Do Crocs Get Worn Out?

Of course, everything gets worn out, but do Crocs? The answer is yes. You can not wear your Crocs forever. However, your Crocs can last for 4-5 years before it starts wearing out.

How quickly your Crocs wear out also depends on how you clean and maintain it, how you walk with it, and how often you use it.

Your Crocs will surely be worn out over time. But if you are not trying to damage it or use it wrongly, it will go for about 4 to 5 years based on my experience with Crocs.

Many people are fond of dragging their feet when walking, this could make your Crocs shoes worn out so fast. If you want the footwear to be solid for a long time, you should walk properly with it.

But that is just one factor out of many. In this post, I will be sharing with you how Crocs wear out and how to know when your Crocs start wearing out.

I will also share with you the various things you can do to prolong the life of your beautiful Crocs to prevent them from wearing out.

First of all, we all wear our Crocs shoes differently. And this influences how soon our Crocs will likely wear out.

My experience with my very first Crocs – Crocs Men’s Santa Cruz Playa Slip-on Loafers Slip-On, I decided to wear it every time as a substitute for my shoe.

I wore it to almost everywhere I went around. And you can guess what the outcome was.

After a few months, the foam got compressed and the treads began wearing out. The shoe became less cushy.

That brought me to the realization of the true life span of a pair of Crocs.

Many people measure it in years or months.

But the truth is: how soon your Crocs will wear out depends on how often you wear it, how you walk with it, and how well it is maintained.

If you tick these three things, your Crocs shoes can go for about 4 to 5 years.

Just like in my situation, I was able to realize quickly that the days of my Crocs are numbered by just observing the level of comfort, and then the foam and the treads.

But if you are seeing signs on your Crocs shoes, and you want to find out if they are really wearing out, here is how you know:

How do you know your Crocs is starting to wear out?

The signs that tell that Crocs are wearing out are always obvious, and discomforting. The good thing about good Crocs is that they do last long.

Yes, they may be costly but unlike shoes from other brands that last for only six months thereabouts, Crocs shoes last for three or four years.

When your Crocs begin to wear out, here are the things you will begin to notice of your footwear:

Foam gets compressed

This is probably the first sign that tells you that your Crocs are wearing out. The foam gets compress such that the shoe becomes less cushy unlike when you first bought it.

This is most times caused by constant dragging of the feet when you wear the shoe.

When the foam of your Crocs gets compress, the comfort and cushion reduce, thereby making the shoe quite detrimental to your feet.

At this point, you should know that it needs to be replaced.

It becomes unable to secure your feet

Good Crocs are originally built to secure your feet when walking. It has the right cushion and shape to fit in.

A lot of people debate that Crocs generally do not offer enough ankle support. While this may not be argued, the situation becomes worse when the Crocs start wearing out.

As such, they become less suitable for long day-long use. Worn-out Crocs will lose the ability to secure your heel, hence making your toes become vulnerable which can lead to nail problems.

Becomes bad to wear for longer hours

There are people who wear Crocs all throughout the day, just as I did with my Santa Cruz Playa Slip-on Loafers Slip-On. And, you could see the end result.

Wearing worn-out Crocs shoes that are now less cushy to every destination could bring about blisters on the feet which we shall look into in the next point.

Most of Crocs’ designs are made of hard rubber, when it becomes worn out and offers less comfort, the feet tend to collide with the hard rubber which will lead to blisters.

The look of the Crocs changes

The underlying truth about Crocs, especially most of its crocs shoe designs, is that the rubber of the Crocs makes your feet sweat.

And as it sweats more, it becomes smelly.

For a Crocs shoe that is starting to wear out, not only does it starts to get smelly, it also changes in color.

Painting the Crocs may not do make any difference because it might peel off once it dries on the shoe material.

When Crocs start to wear out, you won’t even want to flaunt them anymore as a result of the looks.

If you do not want all these signs to happen to your Crocs, especially for Crocs you have spent so much to buy, there are things you can do to prolong the life of the footwear.

While some have to do with how you walk with it, a considerable number of these tips have to do with proper maintenance.

What to do to prolong the life of your Crocs

The good news is that, unlike other brands of shoes, the things you can do to prolong the life of your Crocs are very easy.

If you want to prevent your Crocs from wearing out too quickly, even if you wear them often, you must keep them in good condition.

I have also discovered that leaving them where they will be exposed to heat or sun can make them wear out quickly, especially in looks.

In the same vein, you want to make sure you avoid exposing your Crocs to the dishwasher, washing machine, or hot car.

These places that are exposed to heat or sun can make your Crocs shoes shrink or warp, and that will not prolong the life of the pair.

Proper cleaning is also a way you can prolong the life of your Crocs. Luckily, all you need to keep your Crocs clean is by hand washing them with cold water and mild soap.

However, how you should maintain and clean your Crocs shoes to prolong their look and efficiency has more to do with the type of material it is made of.

Hence, I will quickly show you how the different types of Crocs material should be properly cleaned and maintained.

