Philips Sneaker Cleaner Review: Makes Cleaning Sneakers An Easy Job

Last Updated on August 22, 2022 by Asif Iqbal Shaik

Today, we are bringing you our Philips Sneaker Cleaner review. Priced at ₹2,549, this product is made specifically for cleaning sneakers and is one of its kind in India. It has an electric rotary head and comes with three types of brushes for cleaning different types of shoe materials. Instead of a built-in battery, the Philips Sneaker Cleaner uses four AA cells.

Sneakers are majorly made using materials that have a smooth finish, such as leather. Therefore, cleaning them is usually pretty easy. If sneakers are not too dirty, you can just use a microfibre cloth and a cleaning solution to wipe off the dirt. But if your shoes have tough stains on them, a brush and some elbow grease will get the job done.

Well, Phillips wants to make that task of cleaning sneakers even easier with its new product. If you are cleaning sneakers with a brush, you have to move the brush back and forth to get clean tough stains. You don’t have to do that with the Philips Sneaker Cleaner. The rotary head performs the cleaning action. You just have to slide the cleaner over the shoe.

What we are here to find out is how effectively the Philips Sneaker Cleaner cleans shoes and if it is convenient enough to spend ₹2,549 on it. Let us find that out in our Philips Sneaker Cleaner review.

Also Read: Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 1S Review: Feature-Packed, Compact Tyre Inflator

Philips Sneaker Cleaner Specifications, Price, Availability

• Model Name & Number: Philips Sneaker Shoe Cleaner GCA1000/60
• Cleaning Action: Electrically rotating cleaning head, 500RPM rotation speed (claimed)
• Build: Dimensions: 60mm x 69mm x 170mm; Weight: 351 grams (with batteries)
• Battery: 4x AA batteries
• Colours: Blue/Yellow
• In-Box Contents: Philips Sneaker Cleaner, 1x Sponge Brush, 1x Soft Brush, 1x Hard Brush, 4x Philips AA batteries
• Price: ₹2,549
• Availability: Philips

Design & Build Quality

The Philips Sneaker Cleaner has a form factor similar to a non-contact infrared-based thermometer. Or let’s just say it’s similar to a medium-sized brush that you use for scrubbing stains off of a rug. Basically, it is not as bulky as some household products as you would imagine. Instead, it is handy and versatile, making it very easy to use.

The outer shell of the Philips Sneaker Cleaner is made entirely using plastic. Its plastic feels sturdy and has a high-quality glossy finish. To add to that, the excellent fit and finish make the device feel premium in your hand. That, and the funky colour scheme, makes the Philips Sneaker Cleaner feel like it comes from a well-known brand.

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The stem (or the handle) of the Philips Sneaker Cleaner is thin enough that even small hands can hold it comfortably. However, the part where you hold the device has the same glossy finish, similar to the rest of the device. The smooth texture makes your hands sweaty when you hold it for a long time, and then the product starts slipping away from your hand.

There is an opening at the bottom to insert four AA batteries. The section that detaches from the machine has a rubber gasket so that the water does not enter the cleaner. That’s a good add-on for a product that costs just ₹2,549. Apart from the issue where the device slips away from your hand, I didn’t find any issues with the design and build quality of the Philips Sneaker Cleaner.

Cleaning Performance

Electric Rotary Head And Brushes

The Philips Sneaker Cleaner has an electrically rotating head, which, the brand claims, rotates at 500RPM. That’s the RPM the cleaning head rotates at when there’s no pressure applied to it. The rotating head performs the cleaning action, similar to what you get when you scrub the shoe with a brush by moving it back and forth. The product comes with three interchangeable brushes:

1. Sponge Brush
2. Soft Brush
3. Hard Brush

The most gentle brush is the Sponge Brush. This is the one you should use for cleaning soft and sensitive materials. Then there is the Soft Brush. Unlike the Sponge Brush, it has bristles, which are fairly soft. However, I don’t recommend using this one on soft materials as it can damage them. This brush is best suited to get the dirt out from the midsole. Then there’s the Hard Brush, which has hard bristles. It is made specifically for getting the tough stains out from a dirty outsole.

Cleaning Pre-Requisites And Cleaning Experience

I used the Philips Sneaker Cleaner to clean my Nike Air Force 1. I had cleaned these shoes in the past with a cleaning brush. So, my impressions of the performance of the Philips Sneaker Cleaner will be in comparison with the experience I had cleaning the sneakers manually with a brush.

Before I started cleaning the sneakers, I took a bowl of water to initially soak the brush heads and then dip the brush heads in water whenever they got dirty. I also used a cleaning solution made specifically for sneakers. 

1. Cleaning The Leather

I decided to clean the upper part of the sneakers first. So, I attached the Soft Brush to the Philips Sneaker Cleaner, dipped it in water, and sprayed it with a cleaning solution. Once the machine kicked off, the first thing that I noticed was how easy the cleaning process was. I don’t mind using a brush and some elbow grease to clean the sneakers but using the Philips Sneaker Cleaner made the task so much easier. I no more had to move the brush back and forth.

The Philips Sneaker Cleaner with the Sponge Brush removed the dirt from leather as effectively as I could have if I had done it manually with a brush. There’s the answer you were looking for. It removes dirt very effectively. However, there was one issue with it. When I pressed the cleaner slightly hard against the surface of the shoe (to get rid of tough stains), the RPM of the rotary head dropped drastically. Due to low RPM, the brush head could not remove the dirt effectively. 

