# Have you ever used a banana skin to polish your shoes? How did it work out?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-used-a-banana-skin-to-polish-your-shoes-how-did-it-work-out/655685>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 14, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-used-a-banana-skin-to-polish-your-shoes-how-did-it-work-out/655685 "2013-04-14T15:31:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-used-a-banana-skin-to-polish-your-shoes-how-did-it-work-out/655685/1 "2013-04-14T15:31:40Z")

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I found this shoe care tip intriguing, I have no bananas right now, but I am curious. Does this actually give shoes a useful shine?

Has any tried this?

[Polish Shoes With a Banana Peel](http://blog.famousfootwear.com/2013/03/quick-shoe-fixes-to-keep-them-looking-like-new/)

> [@](#):
>
> No shoe polish? No problem. As long as you have a banana, you’re good to go. My grandma would always do this, and it worked like a charm. How, you ask? Bananas contain a key ingredient found in commercial shoe polishes: potassium. So here are some simple steps to get a peel-perfect polish!
> 
> Please note: This technique works best for shoes that you would typically apply shoe polish to. Don’t apply to shoes that contain suede or nubuck.
> 
> 1. Peel a banana (save the fruit to eat later as your reward!) and keep the skin.
> 2. Apply the skin to the shoe using the inner lining of the banana skin. Rub it all over the shoe, just as you would if you were using polish.
> 3. Once you have wiped the banana skin over the whole of both shoes, buff them up with a soft cloth.
> 4. Admire your now-clean shoes. They’ll come up shiny and like new again. Oh, and they’ll smell good, too!

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-used-a-banana-skin-to-polish-your-shoes-how-did-it-work-out/655685/2 "2013-04-14T15:46:12Z")

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Oh, I thought it was a euphemism.

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**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-used-a-banana-skin-to-polish-your-shoes-how-did-it-work-out/655685/3 "2013-04-14T15:46:14Z")

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Dunno if it’s valid, but there are quite a few Google hits on the concept : [https://www.google.com/search?q=banana+as+shoe+polish&aq=f&oq=banana+as+shoe+polish&aqs=chrome.0.57j0l3.4619j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=banana+as+shoe+polish&aq=f&oq=banana+as+shoe+polish&aqs=chrome.0.57j0l3.4619j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). My gut reaction was “BS,” but who knows?

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**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-used-a-banana-skin-to-polish-your-shoes-how-did-it-work-out/655685/4 "2013-04-14T15:51:20Z")

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I suppose if you want to attract monkey shoe fetishists, it could be a good idea.

Don’t they use banana oil to get rid of fingernail polish? How could that be good for polished shoes? Just wondering…