fabulous! I'm glad you posted this. I have this problem also.

Anonymous

Looks better to me! Glad you were able to save the happy shoes

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Well done!