Keds go with everything. Jeans, dresses, shorts, you name it. But that crisp white canvas doesn't stay crisp for long. One puddle or grass stain, and your favorite sneakers look like they've been through it.

Good news: you don't need special products to fix that. With a few household supplies or a quick swipe of a SneakERASER when you're short on time, your Keds can look brand new again.

Below, we'll cover how to hand-clean your Keds, tackle stubborn stains, dry them properly, and keep them looking fresh longer. Let's get into it.

Hand cleaning is the safest way to wash your Keds. Machine washing might seem easier, but it can weaken the glue that holds the shoe together and cause discoloration over time.

The good news is that hand cleaning works on both white and colored canvas Keds, and it honestly doesn't take much effort. But before you start, you'll need to gather a few supplies.

Here's what you'll need:

• Soft-bristled brush or old toothbrush

• Mild liquid dish soap

• Warm water

• Small bowl or bucket

• Clean cloths

• Dry towel

• Optional: baking soda, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, OxiClean, and newspaper for drying

Now let's walk through it step by step.

Pull the laces out completely and set them aside. You'll wash those separately. If your Keds have removable insoles, take those out too so the inside of the shoe can breathe and get cleaned on its own.

This also makes it way easier to scrub around the tongue and eyelets, which are sneaky little dirt magnets.

Grab a dry soft-bristled brush or toothbrush and knock off any dried mud, dust, or loose dirt before you add any water. Focus on the seams, the area where the canvas meets the sole, and any textured spots where grime likes to hide.

Don't skip this part. If you get dry dirt wet, it turns into muddy smears and makes the whole job harder. The SneakERASERS Shoe Cleaning Kit includes everything you need to handle this kind of prep and follow-up cleaning in one place — worth keeping on hand for canvas shoes like Keds.

Add a few drops of mild liquid dish soap to a bowl of warm water and mix until it gets sudsy. That's it.

If your Keds are seriously dirty, you can try a deeper soak instead: dissolve 1/4 cup of OxiClean in a gallon of warm water, and let the shoes sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Whatever you use, stick with gentle, bleach-free products. Bleach can discolor the canvas and cause damage you can't undo.

Dip a cloth or toothbrush into the soapy solution and scrub the canvas in small circular motions. Work section by section across the shoe instead of trying to do it all at once.

For stubborn stains or ground-in grime, make a baking soda paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and 1 cup of water. Apply it directly to the stain, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub.

Just don't soak the whole shoe. Use enough moisture to lift the dirt without saturating the canvas.

Take a clean cloth, dampen it with cool water, and wipe away all the soap residue from the canvas. Be thorough here. Leftover detergent can cause yellowing or leave visible streaks once the shoes dry, which kind of defeats the whole purpose.

After rinsing, blot the shoes with a dry towel to soak up as much excess water as you can from both the outside and inside.

Stuff each shoe with newspaper or white paper towels to absorb moisture from the inside and help the shoes hold their shape while they dry. Then place them in a well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Sun and heat can cause fading, yellowing on white canvas, and weaken the glue.

And whatever you do, don't put them in the dryer. The heat can warp the rubber soles, break down the adhesive, and even shrink the shoes. Air drying usually takes anywhere from a few hours to a full day, depending on humidity.

If you don't feel like mixing solutions or digging through your cabinet for supplies, this method is for you. SneakERASERS are dual-layered sponges built specifically for cleaning sneakers without harsh chemicals. They work great on the rubber soles, midsoles, and toe caps of your Keds.

For the canvas fabric and laces, SneakERASERS SOAK is the better pick since it's made to handle mesh, fabric, and lace materials.

Think of this as your go-to for on-the-go touch-ups, quick refreshes between deep cleans, or those mornings when you look down and think "nope, can't leave the house like this."

Start with the white side of the SneakERASER sponge and gently swipe down the entire rubber sole, midsole, and toe cap. This alone removes everyday dirt, scuffs, and discoloration.

For tougher marks that won't budge, flip to the orange side and use light pressure in back-and-forth motions until the stains lift.

Then wipe the rubber areas with a clean cloth to clear any residue. No water, no buckets, no mixing. Just a sponge and a few seconds, and the shoes already look noticeably better.

For the canvas upper, tongue, and laces, SneakERASERS SOAK is designed to clean fabric materials without damaging them. Prepare the SOAK solution, submerge or treat the laces, and gently work the solution into the canvas with a soft brush or cloth to lift dirt and stains.

