How to Clean Motocross Boots. 8 Easy Tips for Doing it the Right Way!

Fast Answers:

#1 Always use light soap or recommended cleaning agent to clean your boots. Never use hard chemicals.

Never use a high pressure sprayer and avoid bleach and de-greaser because they breakdown the materials and will reduce the lifespan of your boots.

I recommend Mastersons Motocross Boot Cleaner for best results.

#2 Use a basic formula of vinegar and baking soda to clean the inside of your motocross boots to clean and remove the smell.

#3 Boot dryers are a great idea to dry mx boots quickly.

#4 Clean white motocross boots with Mastersons Boot Cleaner or bi-carbonate of soda to get the white back.

#5 Store your motocross boots in a dry place away from insects and critters. Stuff your boots with newspaper to keep their shape and prevent shrinkage during storage.

#6 Always use lubricant spray to keep the motocross boot buckles maintained.

#7 Keep a check on your motocross boot soles and replace them if they get worn out.

#8 Always consider a repair shop before throwing out your motocross boots.

Here are 8 Easy Tips for Cleaning, Drying and Maintaining your Motocross Boots (even white ones!).

#1 How to Clean Motocross Boots

Cleaning your motocross boots is really important so they stay fresh and work at optimum performance.

The first and easiest way is to knock all the chunks of dirt off the boots first. Then grab a brush and a bucket of mild soapy water and brush them down, working the dirt out of all the creases.

Don’t use harsh chemicals like bleach as this can break down the plastic, leather and inner lining. Also, avoid any detergents that have the word ‘oxy’ in them as the oxygen acts as a bleach. Dish washing soap is fine for this job.

Also, avoid de-greaser to remove oil stains. De-greaser is a harsh chemical that is not friendly to leather and plastic and will break down your boots rapidly.

My preferred way is to use a leather cleaner specifically made for motorcycle boots.

I use Mastersons moto boots leather cleaner. Mastersons uses a special pH balanced formula to clean and protect the leather, rubber and plastic. I have used it for years and its the best in my opinion. My boots always scrub up almost like new.

Simply knock all the heavy dirt off your boots, spray on the formula and let it soak in for a few seconds.

After you have done that, grab a brush and rub down your boots. and the dirt and grime will come off a lot easier than using the standard kitchen soap method.

Mastersons boot cleaner will also remove grease and oil stains out of the boots as well which is a huge bonus.

Here is a video from Mastersons to demonstrate their product.

Don’t use a high pressure sprayer! I see guys do this a lot in D.I.Y car wash places after a ride. They will spray the shit out of their boots with high pressure soap and water.

Although this method is really effective at blowing off the dirt quickly, you are actually damaging the boots with the high pressure water.

The high pressure is slowly breaking down the materials. This means your boots will fall apart quicker, reducing their lifespan.

If you have to use a high pressure sprayer, try to do it from a safe distance.

#2 How to Clean the Inside of Motocross Boots?

Normally you wouldn’t clean the inside of your boots as your motocross socks absorb all the sweat.

But if they have been drowned in dirty water and are so rank that even critters refuse to live in them, use the old tried and true formula for cleaning the inside of motocross boots (or any boots).

a. First, grab yourself some vinegar and put it in a spray bottle.

b. Spray the inside of your boots thoroughly with the vinegar and let them dry overnight.

c. Then fill your motocross boots with a heap of baking soda and leave them overnight to absorb up all the vinegar.

d. After you have done that, remove all the baking soda out of your boots.

e. Smell the freshness!!

#3 How to Dry MX Boots?

After washing and rinsing your motocross boots, stand them upside down outside in the sun on concrete and all the water will run out of them, drying them a lot quicker and removing all the water from the inside of the boot.

Turn over a chair and use the legs to hang the boots upside down!

Even better, get yourself a boots stand! The Fly ‘dirt work’ boots stand does the trick and it folds up so they don’t use up too much space.

The Fly Racing dirt work boots washing stand. — The Fly Racing dirt work boots washing stand

I learned this trick from snowboarding. If you want to speed up the process of drying the inside of your boots and you are out on a ride, I recommend getting a set of boot dryers for your dirt bike boots.

Simply place your boot dryers into the inside of your boots and let them sit for a few hours.

These dryers can be either plugged into a wall socket at home or your cigarette lighter plug in your car!

I really like boot dryers and I always pack them with me in the truck when I’m going on a ride.

If I end up knee deep in a waterway or puddle , I use my boot dryers to make sure I have dry boots for riding the next day.

