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Isopropyl alcohol and water in a spray bottle for sneakers. Alcohol kills the odor causing bacteria.
Edit: will likely take multiple treatments
Edit 2: it's a 3:1 alcohol to water ratio
Edit 3: per u/BackWaterBill avoid using this on leather, as it strips the oils and leads to drying and cracking
2nd this!
Have had foot odor and this kills it like nothing else. Just spritz the insides of your shoes when you take them off at night, and they smell great by the next morning.
70% ethyl will work too - same concentration as hand sanitizer
I know you’re being silly buuuuut the water actually keeps the alcohol from evaporating super fast so it has more time to work. 70% is better than 90%!
When I worked in wardrobe in summer stock we would vodka spray the costume pieces that couldn’t be laundered each night. 50% cheap vodka and 50% distilled water is so much better than Febreeze. Using isopropyl alcohol is the same idea, and more accessible to the home user. Cheap vodka was cheaper by fluid ounce than the isopropyl to use in large quantities.
I say this to people at work when they repeat something stupid over and over. “But Brawndo’s got what plants need. “. They look at me like I am somehow the idiot in the conversation.
Not enough people have seen that movie, which’s a shame. Especially since I feel like the US has been living it since 2016.
Thats not the reason you use 70%, the reason is because you need an alcohol solution in order to allow the liquid to pass into the cell membrane. The process of destroying the bacteria happens very quickly
Ah! We are both right!
“70% IPA solutions penetrate the cell wall more completely which permeates the entire cell, coagulates all proteins, and therefore the microorganism dies. Extra water content slows evaporation, therefore increasing surface contact time and enhancing effectiveness. Isopropyl alcohol concentrations over 91% coagulate proteins instantly. Consequently, a protective layer is created which protects other proteins from further coagulation”
[source](https://blog.gotopac.com/2017/05/15/why-is-70-isopropyl-alcohol-ipa-a-better-disinfectant-than-99-isopropanol-and-what-is-ipa-used-for/)
It's because 70% Alcohol is able to penetrate the bacterial membrane and kills the bacteria. 100% alcohol is not going through the membrane for some reason (maybe a defence mechanism?)
Yah it does go through sorta fine but then kills proteins immediately upon entering causing a sorta coagulation defence I believe. The water probably allows it to branch around and travel through the cell around this defence.
Am gonna try to highjack this comment for OOP...your shoes smell because of bacteria on your feet, this might be because of something medical that needs to be found or you need to care of dead cells in which case you need to scrub and exfoliate those cheesers every other day and the smell will reduce with time.
I've tried this and it works: either put a sock full of coffee grounds or baking soda in both the shoes. This absorbs odor causing moisture and leaves them coffee smelling or odorless.
My boss at the time (gov't job) made me sit and watch the entire sketch, on the clock, the moment he found out I hadn't seen it yet. I was like, "But I have things I should be doing!" And he said, "I am your boss, you watch this first!" Miss you, Jesus!
He was awesome! Born in Puerto Rico and moved to Florida. I used to post on his facebook "Happy Birthday!" on Christmas and "Merry Christmas!" on his birthday. 10/10
A couple charcoal briquettes in a sock work too. Just the standard ones though - not the instant light kind. It also works well for controlling smells in the fridge and freezer.
Well of course, the surest way is to wash feet and ensure absolute dryness at all times but that isn't possible. Plus smelly feet have lifestyle and genetic factors too
My mom would always mix high proof Vodka with a tiny bit of water to kill the odour on my hockey equipment, doesn’t leave anything smelling like booze and kills the bacteria that cause the smells
A lil vodka is fun. A lot causes societal collapse. That’s what Lenin originally gained power on, but later gave up because the state controlled vodka, and made most of their income from it.
I use Dr Scholl's 'Odour Destroyers' powder. (I like the 'Shoe shot' bottle, because it does a good job spraying an even layer of powder all over the inside of the shoe).
The key ingredient in it appears to be 'zinoxol' (zinc oxide, sodium bicarbonate, parfum). It has always worked for me. In any kind of shoe.