For Crocs with Croslite material which are Classic Clogs, slides, and other styles, the material is foam which means that hand washes or spot clean with mild soap and cold water will do.

Clean with rubber sponge

As for Leather Crocs styles, you will need to use a soft rubber sponge to gently clean it.

Also, it is recommended to use leather creams like this All-Natural Leather Cream to retain the shine of the shoe.

Clean with Cotton brush

Some Crocs designs are made with Smooth Napa Leather, for designs like this you need a cotton brush that will be used to apply any natural waxy shoe cream or wax on the show.

But before this, use a damp rag to remove any dust.

Apply shoe polish for Crocs with patent leather

Crocs designs like the Patent leather Crocs can be gently wiped off with a clean damp cloth or a professional product designed specifically to clean patent leather.

I recommend using this Collonil product.

For these designs, you want to make sure you are not using harsh chemicals such as alcohol, detergent, or liquid.

I came across this Synthetic wedges and heels Crocs design, unlike other Crocs material, this one should be cleaned using a damp cloth to remove dust and dirt.

Those solvent cleaners are not advised because they can damage the glue in the sole.

Use a plastic brush to clean suede Crocs

Lastly, for Crocs made with suede or wool Material, all you need to do to keep it clean is use a soft wire or plastic brush to gently clean the upper

Most importantly, make sure that your Crocs air dry after cleaning. No matter the style material, they should be air-dried only.

One of the dominant causes of Crocs wearing out is because they are often exposed to extreme heat from the sun, hot cars, dishwashers, and even washing machines.

What happens to your feet when Crocs starts to wear out?

The disadvantage to wearing Crocs begins to come to play when they start wearing out. I am telling you this from experience.

A lot of anti-Crocs fans argue that Crocs do not give enough support to the feet, well, wait till your crocs begin to wear out.

That is why it is better to take the measures listed above to prolong the life of your Crocs. If the footwear starts wearing out, here are the things that could happen to your feet:

Crocs tend to start having a pretty loose fit on your feet

The wearing out stage of Crocs shoes takes much effect on not just the looks, but also the structure of the shoe.

That is when you begin to realize that your shoes are sliding off of your feet throughout the day in contrast to when you first bought it.

You’ll start to have heel and arch pain

Another thing is that worn-out Crocs can cause more heel and arch pain.

All the features that make up the comfy and cushy part of the shoe begin to compress, thereby causing your feet to feel uncomfortable.

This could turn out pretty bad and cause more heel and arch pain.

Crocs start to smell

As I mentioned earlier, Crocs tend to smell over time. The more you use it often, you begin to realize that they sting in a way.

This is a result of continuous sweat each time you wear without proper cleaning. If you wear smelly shoes, you could develop smelly feet.

Inadequate ankle support

Above all, when Crocs start wearing out, they have more inadequate ankle support. And this is not a good thing for the sake of your feet and proper balancing.

Are Crocs good for walking when it wearing out?

If you remember, I started this post by giving my clear-cut opinion against general verdicts on the life span of Crocs.

I mentioned earlier that how soon your Crocs will wear out depends on how often you wear it, how you walk with it, and how well it is maintained.

Now, you may ask: Are Crocs good for walking? Especially when it is wearing out? It is not an advisable thing to walk around for long hours on worn-out Crocs, not only for the sake of how ugly they may look on your feet but also for the discomfort and inadequate support of the worn-out shoe.

A good Crocs shoe is well cushioned such that it can protect the feet, ankles, and back from impact while walking on hard floors.

This is what we call Good shock absorption. But as the Crocs wear out, the shock absorption diminishes.

Also, Crocs are generally easy to clean. Walking can be during a trip at the beach, gardening, going to the dog park, or what have you.

For these activities, you need shoes like Crocs for easy cleanup. But as for Crocs that are wearing out, you will be able to clean them easily too.

But one thing you should realize is that once they begin to wear out, washing them is like medicine after death because it only helps the shoe material to deteriorate more.

Worn-out Crocs shoes have more inadequate heel support, for Croliste clog material designs, the foam compresses and the heel is not well supported.

If you take such Crocs shoes and go walking, your toes grip harder and this can cause issues like toe deformities, ingrown toenails, or even tendinitis.

Wearing worn-out Crocs is walking with shoes that have a loose fit. Worn-out Crocs can eventually make you trip and fall.

When Crocs are worn out, I can tell you that they become less supportive.

So, whenever you think of grabbing your Crocs for your next long walk, make sure that they are in the good condition for that activity.

Final words

They say good things do not last. But I think it is different with Crocs shoes. For durable, simple footwear that can last you for about 4 to 5 years I think that is fair enough.

But the truth remains that Crocs, like other brands of shoes, do wear out. But it would have been better if the treads of these Crocs designs were made out of a stronger version as well as the Cushy platform of the shoe.

The good news is that you can actually determine how soon your Crocs will wear out, and this has to do with how often you wear them and how you maintain them.

One candid piece of advice I will leave you with is that if you really want your Crocs to last for as long as it can, always walk wearing them for a minimal distance.

Thanks for reading.