There’s nothing worse than having to put wet boots on in a cold morning so I always make sure I have packed these as part of my riding gear kit.

If you want a more permanent solution for home, you can also buy an electric boot dryer that blows hot air through the boots.

#4 How to Clean White Motocross Boots?

White motocross boots look beautiful on the store shelf but after wearing them a few times, they are not pretty at all.

The beautiful white quickly goes to an awful yellow and they can look pretty ugly after a few rides.

If you are in this situation I would recommend a couple of options –

a. Mastersons boot cleaner works really well on restoring white leather. I highly recommend it.

b. The other way to do it is with bi-carbonate soda. Just mix some up in a cup or bucket, scrub it into the boots and let it soak for a bit, then wash off.

A cheap and effective option!

Please avoid any products with bleach and de-greaser in them. They are like acid to your boots!

#5 Storing Your Motocross Boots.

After your boots have been washed and dried, storing your boots in a dry place that is free of bugs, insects and critters is really important.

Don’t store them in the garden shed as spiders (or even snakes.. yikes) will find your boots to be a nice soft and warm place to live and breed and you might get a bit of a surprise when you go to put them on next.

Don’t leave your boots where they are constantly exposed to the sun as the constant rays will slowly break them down.

To help keep your boots in shape and stop them from shrinking after being cleaned, stuff them with newspaper.

Try to stuff as much newspaper into your motocross boots as possible during storage as this will help to keep the boots original shape and size.

Newspaper also helps with absorbing excess moisture.

#6 Motocross Boots Buckle Maintenance.

Buckles have to work 100% of the time when riding or your boots become pretty much useless.

This is why I mentioned in another article about buying dirt bike boots, that the buckles have to be of really good quality to start with.

When buckles get dirty and wet and are not maintained, they can get harder to move and clip into place and will slowly corrode.

To keep your buckles in top condition use a lubricant on them.

After you have washed your boots, spray the buckles with some RP7, WD40, silicon spray or whatever type of lubricating spray you have on hand.

This will drive any water away and keep the buckles from seizing up and extend their life by miles.

WD-40 is my favorite and I use it on everything dirt bike related.

Lubricating spray is an essential part of your main tool kit. You can use it to force water out of electricals, keep parts from corroding and other really important tasks. Keep a small bottle on hand at all times in your car. It will save your bacon one day and will keep you on the track.

#7 Motocross Boots Soles Maintenance.

The under grip of your motocross boots are really important.

The grip is the layer of rubber that keeps you connected to your bike and you really don’t want to slip off those pegs travelling at high speed or flying through the air.

Have you ever tried to walk up a muddy hill in boots that have very little grip? Not much fun at all.

The soles of motocross boots are like car tires. They are designed to provide as much traction as possible but wear down after a period of time.

Motocross boots have to be soft enough to grip the pegs and slippery ground. This constant work will wear them out.

A lack of grip can be disastrous! You have to make sure that your soles get replaced if you have worn them down.

worn dirt bike boot soles can be replaced. — Image courtesy of NuShoe

If your soles are completely worn, don’t keep riding in them as the underside of your boots will get damaged beyond repair. A boot resoling service is a much better option.

There are plenty of resoling services that will take care of this for you and usually costs under $100. Simply do a Google search for ‘dirt bike boots resoling’. Find one in your local area and take them in or send your boots in the post. They will take care of the rest.

You can even buy replacement soles for your particular brand of boots if you wish and take them into a local cobbler if this option works better for you.

I prefer using a specialist dirt bike boot repair service. They have the experience with working exclusively with dirt bike boots..

#8 Repairing Motocross Boots.

If the seams have torn or you have buckle issues on your motocross boots, resoling services can fix these problems as well.

I have seen some pretty impressive repair jobs from boots that I thought were beyond repair.

Always have a chat to these guys first before throwing out your boots as repair is cheaper than buying a new set.

Just get in contact with a repair/resoling service and email or text them a photo of your boots. They will be able to tell you over the phone if they are worth repairing or not.

Conclusion

Motocross boots are built really tough and will last for ages if they are looked after properly.

Don’t take care of them though and they tend to deteriorate a lot quicker, greatly reducing their life span.

Don’t just throw them in the corner after a big ride!

Take your time with cleaning your motocross boots and their life will be extended to their maximum limits.

If you have any other tips and tricks for washing and maintaining motocross boots or have any questions, please ask in the comments box below.

Also don’t forget to share this article if you liked it.

Johnny Rhodes