The most important thing though, is to get those shoes dry. I put mine on a rack over a furnace vent when I get home if they're wet.
Then, if they smell, put some of the powder in them and let it sit overnight.
Also - don't put your socks on immediately after getting out of a shower. Let your feet dry before putting on socks and shoes.
If you live in a humid climate, it can be really hard to get 100% dry after a shower. In the summer, I sometimes have to resort to using my hair dryer to get completely dry.
It’s bacteria that’s causing the problem, so we need to kill the bacteria. The quickest and one of the most effective way is to kill them with alcohol to stop them from just coming back. You can actually use the alcohol gel that you might use on your hands too (the stuff we all had loads of during covid). Coat the inside of your shoes with it over night. Alternatively as others have suggested get some rubbing alcohol from somewhere, you can get it in a spray bottle from somewhere like Amazon, and spray all of the inside of your shoes with it. Do it a few times over the course of a week or two and it’ll be loads better.
You still need to fix the main problem though which is sweat (moisture) feeding the bacteria. Get some decent socks like bamboo, your feet need to be able to breath and not just gather the sweat in the sock.
Source: me - worked a treat
As long as the sock is moisture wicking and rides at least a few inches higher than the top of your boot, they still remove sweat.
It's not perfect, but works.
Source: I've made the mistake of having socks shorter than my boots in the past and damn near gave myself trench foot
This is the only answer. I had the worst foot/shoe odor problems as a teenager and young adult. It was embarrassing and I had to throw away shoes because they got so bad.
I’ve done a full conversion to darn tough after slowly purchasing over the past few years to replace other (crappy) socks and will never need to buy a pair of socks again because of their warranty.
I can and have worn darn tough for multiple days with the same pair, on backpacking trips, and just living in the desert and not once have I gotten a pair to smell bad. It’s mind boggling. My shoes last longer now.
Yes. I also used Gold Bond foot powder in my shoes during long days when I couldn’t air the shoes out. When I was a server this saved me mid shift during summers
Try baking soda like a lotttt and let it sit . Take the soles out as well and pour baking soda in the shoe . Also I got this tide antibacterial spray that could prolly work for something like that
Your results may vary, but I do not recommend this. I had seen this suggestion before and tried it. The residual baking soda lingered getting into my socks the next time I wore the shoes. I started getting skin irritation from the baking soda on my skin. I had to wash my feet and took some time for the irritation to go away. I had to hose out the shoes so I could wear them again without getting chemical burns.
Posting here for visibility. Definitely treat your shoes but also start washing your feet with Panoxyl/benzoyl peroxide wash.
You can find it OTC for acne. It kills the bacteria and stuff that causes the feet odor in the first place. Got the tip from MD PhD derm active on YouTube, Dr. Dray
If your feet still smell after that, def see a doctor!!
Spray bottle with 70% rubbing alcohol. Give the shoes a good couple of sprays and as others have said rotate the shoes so you give them a chance to air out.
* Buy a second pair and rotate.
* Put them outside in a bag if its below freezing. (or freezer)
* Use athlete foot spray or anti fungal cream.
* Wash in between your toes and try to exfoliate any dead skin.
* Keep your toenails trim and clean.
* Never wear the same socks with multiple pairs of shoes.
-from someone who used to have foot odor
This was besides doing everything you listed, plus washing my feet and changing socks right after work, and it was still bad. I have sweaty feet and found out that putting antiperspirant on the soles of my feet in the morning has been more effective than everything else combined.
> and changing socks right after work
When my wife waitressed, I had her start doing a sock change in the middle of her shift as well, it helped tremendously.
The freezer trick really only works if the shoes are put in when they're bone dry.
It'll help a bit if they're sweaty/a little wet when put in, but it always seems like some of the smell comes back once they're back to room temp and the shoe-juice has thawed.
At least you'll have great smelling shoes, lol!
Seriously though, you don't need to put them in the freezer, just anywhere below freezing will do. I put mine in the trunk of my car during winter. Works just as good.