So, that means if you don’t apply pressure, the tough stains don’t get removed. If you apply pressure, the RPM drops and then you don’t get any cleaning action. The solution to this problem is that you avoid pressing the cleaner against the shoe. Instead, give that spot a couple of cleaning passes. That being said, the Philips Sneaker Cleaner should have had more torque so that if you pressed it against the shoe, the cleaner could maintain a healthy RPM.

Anyway, even though the diameter of the Sponge Brush is small, it can hold quite a lot of dirt. However, you do have to dip the Sponge Brush in the water a couple of times during the entire process to get rid of the dirt that gets accumulated in it. You can dip the brush even when it is attached to the machine and while it is rotating. Once I got rid of the dirt, I used a microfibre cloth to wipe the leather dry. Overall, the Philips Sneaker Cleaner did perform a good job on leather.

2. Cleaning The Midsole

Then I moved on to cleaning the midsole with the Soft Brush. Cleaning this part manually with a brush usually takes a lot of time and effort. That’s because the midsole usually has tiny grooves which are hard to get into. 

The Philips Sneaker Cleaner, however, made it much easier. Since you don’t have to use a brush and move it back and forth, the cleaning process does not feel tiresome. To add to that, the bristles of the Soft Brush get into the grooves very easily and clean those sections effectively. That being said, you do have to make a couple of cleaning passes to get all the dirt out. Once again, when you are done with cleaning, just wipe off the surface with a microfibre cloth.

3. Cleaning The Outsole

Like I said earlier, to clean the outsole, you have to use the Hard Brush. This brush has excellent cleaning power. Since the bristles are hard, they remove the dirt quickly, even if you don’t press the cleaner against the surface. Cleaning the outsole was the easiest and took the least amount of time. Once the dirt and stains were removed, I sprayed the outsole with water and wiped it dry.

4. Cleaning The Inner Lining

Most people will not bother cleaning the inner lining of the sneakers. That’s because it usually doesn’t get all that dirty and if it is dirty, cleaning the inner lining is complicated, time-consuming, and hard. However, I decided to clean the inner lining to test out if the Philips Sneaker Cleaner could do the job. So, did it?

Unfortunately, no. The cleaning head is too large to get into the inner part of the shoe. Even if you somehow get the cleaning head into the shoe, it gets pressed against the surrounding materials (because there isn’t much space). Due to that and the low torque of the motor, the cleaning head refuses to rotate. The Philips Sneaker Cleaner is not meant for cleaning the inner sole of the shoes. Sadly, I had to switch back to a brush and clean the inner lining manually.

With that being said, here is how my Nike Air Force 1 looked after cleaning it thoroughly.

Cleaning Time

Cleaning the two shoes took me about an hour, which, I think, is not bad. That being said, the cleaning time may vary depending on your skills and the kind of shoes that you are cleaning. It is also worth mentioning that the one hour of time which I mentioned above does not include the time that it took me to clean the laces and the inner lining of the shoes. If I include that, it took me almost two and a half hours to clean the two sneakers.

Durability Of Brushes

After cleaning my sneakers, I washed all three brushes to check for wear and tear. To my surprise, the edges of Sponge Brush were slightly torn out. Although the damage was only minimal, it looks the brush will last for a maximum of eight to ten cleaning processes. I wish the Philips Sneaker Cleaner came with an extra Sponge Brush because I am not sure where you can buy a replacement.

The Soft Brush and Hard Brush had no visible signs of wear and tear. They looked as if they were new and would probably last a very long time. 

How Many Shoes Can Philips Sneaker Cleaner Clean On One Set Of Batteries?

The Philips Sneaker Cleaner was able to clean my Nike Air Force 1 shoes on a single set of new AA Duracell Ultra batteries. The machine was still rotating by the time I had done cleaning this pair of shoes. However, the RPM had dropped significantly, which indicated that the batteries were low on power. So, it is safe to say that the Philips Sneaker Cleaner can clean one pair of shoes on 4x AA batteries.

Should You Buy The Philips Sneaker Cleaner?

The Philips Sneaker Cleaner cleaned my Nike Air Force 1 as effectively as I could have cleaned the sneakers manually with a brush. The only difference was that using the Philips Sneaker Cleaner was so much easier since I did not have to move my hand back and forth. So, cleaning my sneakers with the Philips Cleaner was a lot more convenient. The product is not without its flaws, though. 

The electric motor of the Philips Sneaker Cleaner is low on torque, due to which the RPM drops when you press the machine hard against the surface of the shoe. However, you can live with it. All you have to do is avoid pressing the machine hard against the surface. Instead, give that spot a couple of cleaning passes. That will get the job done.

Then there’s the wear and tear issue with the Sponge Brush. However, it can last at least eight to ten cleaning processes. So, it will be a couple of years before it wears out, considering you clean two sneakers every six months. At least that’s the frequency at which I clean my sneakers. Basically, this is also not a very pressing concern.

Apart from those two issues, the Philips Sneaker Cleaner is excellent in all the other aspects, including its build quality and battery life. It is a very nifty product to have at your home, especially if you’re a sneakerhead. It makes cleaning sneakers much easier compared to cleaning them manually with a brush. For the price, I think it is definitely worth buying the Philips Sneaker Cleaner.