An apparatus for removing soil from a shoe, boot or other article of footwear. The apparatus employs a jet of water or other fluid to dislodge and break up the soil. The spray nozzle is housed within a tubular plunger having a discharge opening in its upper end. The plunger is operatively connected to the nozzle, so that stepping on the plunger actuates a flow of water therethrough. The nozzle includes a return spring that biases the valve back to the closed position when the plunger is released. The stream of water is directed through the opening against the surface of the shoe or other article of footwear. The upper end of the plunger is surrounded by a layer of flow-disbursing material that prevents the escape of spray from beneath the article of footwear. The layer of flow-disbursing material may be formed by a layer of coarse, open-cell foam material or by a multiplicity of small, resiliently flexible fingers.