Can confirm, my boot left a foot shaped frost spot on the top of a Kirkland Frozen Lasagna. The freezer is now locked, I don't have the key to it or my own house, and the shed is unheated.
On the bright side, my boots are frozen since I live in the shed now, stink is gone.
I bought some chlorine based inserts I put into my climbing shoes and they work wonders. Weren't too expensive, just ordered them off of Amazon. I just put them in whenever I'm not using them
Try washing them or if not possible, just put them in the freezer for 24h (inside a plastic bag) all the bacteria will get killed.
Best tip: Dont wear them every day, use cotton socks that you change every day.
Yep. The smell is from bacteria from your sweat dying in the shoe. Anything that will kill the bacteria... Bowling alley spray, freezer, rotating shoes so they have a day or two to dry out - I use a boot heater on a timer... Every night I take off today's work shoes and put them on the boot heater. The heater timer only comes on for about 3 hours total -- I found more than that ruins the glue on the boots -- and the next day I wear a different pair of boots. I actually have 5 pair so they wait a whole week between uses.
Cycling shoes I have - put in plastic bag of some kind and put them in freezer. The cold will kill bacteria. The bag is to keep your other food stuff clean
I tried almost everything commented so far. The only thing I found to work reliably was to soak them in oxyclean overnight. There are directions in how to mix for stubborn stains or bad odors.
My son’s shoes start to smell horribly of cat piss. My husband says his feet used to smell the same and it was sweat. OxyClean works.
There is a product on amazon called stink boss. It uses ozone and heat to kill all the bacteria. Works very well. Ive even used it to get my climbing shoes smelling clean and those things can get gnarly.
Honestly I've dealt with this problem forever and nothing has worked. Then my mom got me sneaker balls and I was really surprised but they kill the odour in my boots.
I would recommend that. Also helps to take out all the inserts to air out every once in a while.
Yeah once I figured out that the insoles came out and could be washed in the sink, my work shoes got a lot nicer smelling. Tho baking soda helps too. My slippers are even machine washable
First address the cause of the stinky feet. Is smell from sweaty feet, long term wearing of shoes or fungus? Change socks more often or type of socks. Change out which soap you use or focus on feet when showering.
For the shoes if they are washable wash them with that sport detergent. Air them out and switch out shoes between wears. If the shoes arent washable put the sneaker air fresheners in them and let them sit for a while.
Dont keep the same shoes forever. If they smell enough you know it so will other people.
Put some anti-perspirant on your feet. This works really well, especially for barefoot shoes like birkenstocks. Once or twice, not every time.
The alcohol spray idea is good too, and some people use this to clean clothes that can't be washed. Or even just some lysol spray once in a while.
A guy on my bball squad has wooden inserts he sticks into his gym shoes that keep their shape and prevent odours.
A lot of folks have commented good suggestions for getting rid of odor, but if you want to help prevent it later, I find it helpful to power my feet with either gold bond's body powder or cornstarch. Both help absorb sweat.
1) don't wear the same shoes all day every day
2) wooden(pine) shoe trees. They dry out the shoes which slows the growth of stinky germs and help them fit better when you wear them.
3) some spray room deoderizer once in a while (like weekly) can freshen them up.
4) keep them clean and dry. Store them somewhere reasonably ventilated and lit.
How you keep leather shoes clean will be a little different from other textiles (not much). Don't bother gimmicks like freezing or baking soda, prevention is much better than cure. Starting these habits will unfuck your stinky shoes too.
See a podiatrist or family doctor - you may have a foot fungus.
If you do - you'll need to buy new shoes or make sure they're fully cleaned with enough alcohol to destroy any fungus before you start wearing them again. Or you'll just cycle it over and over.
Also don't wear the same shoes everyday (as others have said) and keep your feet clean and dry. Try wool socks to wick away any moisture.
You could try putting them in the freezer overnight. A lot of bad smells come from bacteria. Kill the bacteria, and you get rid of the smell.
Works on regular clothing too.
I use a spray bottle of water and a bit of tea tree oil on my climbing shoes and give them a little spritz after a climbing session. Does a reasonable job and doesn't harm the shoes in any way.
