5 Effective Ways to Stop Shoes from Squeaking!

By Deidre

5 Effective Ways to Stop Shoes from Squeaking! www.walkjogrun.net

We have all experience with at least one pair of shoes making a squeaking noise while walking in a quiet hallway, grocery store, sidewalk, or bathroom. It is annoying!

Fixing your squeaky shoes may include airdrying shoes, scraping the bottoms, adding a lubricant, or buying a new pair.

There are a few things you can try to resolve the squeak, but first, you will need to find the squeak and identify the cause so we can fix it.

Why do shoes squeak in the first place…

Your shoes may squeak for a few reasons.

The squeaking could be that your shoes are:

New
Broken
Old
Wet

And noisy shoes come in all forms. They could be sneakers, sandals, dress shoes, or casual canvas shoes.

To find out where the squeaky shoe sound is coming from, try walking back and forth in your home a few times. You may even want to get a friend to help you listen out for the squeak.

Once you have found out if the sound of the squeak is coming from the sole, the tongue, the upper area, or the inside of your shoe, you will be one step closer to fixing squeaky shoes.

1. New shoe squeaks

When you wear a new pair of shoes, the soles may create some sound when you first walk around in them because they are unused and need to be broken in.

Try using fine sandpaper to scrape the outsoles to speed up the aging process
Scuffing the soles of your shoes by walking over a graveled area
Break your shoes in by walking around the house to loosen up the stiffness

Keeping the return policy in mind with new squeaky shoes is crucial. Correcting a squeaky shoe on your own that is new may void the return policy.

So, returning the shoes for a new pair may prove to be wise.

2. Insole squeaks

Insole squeaks can be caused by moisture. There are a few ways that the moisture in parts of the shoe can be absorbed to correct your insole’s squeaking.

You will need to remove your insole or orthotic and try:

Sprinkle talcum powder or baby powder on the inside of your shoe to absorb the moisture
Throw your shoes in the dryer for 10 minutes with a few towels
Stuff your shoes with newspaper to help them dry on the inside

If it is not a moisture problem, you may want to:

Add vaseline, petroleum jelly or coconut oil to the inside of the shoe; this will help decrease friction between your insole
Place a dryer sheet on the inside of your shoe under the insole

If the rubber insoles of your shoes are not removable, you may need to rub the powder into the area that is squeaking. Let the powder sit overnight and remove any excess powder the next day.

3. Tongue and shoelace squeaks

Sometimes the friction between the tongue of your shoes and the laces can cause your shoes to make a squeaking sound.

A few easy fixes are:

Sprinkle baby powder or talcum powder between the tongue and the laces
Use shoe conditioner on the tongue and buff it out with a soft cloth

It is essential to use a shoe conditioner specific to the shoe you are treating.

For example, do not use leather shoe conditioner on suede shoes. A suede shoe conditioner will work best.

4. Upper shoe squeaks

Correcting the squeaky sounds of the upper area of your leather or suede sneakers, sandals, or dress shoes may be as simple as:

Buffing a shoe conditioner to the upper area
Sparingly using WD-40 to the site that is squeaking

Or allow your shoes’ upper area made from a different material to dry completely.

Carefully apply WD-40 to the areas of your shoes that are squeaking. To prevent damaging the shoe, apply a small amount to a cotton swab or ball and work it into the outside seams where your shoe is squeaking.

5. Go to the Cobbler

When you have tried all of the things above, and your shoes are still squeaking, you have allowed them to dry completely, and they are not damaged. Go to your local Cobbler.

And if you do not have a local Shoe Cobbler, there are online repair shops, and mail your shoes to a Cobbler to have your shoes squeak fixed.

If your shoes are broken but fixable, they will have an affordable solution for fixing your shoes, and the turnaround time is good.

To conclude

Walking around in squeaking shoes is annoying, but your shoes are still wearable.

If you have tried to eliminate the squeak and do not want to take your shoes to a Cobbler, there is nothing wrong with announcing that you have arrived when you walk into a room.