Mellowby Shoe Washing Bag

Shoes thrown into a bare drum is how people crack a washing machine.

They slam around for the whole cycle, batter the door seal, and come out with the toe box folded in on itself. Which is why most people give up and go back to a brush and a bowl of water — and lose forty minutes of a Sunday to it.

This bag does both jobs at once. The inside is packed with soft chenille fingers that rub against the shoe for the entire wash: that is the scrubbing, done by the machine instead of by your hands. The padded wall absorbs the impact, so the shoe keeps its shape and the drum stays quiet.

Shoes in, detergent in, zip it, run it. The bag is 39 × 19 cm, which takes a pair of adult trainers, and it hangs up to dry on the zip pull.