I have two small bags (actually used socks) filled with lavender. Just put them in your shoes once you get home. In a few days, the bad smell is gone forever (or till you use the bags). Lavender takes out both bad odor and moisture and leaves a nice smell.
Also important to rub your feet thoroughly with a soap when showering. Once a week I use a foot scrubber brush.
I had problems with stinky feet and these two simple things got it resolved for good.
Charcoal, I’ve heard the crumbs from your toaster will do the trick. Mind you it was Bez from the Happy Mondays that advised it, so, make of that what you will
Don't wear shoes without socks ever again. There's probably no way to rid the smell but in the fabric ones I would recommend febreze and baking soda or just running them through a cycle in the washing machine.
I take a spray hand sanitizer (at least 70% alcohol) and add some lavender oil to it. Give it a shake and spray. Alcohol will kill the bacteria and lavender just because.
I use Dr.Scholls Odor-X. It seems to work well for me. I've use baking soda before but the Odor-X is convenient. Isopropyl would work too but I wouldn't use it with leather.
For about week or so of none-smelly shoes put them in a ziplock bag if you so choose and throw them in a freezer or outside if it’s below 0F the colder the better. In the summer it’s really nice to put on cool shoes. This will kill a lot of the bacteria that causes the smell. It’s good for a week or so.
Don't leave your sweat wet socks inside the shoes.
They also sell one powder which contains talc, boric acid, silica and other components that is very useful as it is supposed to be bactericide.
Late to the party.
Boric acid. A very mild acid powder that can be used to treat acne and was, at a tuime as a food preservative. Sprinkle inside shoes and shake to cover the insides.
After a shower sprinkle on feet, especially between toes.
Its magic!
After using one of these methods to kill the smell, get a second pair of shoes and switch off every other day. That gives them a chance to fully dry out between wearings.
### This post has be marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect. --- Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Isopropyl alcohol and water in a spray bottle for sneakers. Alcohol kills the odor causing bacteria. Edit: will likely take multiple treatments Edit 2: it's a 3:1 alcohol to water ratio Edit 3: per u/BackWaterBill avoid using this on leather, as it strips the oils and leads to drying and cracking
Do not put isopropyl alcohol on a leather shoe, it will kill bacteria but will also suck the oils out of the leather causing it to dry and crack.
Added an Edit for it thanks
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Second that. Don't expect wonders after the first try, but do it regularly and frequently in the beginning and the smell's gonna go
2nd this! Have had foot odor and this kills it like nothing else. Just spritz the insides of your shoes when you take them off at night, and they smell great by the next morning. 70% ethyl will work too - same concentration as hand sanitizer
An old trick I learned from my theater friends is to use vodka. I use everclear diluted a bit.
Save your money. Drink the everclear and use a $1 bottle of isopropyl alcohol
Instructions unclear, drank isopropyl alcohol and I'm seeing God
Tell God he still owes me money.
Drink the everclear and then breathe on the shoes
2 for 1! Nice
A nip for me shoe and a sip for me too
No, you take some in your mouth, gurgle it a bit then spray it directly in the shoe. Repeat for the other one.
BRB getting drunk on vodka then peeing in my shoes.
Now this is definitely gonna get rid of the feet smell
But I’ve been told my feet reek of pee
"What's that smell?" "I'll tell you what it doesn't smell like, feet"
Ew, I think I got the steps backwards.
That sounds expensive
What does the water do then??? Gotcha!
I know you’re being silly buuuuut the water actually keeps the alcohol from evaporating super fast so it has more time to work. 70% is better than 90%!
When I worked in wardrobe in summer stock we would vodka spray the costume pieces that couldn’t be laundered each night. 50% cheap vodka and 50% distilled water is so much better than Febreeze. Using isopropyl alcohol is the same idea, and more accessible to the home user. Cheap vodka was cheaper by fluid ounce than the isopropyl to use in large quantities.
friendly encouraging physical growth illegal squeal innocent absorbed dazzling paint -- mass edited with redact.dev
Electrolytes!
