Last Updated on October 4, 2026 by Umar Farooq
You do not wash suede. Not in a machine, not by hand, not in a basin. Suede is cleaned dry — let mud dry hard, brush it out with a suede brush, lift surface marks with a suede or pencil eraser, and treat whatever is left with the smallest amount of suede cleaner, vinegar or alcohol on a cloth. Brush the nap up as it dries, then spray a protector on it.
Nike states the exclusion plainly: “We don’t recommend putting suede shoes in the washing machine or hand-washing them in soap and water. Suede absorbs water, so washing a pair of suede shoes with water can actually cause stains to set in the fabric” (Nike — clean suede shoes). That is the honest answer to how to wash suede, and the rest of this page is what to do instead.
Suede is leather turned inside out
Suede is not a different animal or a different tanning process. It is the inner side of a hide, buffed so that short loose fibre ends stand proud of the surface. Von Baer describes the raw material: “Suede shoes, bags, and garments are made from the underparts of animals like lambs, goats, and cows, and so aren’t as tough or durable as the outer layer of skin” (Von Baer — how to clean suede).
That raised fibre layer is the nap, and it is the whole of the difference. Finished leather has a sealed grain that sheds a splash. Suede has thousands of open fibre ends with air between them — the structure that wicks liquid in and holds it. The case against putting any hide in water is made on how to wash a leather jacket; what follows is specific to the nap.
Why water leaves a ring when dirt does not
The frustrating thing about suede is that clean water marks it. Spill plain tap water on a suede shoe and a visible outline appears once it dries, though nothing dirty went on.
The mechanism is a drying-edge effect rather than a staining one, and it dictates the whole technique. Water spreads into the nap, carrying whatever dissolved soil, salts and tanning residues were already in the leather. As the patch dries it shrinks inward, and everything dissolved travels with the retreating edge and is deposited in a line where the last moisture evaporated. The ring is not where the water landed. It is where the water stopped. The wetted fibres also dry matted rather than upright, so the patch reflects light differently too.
That is why “just dab it with a damp cloth” is the commonest way to make a suede mark worse. Nike’s wording for the one liquid step they allow is restrictive: “Be sure not to drench the shoe in liquid, but rather lightly dampen the suede.”
How to wash suede without any water at all
Brushing is most of the job, and this site will go further than the manufacturers do: most suede that gets “cleaned” never needed a liquid. Von Baer says as much — “A good suede brush removes most stains and restores the material’s nap if it’s no longer lustrous” — and a brush is the only tool here that cannot leave a mark. Work in this order, and stop as soon as it looks right.
- Let it dry completely first. Nike: “It’s best to allow mud or other moisture to dry before brushing, otherwise a stain may inadvertently be caused.” Wet mud is pushed into the nap; dry mud shatters and falls out.
- Brush, side to side. A brass or rubber suede brush, short strokes both ways, lifting the fibres to release the dirt between them.
- Erase what the brush leaves. A suede eraser or clean pencil eraser, firm pressure on shiny or scuffed areas. Abrasion, not solvent, and very effective on shine.
- Only now, the smallest amount of liquid. Suede cleaner, white vinegar or rubbing alcohol onto the cloth rather than the leather, in rapid side-to-side strokes across a whole panel rather than a dot in the middle of one.
- Brush it back as it dries, then finish with a suede protector spray.
BootBuddy’s list of common mistakes reads like the four things people actually do: “Putting suede boots in the washing machine. Using too much water on suede. Scrubbing stains aggressively. Drying suede boots on radiators or in tumble dryers” (BootBuddy — suede boots).
The suede that ends up in a machine is usually a trim
Very few people deliberately machine wash suede boots. What happens far more often is that a washable garment goes in with a suede part attached — a patch on a jacket elbow, a yoke on a bag, the suede-backed label on a pair of jeans. The garment survives the cycle perfectly. The trim comes out stiff, pale and curled at the edges.
Check before the load, because a suede panel is the one component no cycle setting protects. Start with the care label — the professional-cleaning circle and the crossed-out tub are decoded on laundry symbols — then run a hand over the item. The same trap catches people washing a backpack, where one suede base panel rules out the machine for an otherwise washable bag.
If it has already been soaked
Rain, a puddle, a drink or a full cycle in the drum: the response is the same, and it starts immediately.
Blot, do not rub — rubbing while the fibres are soft mats them permanently. Stuff shoes or bags with crumpled paper to hold the shape, then dry slowly at room temperature, away from any radiator or sunny windowsill. Heat on wet leather is what produces the stiffness and cracking. Brush the nap gently several times during drying rather than once at the end, because the fibres set in whatever position they dry in.
Then accept that the item may not be what it was. Suede that has been through a wash cycle is a different material: the nap has matted, dye has gone into the water, and the hide has lost oils that are not coming back. No second treatment reverses that. A leather specialist is the only remaining option, and may still decline it.
FAQ
Can you put suede in the washing machine?
No. Nike’s guidance is not to machine wash or hand wash suede in soap and water, because suede absorbs water and that sets stains in. No gentle cycle changes this.
Can you use water on suede at all?
Only as a barely damp cloth, across a whole panel rather than one spot. Water carries dissolved soil to the edge of the wet area and leaves a ring there as it dries.
How do you get a water stain out of suede?
Dampen the whole panel lightly and evenly so there is no edge for a ring to form at, then brush the nap up as it dries. A hairdryer makes it worse.
What removes grease from suede?
A powder, not a liquid. Nike uses cornstarch, Von Baer baking soda; either sits on the mark for hours to absorb the oil, then gets brushed out.
Can a dry cleaner clean suede?
A leather and suede specialist can; a standard high-street cleaner usually will not take it, and should not. Cleaning suede is a re-finishing job, not a solvent job.
Brush it dry and keep the water away
Suede is the one material where the answer to “how do I wash this” is a flat no, and where the best tool costs about the same as a coffee. Dry it, brush it, erase it, and leave the liquid in the cupboard unless the brush has failed.
