Shoelaces get icky. They're also almost always made out of fabric which holds on to smells and form little nooks and crannies for gunk to get stuck into. If you don't take the time to individually clean them, even for a well maintained shoe which gets wiped and aired out regularly, they'll eventually get dirty and stinky.
But, they're also often the single highest return on value for shoe cleaning. They're made to be removed, consist of a single thin washable material, and are the part of the shoe you directly touch the most.1 Even if you can't easily thoroughly clean the rest of the shoe because of the shape or mixed materials, you can get shoelaces looking and smelling good as new with a bit of soap and water.
That's a pretty good deal.
- Rew
Nightly Notes
The more time goes on the more convinced I am that life is learning that everything needs to be maintained, forever.
It's also learning the joy of maintenance and having things which you know will last. Things not worth maintaining aren't worth having.
- Rew
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At least for me, it's actually the top back when putting shoes on given I'm on record for trying to tie my shoelaces as little as possible, but that's not as tactile as tying shoelaces and probably the cleanest part of the shoe anyway. I don't notice the state of the top back, even if I touch it more. I definitely notice the grime in the laces. ↩