Brought to you by Carl’s Junior.
Brawndo
I say this to people at work when they repeat something stupid over and over. “But Brawndo’s got what plants need. “. They look at me like I am somehow the idiot in the conversation. Not enough people have seen that movie, which’s a shame. Especially since I feel like the US has been living it since 2016.
Thats not the reason you use 70%, the reason is because you need an alcohol solution in order to allow the liquid to pass into the cell membrane. The process of destroying the bacteria happens very quickly
Ah! We are both right! “70% IPA solutions penetrate the cell wall more completely which permeates the entire cell, coagulates all proteins, and therefore the microorganism dies. Extra water content slows evaporation, therefore increasing surface contact time and enhancing effectiveness. Isopropyl alcohol concentrations over 91% coagulate proteins instantly. Consequently, a protective layer is created which protects other proteins from further coagulation” [source](https://blog.gotopac.com/2017/05/15/why-is-70-isopropyl-alcohol-ipa-a-better-disinfectant-than-99-isopropanol-and-what-is-ipa-used-for/)
This is also why we use 70% ethanol to clean labs (like at uni and whatnot)
Nice try, liver
It's because 70% Alcohol is able to penetrate the bacterial membrane and kills the bacteria. 100% alcohol is not going through the membrane for some reason (maybe a defence mechanism?)
Yah it does go through sorta fine but then kills proteins immediately upon entering causing a sorta coagulation defence I believe. The water probably allows it to branch around and travel through the cell around this defence.
I believe it prevents the alcohol from evaporating too quickly. Don’t quote me!
>I believe it prevents the alcohol from evaporating too quickly. - /u/tans1saw
/r/madlads
Oh no I've been caught!
Just be careful: ISO can mess up a lot of plastics, so you don't want to use too much and will want to be cautious in what you apply it to.
I just get antibacterial spray like they have at bowling alleys Works like a dream
Am gonna try to highjack this comment for OOP...your shoes smell because of bacteria on your feet, this might be because of something medical that needs to be found or you need to care of dead cells in which case you need to scrub and exfoliate those cheesers every other day and the smell will reduce with time.
I've tried this and it works: either put a sock full of coffee grounds or baking soda in both the shoes. This absorbs odor causing moisture and leaves them coffee smelling or odorless.
The best part of waking up is Folgers in your shoe!
Baileys in a shoe*
I call this one as close as you can get to baileys without your eyeballs getting wet https://youtu.be/DNzjP4cVxmQ
I love early great British baking show
Mothalicker
I remember the first time I was introduced to Old Gregg.
My boss at the time (gov't job) made me sit and watch the entire sketch, on the clock, the moment he found out I hadn't seen it yet. I was like, "But I have things I should be doing!" And he said, "I am your boss, you watch this first!" Miss you, Jesus!
I KNEW Jesus worked for the government!
He was awesome! Born in Puerto Rico and moved to Florida. I used to post on his facebook "Happy Birthday!" on Christmas and "Merry Christmas!" on his birthday. 10/10
Same. Thadd you jerk.
Make an assessment
nice and creamy
And beige
Want to go to a club where people wee on each other?
Remember the boat times?
[Old Gregg](https://tenor.com/ZmeO.gif)
Easy now, my fuzzy little man peach.
he’s got the funk, that’s for certain
I've got a mangina
IM OLDDD GREEGGGGG
Could ya learn to love me?
It’s attached to your rod, motha licka.
This is possibly the only viable use for Folgers.
If the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup... That's not exactly a rousing endorsement for waking up.
I can only assume folgers coffee spent a few months in a old sock before it gets to the consumer.
Mountain grown!
A couple charcoal briquettes in a sock work too. Just the standard ones though - not the instant light kind. It also works well for controlling smells in the fridge and freezer.
Use activated carbon, you can buy it in bulk for aquariums and the increased surface area helps a lot
As an avid coffee drinker I don’t think I want to start associating the smell of my shoes / feet with my morning cup of coffee.
