Have you seen the new shoe shining sponges that they have come out with recently? At the most basic level all they are, are sponges that you rub all over your shoes to shine them up. Being a 12 year Army veteran and currently wearing business class dress shoes every day, needless to say, I was quite skeptical. I bought one anyways and now I’m a huge fan.

Cheap and Easy to Use 

Made by Kiwi and some of the other shoe-types of companies, shoe shining sponges only cost 3-5 dollars or so. They can be found in grocery stores and department stores, as well as good men’s stores and of course shoe stores. They consist of a handheld sponge, that comes in a little plastic clamshell unit. All you need to do is clean off any dirt or grime from your shoes, grab your sponge, and buff them up.

The Shoe Sponge Secret

The thing that does it for shoe sponges is that they have a little chamber of shine gel in the center of them. As you buff up your shoes and rub the sponge on them, the gel is released a little drip at a time and very gradually gets spread all over your shoes. I have had my current sponge for 6 months now and its still not empty. It is however getting pretty gross and gummed up on the sponge edge from me rubbing it on the shoes so much, so i’ll probably grab another one soon.

These sponges tend to come in different styles and colors, just like shoe polish does. The gel in the sponge actually has the same color tint in them, so if you get a sponge for black shoes, dont try using it on brown shoes.

Use for Travel and to Save Time

Being in the business world, I used to shine my shoes once a week or so. I would grab the polish and an old sock, spit on them, do the whole procedure. Then each morning I would buff them up a bit with a fuzzy cloth. Now I only do a full shine on my shoes maybe once a month. Each morning I use the shoe sponge and it makes them look like freshly shined shoes again.

I travel alot, and I like to travel light. There is no way i’m bringing a full shoe shine kit with me if I dont have to. Before I go out on a trip, I will do a full shine on my dress shoes with shoe polish, then I will just throw my shoe shine sponge in there and ill be all set for the length of the trip. All in all, definately give these things a try. I was skeptical at first, but they work absolutely beautifully.