How to Wash Skates

Roller Skates and Inline Skates

Wash removable liners in a washing machine and air dry them. Take out any removable liners from inside your roller skates or inline skates and toss them into your washing machine. Set your washing machine to a warm water cycle of up to 30 °C (86 °F) and add a gentle laundry detergent. Run the cycle, then hang up the liners to air dry. Don’t use any harsh detergents or fabric softeners that could damage your liners. Make sure to keep the liners away from heat sources while they dry.

Wipe down the exterior of your skates using a clean cloth if they get wet. Take off your skates after using them and put them on some newspaper to help absorb the moisture if they become wet due to your sweat or wet riding conditions. Dry off the outside surfaces of your skates completely. You can also use a clean, dry bristle brush to get dirt and dust out of any crevices on your skates.

Remove the wheels from your skates using a wrench or hex key. Look at the hubs of your wheels to determine if they are held on the axle by a nut or by a removable bolt with a hex slot in the head. Use a wrench to remove nuts or a hex key to undo bolts with hex slots in their heads. Take all the wheels off. Roller skates typically use nuts to secure the wheels on the axles, while inline skates like rollerblades are typically held in place by bolts with hex slots in their heads. In other words, you need a wrench to remove roller skate wheels and a hex key to remove inline skate wheels. A hex key is also known as an Allen wrench or an Allen key. You can also use a multi-purpose skate tool that has different wrench sockets and heads to remove skate wheels. It’s a good idea to clean your wheels and bearings every 1-3 months or after every 10 uses or so.

Take the bearings out of the wheels using a bearing remover. Push the tip of the bearing remover tool into the center of a wheel while you press the button on the back of the tool. Let go of the button, then pull the tool back out to remove the bearing. Do this for each wheel. Always take out the bearings when you are cleaning your roller skates or inline skates so you don’t get them wet when you wash the wheels. You can get a bearing remover at a skate shop or online.

Soak the wheels in a container full of soapy water. Submerge all the wheels in a container of water and add 2-3 drops of liquid dish detergent. Move the wheels around a few times in the water until it gets nice and soapy. Let them soak until you start to see dirt loosening from the wheels and floating around in the water. For light wheel cleanings, you can just spray some window cleaner onto the wheels and wipe them clean with a paper towel instead of soaking them. This can also be done with the wheels on the skates.

Wipe the wheels clean and dry them off with paper towels. Pull the wheels out of the water after they’re done soaking and wipe them down one by one using clean, dry paper towels. Wipe off all the moisture from each wheel, using more dry paper towels as needed, to ensure that all your wheels are totally clean and dry before you put your skates back together. If there is any caked-on dirt that didn’t come off during soaking and doesn’t wipe off with paper towels, you can use an old toothbrush to scrub it off.

Clean the bearings with bearing wash and lubricate them with bearing lube. Put the bearings in a small lidded container and cover them with bearing wash. Put the lid on and shake the container vigorously to wash the bearings. Remove the bearings from the wash and dry them off with a clean, lint-free cloth. Apply 1 drop of bearing lubricant to each bearing. You can get both bearing wash and bearing lube at a skate shop or online.

Put the bearings in the wheels and put the wheels back on your skates. Use your bearing tool to reinsert the bearings into each wheel. Place the wheels back on the axles, then tighten the nuts or bolts back into place using your wrench or hex key. The wheels are all interchangeable, so they can go back anywhere on your skates. In fact, putting them on in a different order than they were in before is a good way to help reduce wear on the wheels. Give each wheel a spin with your fingers to make sure they are spinning freely. If any aren’t spinning super smoothly, you can just loosen the nut or bolt about 1/4 of a turn to give that wheel more mobility.

Ice Skates and Hockey Skates

Wipe off your skate blades with a soft cloth right after every use. Sit down and remove your skates as soon as you come off the ice, then wipe off all the moisture. Put your blade protectors on to cover the blades and keep them clean and protected. Don’t ever let your ice skate or hockey skate blades stay wet after using them or they can begin to rust. If rust ever does develop on your skate blades, spray some WD-40 on them and scrub the rust away with a scouring pad.

Scrub the insoles and insides of your skates with a washcloth and vinegar. Remove the insole from each of your skates. Pour some vinegar onto a washcloth and scrub down both sides of the insoles and the whole interior of each skate, then let everything air dry. You could also use a commercial sports deodorizer spray instead of vinegar. To prevent odors from developing inside your skates, you can remove the insoles after each use and stuff newspaper inside the skate boots to absorb sweat and smells. There are also commercial deodorizers you can stick inside your skate boots.

Soak your skate laces in a bowl of hot water and laundry detergent. Remove the laces from each one of your skate boots. Fill a bowl with enough hot water to submerge them completely and stir in about 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of laundry detergent. Put your laces in the bowl and let them soak for at least 30 minutes, then rinse them out thoroughly and let them air dry. You can leave the laces to soak longer if they are particularly dirty. Wait until the laces are completely dry and you’re done with the rest of your skate cleaning to put them back in your skate boots. If your laces are still dirty or stained after soaking, you can always just replace them.

Clean the exterior of your skates with water, dish soap, and a sponge. Put some water in a small bowl or container and add a few drops of liquid dish detergent. Dip a sponge in the solution, wring out the excess moisture, then rub the sponge all over the outside surfaces of your skates to clean off any dust and dirt. You can also try using a melamine foam sponge for tough-to-clean smudges and spots.

Dry off your skates with a clean, dry towel. Rub the towel all over the surfaces you just cleaned to soak up extra moisture. Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies where drops of water might be hiding. You can use a folded up hand towel or a small washcloth or microfiber cloth, for example.

Put the insoles and laces back in your skates. Replace the insoles you cleaned with vinegar after they are dry. Lace up each of your skates once the laces are finished air drying as well.