How to care for non-washable slippers. Preventing Bad Odors | Heiwa Slipper

Unfortunately our slippers are not washable.
To be precise, we do not recommend washing them.

Because we use a special fabric, color migration and color fading are very severe.

In addition, felt soles can be deformed when washed in water. The shape of the slippers will then be distorted, making them difficult to wear.
Therefore, we do not recommend our customers to wash them in water.

But, the odor,stink issue is a concern for many of our customers.

Here are some of the ways we personally do it.

1） Dry in the sun
Dry in the sun on a sunny day.
Odor is often caused by sweat and moisture. Exposure to sunlight often helps prevent or alleviate odor. However, please note that prolonged exposure to strong ultraviolet rays may cause the color of the fabric to fade.

2）Wipe with water using a well wring cloth.

3）Deodorize with commercially available deodorant spray or Ethanol (e.g., commonly used for hand sanitizer)
In Japan, commercially available deodorizing sprays for cloths may be used. Ethanol for hand disinfection, which became common during the pandemic, may also be used.
Since disinfectant ethanol is highly effective in deodorizing and has become common in Japan after the pandemic, it may be used to disinfect and deodorize products that cannot be washed.
However, because these methods use chemicals, there are risks of ignition and allergies, so please be sure to pay close attention to your own safety and the laws in your area before trying them.

4）Use with socks on
This will prevent the cause of odor. In most cases, slippers have a strong odor when used with bare feet. In Japan, slippers worn with bare feet (e.g., slippers with front opening, Tatami slippers) and slippers with socks are often used separately.
As a preventive measure for those who wish to use slippers barefoot, we recommend the use of breathable tatami slippers or open-type slippers.

These are easy and convenient ways to tackle the problem.

Also, while we do not recommend washing our slippers in water, I have personally machine washed our slippers on several occasions.

If you do, wash them in a washing net and use the Washing machine hand washing function (weak washing method).

The color of the fabric will change a little, such as the color fading, but it can be washed without problem. However, they lost their shape a little and became difficult to wear. And the adhesive part on the bottom of the inside is peeling off a little.

Perhaps if you wash them gently by hand, without using a washing machine, and don't dehydrate too hard, you might be able to prevent them from losing their shape a little more. Please refer to the above if you like.

We will make every effort to make our proposals easier to understand for our customers.