Stinky shoes!

Paddy1985

Well, I guess it's something that's familiar to a lot of people out there!

The rainy days start coming, the covers go over the shoes and the sweating-bacterial process starts after the first shower that hits you on that gorgeous day. Yes my shoes are smelly, I've washed the insole several times which is not the problem. The smell is actually IN the shoe.

Now I was wondering how to get that nasty smell out?
Should I just put them in the washing machine?
Should I freeze them for 12 hours in a freezer?
What helps, what doesn't?

Can you guys&girls help me out here?

Patrick

sungod

avoid putting anything complicated on them - i tried febreze once on a sweaty rucksack, fine for a few days but then some horrific reaction occurred and the stench was eye watering, i had to wash it 3-4 times to get the febreze out of it

for shoes, sprinkle on some sodium bicarbonate, readily available, harmless (aka baking soda), put in a plastic bag, leave for a day or two, unseal and tap out powder

tbh if the shoes aren't going to be affected by the water you could also just put them in a bucket full of water+dettol/whatever overnight and then put somewhere warm to dry thouroughly

mattward1979

Tea tree oil solution seems to be a decent anti-stink fluid... Although not everyone likes the smell of Tea tree oil! So use at your own risk =P

ballywholan

I find that anti-fungal / anti-bacterial powder, e.g., Daktarin, works well to knock the horrendous stench back.

Dodger747

Freeze them over a weekend. Sorts my waterproof motorcycle gloves out nicely... 8)

Paddy1985

cheers guys, I'll think I might just try the washing machine first and see how that one goes. Keep on followng the steps down

However Dodger747, perhaps a stupid idea, but if you freeze stuff over a longer period, isn't that just conservation? Research labs also keep bacteria in -20 to unfreeze them after a certain amount of time... they still seem to live, so I'm guessing the smell will remain?

sheffsimon

Paddy1985 wrote:

cheers guys, I'll think I might just try the washing machine first and see how that one goes. Keep on followng the steps down

However Dodger747, perhaps a stupid idea, but if you freeze stuff over a longer period, isn't that just conservation? Research labs also keep bacteria in -20 to unfreeze them after a certain amount of time... they still seem to live, so I'm guessing the smell will remain?

Put em in an old pillow case, and then chuck them in the washing machine with other washing to stop them banging about.

Best done when the missus is out.

schweiz

yes freezing just stops/slows down the rate at which the bacteria multiply, it doesn't kill them.

Also the temperature of a washing machines (40-95°C) is the perfect temperature for bacteria growth. Bacteria can survive up to 165° or something like that so unless you use some anti-bacterial washing powder you'll still have the problem.

Hals1967

Ideal solution would be to immerse your shoes in something lightly acidic which wouldn't rot your shoes but it would kill the bugs off.

You could try putting some white vinegar into the wash solution or even some very dilute Phosphoric acid (if you can get hold of it) in there with no detergent.

Don't try it if you have Sidi's or some such though ! :shock:

schweiz

or just try this....


http://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... uctId=1064

squigs

Sorry, I was going to ask my wife or mum but it seems the (men?) on here are far more qualified!
Metrosexual, my god what is the world coming too!!!!
just lie and say you dont know.

cougie

I spray my mtb shoes and running shoes with a Daisy Antibac spray - from Tesco - sorts them out a treat !

ColinJ

I hand washed my SPD shoes in soapy water this morning. I put some diluted bleach in the first rinse, then span and rinsed them another couple of times. I wouldn't do it with my SIDIs but these are just a cheap pair of ALDI mountain bike shoes so I wasn't too bothered if something went wrong. The spindrier managed to put a couple of creases in the fake leather uppers.

I've got them hanging up to dry now and will see what they smell like later.

I've used bicarb and vinegar in the past to pre-soak pongy base layers and that combination seemed to be quite effective.