Stinky shoes

ratherbeintobago

Can anyone help?

My bike shoes utterly stink after they get wet - I've tried baking soda & a few other things but they're still foul. Anyone got any ideas?

Ta

Andy

Thread8

Febreeze, or if they have soft soles put em in the washing machine on a gentle cycle

flob

put them in the freezer it will kill off the smell

llamafarmer

I Febreeze mine after most rides and then leave them in the garage if they're really humming

Uncle Peter

Get some Surgical spirit from a Chemist, put some in a spray bottle and spray in in to the shoes, it kills off the bacteria which stops the smell.

When the bacteria dies, it rots and smells I believe.

Paulie W

In my experience, once your shoes get to that stage it's very difficult to get rid of the smell. You need to be pre-emptive.

Ho hum

I agree with Paulie.

In the future try to make sure that they dry out properly and don't sit somewhere cold and damp.

I bring mine into the house when they are wet and muddy and leave them to dry in the utility room (much to the annoyance of my wife). They are now almost 3 years old and have had a good bit of use and they still don't smell.

RealMan

Don't smell them

Radioactiveman

Take up road riding, no chance of getting muddy filth,bog ,cow/sheep crap on them.

Hope this helps,otherwise just like dirty scratched bikes its generally part of mountain biking.

A more serious suggestion is overshoes if they are compatible or dry them as soon as you can.

llamafarmer

To dry them out, stuff them full of newspaper, it works brilliantly. You may have to change it once or twice as they dry though. If I do that and they're indoors in the warm they usually dry overnight.

rudedog

Its a combination of bacteria and fungus feeding from sweat and dead skin cells which make the smell - when your shoes get wet it just provides a better medium for them to breed in.

cee

I keep the sachets of silica gel from everywhere that i get them from and sling a couple of those in each shoe after use.

They still smell though.

Hercule Q

i dont wear shoes

i put mine in the washing machine and leave them on the radiator overnight if they get filthy no smells apart from a spring time meadow

Elliot Ross

when my get a bit smelly i just put them on the washing line for a day or two and with a bit of febreeze the smell goeS