Is it worth cleaning shoes or buying new?

What cleaning can fix

Dirt, mud, sweat stains, most smells, scuffs, salt lines, a good amount of yellowing on uppers, flat suede, light mould. Which, as it happens, covers most of what people mean when they say a pair is "ruined".

What it cannot

Holes in the upper. Leather that has cracked right through. Soles worn down to nothing, foam gone flat, or a sole peeling away. Some of those are a cobbler's job. Some mean the shoe has simply done its work.

A quick way to decide

Is the shoe still sound? Sole attached, upper intact, still comfy on your foot? Then cleaning is almost always worth it, especially for sneakers, leather and anything that cost real money.

The money side

A decent pair of sneakers or leather shoes runs into several thousand rupees now. A professional clean costs a small slice of that, and you keep a pair that is already broken in. Cheap shoes with a split sole, on the other hand, probably are not worth the bother.

Or just ask us

Send a photo on WhatsApp. If we do not think cleaning will make a real difference, we will say so and leave the pair with you.