This combines the cleaning and stain-lifting steps into one fabric-safe solution, so you can skip the DIY baking soda pastes and OxiClean soaks if you want something more straightforward. For a side-by-side look at how these tools perform on white canvas sneakers, this guide on how to clean white shoes is a helpful resource.

Stuff each shoe with newspaper or paper towels and let them air dry in a ventilated area away from direct sunlight.

Because SneakERASERS use way less moisture than a full hand wash, drying time is usually shorter. Once the shoes are completely dry, relace them, and you're good to go.

Regular cleaning takes care of everyday dirt, but some stains need a little more attention. Grass, mud, food spills, yellow discoloration, salt lines, and mildew all fall into that stubborn category.

The best thing you can do is treat stains as soon as you notice them. Fresh stains come out way easier than ones that have had time to set in and get comfortable. Below are targeted treatments for the most common offenders.

Here's something that surprises people: bleach can actually cause white canvas to turn yellow. So skip it entirely.

Instead, mix 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide with a small amount of dish soap. Apply it to the canvas with a scrub brush, work it into the stained areas, and rinse clean with water.

If that doesn't do the trick, try this overnight method: mix half a cup of cream of tartar with a quart of hot water, soak your Keds in it overnight, and clean as usual the next day.

One important note: hydrogen peroxide acts as a natural bleach, so only use it on white Keds. It can fade colored canvas.

Winter salt leaves those chalky white lines that make your Keds look rough. Here are some simple steps to fix it:

• Mix one part white vinegar with two parts water in a bowl.

• Blot the salt stain with a paper towel or white cloth dipped in the mixture.

• Use another clean cloth dampened with plain water to dab away the vinegar.

• Let the shoes dry completely before wearing them again.

If your Keds have been sitting in a damp closet or left wet for too long, mildew can start to show up. Here's how to deal with it:

• Mix equal parts water and rubbing alcohol in a bowl.

• Use a rag or cotton towel to apply the solution to the mildew spots.

• Gently scrub the affected areas with a toothbrush.

• Rinse the shoes with clean water and air dry completely before storing or wearing.

You can scrub the canvas until it's spotless, but dingy rubber soles and grimy laces will still make the whole shoe look worn.

These parts need their own cleaning approach, and luckily, neither one takes much effort.

A damp melamine sponge, or typical sponge, does wonders here. Just wipe it along the rubber sole and toe cap, and scuff marks and discoloration come right off with barely any effort. For tougher stains, try one of these methods:

• Baking soda paste: Mix baking soda and water, apply it with a toothbrush, and scrub along the rubber edges until the marks lift.

• Detergent and bleach mix: For stubborn dirt or grass stains on the rubber, mix mild laundry detergent with one tablespoon of bleach. Keep this mixture on the rubber only and never on the canvas.

• SneakERASERS: Portable, require zero extra supplies, and are built specifically for cleaning sneaker soles and midsoles on the go.

For laces, you have a couple of options: toss them in a mesh laundry bag and run them through the washing machine on a gentle cycle, or hand wash them in warm, soapy water if you prefer. For white laces with heavy staining, soak them in an OxiClean or baking soda solution for 30 minutes before washing. SneakERASERS SOAK also works well for cleaning fabric laces.

One more tip: keep a spare set of white laces around. They cost almost nothing, and swapping in fresh laces is one of the fastest ways to make your Keds look brand new again. If you've got other canvas or fabric sneakers you're caring for, the techniques in this post on how to clean canvas shoes apply to a lot of the same situations.

Hand washing is recommended, but plenty of people machine wash their canvas Keds, and they turn out fine. Just know there are risks: discoloration, weakened glue, and shape distortion over time.

If you go this route, take these precautions:

• Remove the laces and insoles before washing.

• Place the shoes inside a pillowcase or mesh laundry bag.

• Use cold water on a gentle or delicate cycle.

• Toss in a towel to cushion the shoes.

Never machine wash leather, corduroy, or embellished Keds styles. And no matter what type of Keds you have, never put them in the dryer. Heat warps the rubber soles, breaks down the adhesive, and can shrink the shoes. Always air dry.

Dirty, stained Keds sitting in the closet because you weren't sure how to clean them? That's the old story.

Now you've got two solid options: the six-step hand cleaning method for a thorough wash, or SneakERASERS and SneakERASERS SOAK for a faster approach that still delivers great results.

Either way, knowing how to clean Keds shoes — and staying consistent about it — will keep your favorite pair looking fresh way longer than you'd expect.

Pick a method, try it on your next cleaning day, and build a quick-clean habit after each wear. Your favorite pair has a lot more life left in it.