Strange but true?
Armen Adamjan, better known as @creative_explained on TikTok, has shared several quirky ways to clean your shoes naturally.
In the 40-second clip, posted on Jan. 29, with more than 138,000 views, Adamjan, 34, explains how potatoes, bananas and black tea bags may be the key to having your shoes look brand new.
“Did you know if you grab a potato and slice a little piece of it like this, you can use it to clean your shoes?” the content creator claimed in the viral clip.
He demonstrates the cleaning hack by rubbing the sliced potato against the shoe and then unveils the clean transformation.
Other sites have also claimed success with the hack, saying that “potato juice is a natural cleanser.”
The Armenian native also reveals that an easy way to remove “funky smelling shoes” is to place black tea bags in each shoe and let them sit overnight.
“Boom!” he exclaimed. “The odor will be gone.”
However, not everyone is sold on the premise.
USA Today tried it in 2019 — noting that unused bags are “super absorbent” and “soak up” moisture, presumably leaving “a pleasant fragrance in its place.”
However, for the tester, it proved largely unsuccessful: “The tea bag trick will add fragrance to your shoes but it won’t remove the underlying odor.”
The life hack expert added that bananas can even help shine your shoes.
“Use the inside of the banana peel to get your shoes to shine,” he suggested. “I mean, look at that shine!”
The apparent reason it works: the fruit is high in potassium, which is a revitalizing ingredient in commercial shoe polish, according to thekitchn.com.
Adamjan encourages people to use natural products for a simple clean. He also mentioned people can dry their wet shoes inside the dryer.
“Just place your shoes in the dryer with those shoe laces sticking out,” he continued. “[In] five minutes, shoes are dry.”
Many people thanked Adamjan for the effortless cleaning hacks.
“Great tips … always!” a watcher gushed. “I am impressed.”
“Tea bags in stinky shoes does work,” one person agreed.
“Finally, something I can use,” added another.
“Don’t drink tea at Armen’s house … uh, he doesn’t throw away anything,” a watcher joked.