Little survey: trail shoes

Hi guys,

Just gathering together some intel for an upcoming piece. How do YOU clean your muddy trail shoes? washing machine? hose? scrub in the sink? or leave them to rot?!

Any cunning ye olde handed-down-through-generations-of-fell-runners tips?

I leave them on the mat to dry out, shake off the loose stuff, put them back on again.

Cleaning them would be a waste of time given how soon they'd get muddy again.

In a stream/river/big puddle/other gathering of water. Occasionally I take the insoles out and throw them in the washing machine.

Mostly I just bang them together after a run to get some mud off, possibly another bang together before the next run.

Bang them and brush them with an old scrubbing brush I keep in the garden for the task, then try and sneak them back into the house without any final bits of mud falling off

if I feel the need to give them a good wash I'll stick them in the washing machine (inside something to stop them banging around too much) on a cold wash and no detergent.  the agitation of the wash is enough to get them clean enough

If its just a little bit of mud I leave it, they look better when they are dirty

Every so often I scrub them in a bowl of water with some washing powder using an old nailbrush or toothbrush. I only really do that when they are so muddy that the dry mud flakes off all over the house.

OOOOO i love a clean show (possible mild ocd) ill leave them to dry for a day then run the a warm tap and sponge the shoes in the sink. Leave them to dry on the rad. satisfaction guarenteed

bang off the loose stuff, then wear them in the rain or run through the streams

This feels a bit like a trick question!

Run them under cold water, with a small stiff brush... takes about 2-3 minutes - then leave them near the fire to dry.

What's the catch?

I stand in a deep puddle and that washes off most of the mud. I stuff them with newspaper to keep them in shape, and help them dry quicker.

I take them in the shower with me, straight after a run.   Quick rinse, scrub with a brush under the sink (for that purpose) then out to dry.  I am a bit obsessive about looking after gear.

In an old cushion case, washing machine on lowest temp with no detergent, then into the tumble drier in the same cushion case. But if I was going to use them on trails a lot and get them muddy every week I wouldn't bother.

like wilkie.leave them to dry off and then give them a little bang together to get rid of any loose stuff and then go back out in them.....why on earth would you want to wash trail shoes

If its just mud and not soaked through then I just slip them back on and let the wet mud take over from the old dry stuff. Personally I don't feel I've been doing it properly if im not coming back wearing an extra pair of socks .Eventually it has to stop raining though and the mud just comes off with the miles then.

leave to dry slowly (not near fire) (remove insoles and stuff with newspaper if very wet, sometimes replace newspaper after a while if very very wet) - helps if you've got lots of pairs of shoes (which I have!) so can use a different clean/dry pair for next run
brush off majority of dried mud with scrubbing brush - looking for an effect where it looks like you take care of your shoes, but without appearing OCD

i run in barefoot trailgloves with no socks so i usually jump in the shower still wearing them, and leave em to dry under the bathroom radiator

just bang the mud off and go out in them again.Would never put themin the washing machine, the motion of the wash cycle completely ruins the durability of the shoe and modern detergents wreck the fabrics and glue.

bang off mud or sand, leave to dry, put back on again.

If really muddy/sandy run through streams, rivers or sea. If really really really claggy, leave outside overnight and hope the rain will do it's best for me.  I had a pair of Walsh's once - they were indestructable, used to spend most of their life outside and just refused to rot or fall apart.

NEVER put anything near a washing mashine.

and snow is brillaint for cleaning dirty trainers