Stuffing wet shoes with paper towels: Why more people are doing it and its benefits

Paper towels are made of cellulose fibres, and cellulose naturally attracts water at a molecular level. According to a peer reviewed study published in the journal Cellulose by Springer Nature, the rapid absorption of water by paper towels is driven by their porous structure, where capillary forces and viscous resistance work together to pull moisture inward quickly. Stuffing them inside shoes puts this absorption right where the moisture is most concentrated.

Wet shoes, especially leather and canvas ones, tend to lose their shape when left to dry unsupported. Stuffing them with paper towels fills out the toe box and sides, keeping the shoe structured as it dries. This matters more than most people realise. Shoes that dry in a warped position often stay that way permanently.

This is the part most people ignore. According to NCBI's clinical overview of Tinea Pedis, moisture inside shoes creates the exact warm, damp conditions that fungal infections like athlete's foot require to grow. Drying shoes quickly and thoroughly after getting wet significantly reduces this risk, and paper towels speed that process up considerably.

Air drying alone is slow, especially inside a closed shoe where air barely circulates. Paper towels actively draw moisture out through absorption rather than waiting for it to evaporate. Research published in Chemical Engineering and Technology by Wiley found that paper towels can absorb significant liquid volume rapidly through two dimensional wicking, meaning they spread and absorb moisture across a wide surface area simultaneously.

If you own leather footwear, drying them properly is not optional. A study cited by the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists found that leather is strongly affected by humidity and moisture exposure, which can trigger hydrolysis, a chemical breakdown of the material that weakens the shoe permanently. Paper towels absorb moisture before it can sit long enough to cause that kind of damage.

One round of paper towels is usually not enough for very wet shoes. Pull them out once they feel damp and stuff fresh ones in. This keeps the absorption active rather than letting a saturated towel sit inside doing nothing. Two or three rounds over a few hours will dry most shoes completely. Placing them in a well ventilated spot alongside the towel stuffing speeds things up further.

Good shoes are not cheap. Most people replace footwear far sooner than necessary because of moisture damage, odour buildup, or shape loss, all of which a simple paper towel habit can prevent. No gadgets, no shoe dryers, no special products. Just something already sitting in most kitchens, used the right way after every time your shoes get wet.