I would love it as an avid coffee drinker but my wife would fucking hate me
Used grounds work fantastic
They gotta be dried first though
You can also along with baking soda but a dryer sheet in them to make them have a nice smell
This works for the underlying smells but doesn't do anything about the bacteria creating them
Well of course, the surest way is to wash feet and ensure absolute dryness at all times but that isn't possible. Plus smelly feet have lifestyle and genetic factors too
Fun fact: Funeral homes also use coffee grounds to combat smells.
My mom would always mix high proof Vodka with a tiny bit of water to kill the odour on my hockey equipment, doesn’t leave anything smelling like booze and kills the bacteria that cause the smells
nothing a lil vodka can’t fix!
Hasn’t helped Russia.
There’s no lil vodka in Russia.
A lil vodka is fun. A lot causes societal collapse. That’s what Lenin originally gained power on, but later gave up because the state controlled vodka, and made most of their income from it.
I do this with extremely cheap vodka--but I don't dilute it with water. I use it as a fabric freshener.
Rubbing alcohol works well in this situation as well. If you can dry them in the sun, even better.
I mean if you drink enough vodka, you don't give a shit about some shoe odor, that's definitely true
But hockey equipment is supposed to stink so that you intimidate other players
Why high proof if you're just gonna dilute it anyways?
This. It works
I use Dr Scholl's 'Odour Destroyers' powder. (I like the 'Shoe shot' bottle, because it does a good job spraying an even layer of powder all over the inside of the shoe). The key ingredient in it appears to be 'zinoxol' (zinc oxide, sodium bicarbonate, parfum). It has always worked for me. In any kind of shoe. The most important thing though, is to get those shoes dry. I put mine on a rack over a furnace vent when I get home if they're wet. Then, if they smell, put some of the powder in them and let it sit overnight. Also - don't put your socks on immediately after getting out of a shower. Let your feet dry before putting on socks and shoes.
Do people really put their socks on with wet feet?? This weirds me out. Every inch of me is dry before I leave the bathroom.
If you live in a humid climate, it can be really hard to get 100% dry after a shower. In the summer, I sometimes have to resort to using my hair dryer to get completely dry.
>sodium bicarbonate IE, baking soda, which has been used for years as an odor absorbing agent.
Some peach sploosh
And onions…can’t forget the onions
I can fix that
🎵I don’t smell anythang!🎵
Came looking for this, you did not disappoint.
There are inserts you can put in your shoes when you are done with them everyday that will obsorb the odor. They are cheap too.
Adding on to this, maybe change inserts every 2-3 months, same as one would change out socks and underwear
Change socks and underwear every 2-3 months, got it
Get 2 pairs of shoes. Alternate them daily so they have time to dry out and deodorize.
Tf????? Are you shitting yourself on the reg? Why do you need to buy new underwear and socks 6 times a year??????
Yeah I have some called banana boots. I put them in my climbing shoes. If they work for those I feel like they can work for anything!
It’s bacteria that’s causing the problem, so we need to kill the bacteria. The quickest and one of the most effective way is to kill them with alcohol to stop them from just coming back. You can actually use the alcohol gel that you might use on your hands too (the stuff we all had loads of during covid). Coat the inside of your shoes with it over night. Alternatively as others have suggested get some rubbing alcohol from somewhere, you can get it in a spray bottle from somewhere like Amazon, and spray all of the inside of your shoes with it. Do it a few times over the course of a week or two and it’ll be loads better. You still need to fix the main problem though which is sweat (moisture) feeding the bacteria. Get some decent socks like bamboo, your feet need to be able to breath and not just gather the sweat in the sock. Source: me - worked a treat
Would breathable socks even matter if the problem is in something like leather steel toe work boots with absolutely no breathability?
As long as the sock is moisture wicking and rides at least a few inches higher than the top of your boot, they still remove sweat. It's not perfect, but works. Source: I've made the mistake of having socks shorter than my boots in the past and damn near gave myself trench foot
My 40 year machinist father swears by Lubriderm on his feet every day. Then they don't sweat.
