Summer style just wouldn’t be the same without a good old pair of flip-flops. They’re just so easy for hot days when the idea of wearing socks and trainers couldn’t be less appealing.
Some, like the Archies arch support flip-flops, have even convinced our Fashion Ecommerce Editor to branch out from Birkenstocks, as they’re comfy as well as simple to wear. However, like all shoes that get a lot of wear, flip-flops do end up needing a good clean quite quickly.
Thankfully, this can be done not only very easily, but very affordably, with Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle's clever hack. Using just three ingredients she showed on ITV’s This Morning how you can polish up your flip-flops to perfection.
Shop Nancy's Flip-Flop Cleaning Essentials
Affordable and versatile, this 180g tub of bicarbonate of soda is useful for both cleaning and baking. It's currently Aldi price-matched at Sainsbury's and you should store it in a cool, dry place at home.
Suitable for vegans, this glycerine can be used to prevent soft fondant icing from setting too hard and if you add a small amount of it when heating sugar it can help stop it crystallising. Of course, as we now know, cleaning flip-flops is another equally valuable use for it.
With a gorgeous camomile and clementine fragrance, this washing-up liquid is a lovely choice that's tough on grease. Made from naturally derived biodegradable ingredients, this all-in-one dishwashing liquid formula is crafted to deliver powerful cleaning performance in both hard and soft water.
Her advice was shared in a clip on social media for anyone who might have missed the main programme and Nancy started off with simple bicarbonate of soda. If you’re an avid baker like she is you probably already have a tub of this knocking around in your kitchen cupboard.
Even if you’re not, though, it’s a great item to have to hand as there are so many things you can clean with baking soda at home. Nancy pointed out that compared to a brand of white shoe cleaner she saw priced at £3.50, it’s also far cheaper at just 77p.
"So you’ve got 100g of bicarb, you’ve got going in there glycerine," she said, adding her ingredients to a large glass bowl. "If you want a quick bottle you can get it from the baking aisle. That is a cleaner in itself, it’s used in lots of makeup things."
Nancy then squeezed in a "little squirt of eco washing up liquid" and mixed it to a paste.
She explained, "And then all you need to do literally is - I like these exfoliating gloves for this - get a little glove on and get going."
Demonstrating the effectiveness of her flip-flop cleaning method live on air, the GBBO winner proceeded to use her mixture and a pair of exfoliating gloves on some. Within seconds the sand and dust was lifted off them, showing off their original chocolate brown colour.
It’s hardly a surprise with these results that her flip-flop cleaning hack has got the seal of approval from woman&home’s Homes Ecommerce Editor, Laura Honey.
"I love this advice, not least because it's a really budget-friendly way to clean flip-flops. Bicarbonate of soda is always brilliant when you're looking for natural and simple ways to clean," she says. "It's most commonly used as a gentle abrasive, but it's great for shoes because bicarb is also a natural deodoriser. The other 'ingredients' are also nice and simple, offering the right balance of cleaning power whilst still being moisturising for your shoe's materials too."
Although she used this trick on flip-flops, Nancy remarked upon how "great" it is for trainers too. So the next time your best white trainers are looking a little worse for wear, it might be worth giving this a little go to bring back some of the brightness.
Her advice just goes to show that cleaning your favourite flip-flops can be quick, effective and cost-effective too, giving us all no excuse but to keep them looking fresh this summer.