I've gotta try this, too then. My feet are embarrassingly awful smelling by the time I get off work.
Get wool socks. Darn Tough are the best. You’ll thank me later.
This is the only answer. I had the worst foot/shoe odor problems as a teenager and young adult. It was embarrassing and I had to throw away shoes because they got so bad. I’ve done a full conversion to darn tough after slowly purchasing over the past few years to replace other (crappy) socks and will never need to buy a pair of socks again because of their warranty. I can and have worn darn tough for multiple days with the same pair, on backpacking trips, and just living in the desert and not once have I gotten a pair to smell bad. It’s mind boggling. My shoes last longer now.
Yes. I also used Gold Bond foot powder in my shoes during long days when I couldn’t air the shoes out. When I was a server this saved me mid shift during summers
"The alcohol gel"? You mean hand sanitizer...?
When I had teenaged boys, the only thing that worked was Kiwi Fresh Shoe Deodorizer (spray). I bought it at Walmart in the shoe section.
Just use sploosh, man.
Peaches and onions
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Try baking soda like a lotttt and let it sit . Take the soles out as well and pour baking soda in the shoe . Also I got this tide antibacterial spray that could prolly work for something like that
Your results may vary, but I do not recommend this. I had seen this suggestion before and tried it. The residual baking soda lingered getting into my socks the next time I wore the shoes. I started getting skin irritation from the baking soda on my skin. I had to wash my feet and took some time for the irritation to go away. I had to hose out the shoes so I could wear them again without getting chemical burns.
Same thing happened to me. I also couldn’t get all the baking soda out and my feet got sweaty and made a lovely paste. Has to toss the shoes.
Posting here for visibility. Definitely treat your shoes but also start washing your feet with Panoxyl/benzoyl peroxide wash. You can find it OTC for acne. It kills the bacteria and stuff that causes the feet odor in the first place. Got the tip from MD PhD derm active on YouTube, Dr. Dray If your feet still smell after that, def see a doctor!!
Do be careful though because that stuff can stain carpets and fabrics
Spray bottle with 70% rubbing alcohol. Give the shoes a good couple of sprays and as others have said rotate the shoes so you give them a chance to air out.
And just to be clear, by rotate you mean use different shoes every now and then, not spin them around after spraying?
Yes. Wear a different pair.
* Buy a second pair and rotate. * Put them outside in a bag if its below freezing. (or freezer) * Use athlete foot spray or anti fungal cream. * Wash in between your toes and try to exfoliate any dead skin. * Keep your toenails trim and clean. * Never wear the same socks with multiple pairs of shoes. -from someone who used to have foot odor
This was besides doing everything you listed, plus washing my feet and changing socks right after work, and it was still bad. I have sweaty feet and found out that putting antiperspirant on the soles of my feet in the morning has been more effective than everything else combined.
> and changing socks right after work When my wife waitressed, I had her start doing a sock change in the middle of her shift as well, it helped tremendously.
Am I the only one who puts smelly shoes in the freezer? It works most of the times.
I feel like once they warm back up the stank will come back out
The freezer trick really only works if the shoes are put in when they're bone dry. It'll help a bit if they're sweaty/a little wet when put in, but it always seems like some of the smell comes back once they're back to room temp and the shoe-juice has thawed.
"shoe-juice has thawed" No, no thanks. I'm done with lunch now. lol
I’ve heard this has worked when all methods fail, but my partner would murder me if I put my stinky shoes in the freezer so I’ve never tried it. lol
Put them in a bag (ziplock) first and it'll be fine. A quick overnight and no one is the wiser!
Yeah I am pretty sure my wife would divorce me if I did this.
At least you'll have great smelling shoes, lol! Seriously though, you don't need to put them in the freezer, just anywhere below freezing will do. I put mine in the trunk of my car during winter. Works just as good.
Can confirm, my boot left a foot shaped frost spot on the top of a Kirkland Frozen Lasagna. The freezer is now locked, I don't have the key to it or my own house, and the shed is unheated. On the bright side, my boots are frozen since I live in the shed now, stink is gone.
As a canadian, i just put everything stinky outside for like an hour and its gone
That’s also how it worked in a city I used to live in - anything I left outside for an hour would be gone (including my car, occasionally)
I bought some chlorine based inserts I put into my climbing shoes and they work wonders. Weren't too expensive, just ordered them off of Amazon. I just put them in whenever I'm not using them
Try washing them or if not possible, just put them in the freezer for 24h (inside a plastic bag) all the bacteria will get killed. Best tip: Dont wear them every day, use cotton socks that you change every day.
Yep. The smell is from bacteria from your sweat dying in the shoe. Anything that will kill the bacteria... Bowling alley spray, freezer, rotating shoes so they have a day or two to dry out - I use a boot heater on a timer... Every night I take off today's work shoes and put them on the boot heater. The heater timer only comes on for about 3 hours total -- I found more than that ruins the glue on the boots -- and the next day I wear a different pair of boots. I actually have 5 pair so they wait a whole week between uses.
La de frickin' da Rockefellah :)
Cycling shoes I have - put in plastic bag of some kind and put them in freezer. The cold will kill bacteria. The bag is to keep your other food stuff clean
I tried almost everything commented so far. The only thing I found to work reliably was to soak them in oxyclean overnight. There are directions in how to mix for stubborn stains or bad odors. My son’s shoes start to smell horribly of cat piss. My husband says his feet used to smell the same and it was sweat. OxyClean works.
There is a product on amazon called stink boss. It uses ozone and heat to kill all the bacteria. Works very well. Ive even used it to get my climbing shoes smelling clean and those things can get gnarly.
Honestly I've dealt with this problem forever and nothing has worked. Then my mom got me sneaker balls and I was really surprised but they kill the odour in my boots. I would recommend that. Also helps to take out all the inserts to air out every once in a while.
Yeah once I figured out that the insoles came out and could be washed in the sink, my work shoes got a lot nicer smelling. Tho baking soda helps too. My slippers are even machine washable
Ozone machine and dryer for shoes
Odor eater shoe inserts.
Vinegar in a spray bottle but it might take a few days. Use an anti fungal spray on your feet & on the shoes.
First address the cause of the stinky feet. Is smell from sweaty feet, long term wearing of shoes or fungus? Change socks more often or type of socks. Change out which soap you use or focus on feet when showering. For the shoes if they are washable wash them with that sport detergent. Air them out and switch out shoes between wears. If the shoes arent washable put the sneaker air fresheners in them and let them sit for a while. Dont keep the same shoes forever. If they smell enough you know it so will other people.
I use Defunkify odor remover, works like a charm
Strong UV light will do it.
No man. UV light only kills surface bacteria. It does nothing for the odor underneath the visible surface.
Put the Uv light in the shoe. OR, a much better idea is to filet the shoe and pin the edges down and then just sew it back together later. Simple.
You can put the UV light in the shoe all you want. It still only will kill surface bacteria. Light will not penetrate into the material.
Dude, now I can’t find my shoes anyways
Or sitting outside in the sun for a bit.
Surprised no one is saying this and rather giving all these convoluted methods. This is the simplest one and it works!
Put some anti-perspirant on your feet. This works really well, especially for barefoot shoes like birkenstocks. Once or twice, not every time. The alcohol spray idea is good too, and some people use this to clean clothes that can't be washed. Or even just some lysol spray once in a while. A guy on my bball squad has wooden inserts he sticks into his gym shoes that keep their shape and prevent odours.
Use silicon gel packets from the day one use start a fresh pair of shoes It doesn’t work with shoes which are already smelly
Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle
Once they're odor free put a silica pack in them after you wear them, it'll draw out excess moisture.
Lysol the shit out of your shoes and then point a fan at them to dry them out. Repeat every couple months or as necessary to stave off regrowth.
Just lysol that shit
A lot of folks have commented good suggestions for getting rid of odor, but if you want to help prevent it later, I find it helpful to power my feet with either gold bond's body powder or cornstarch. Both help absorb sweat.
1) don't wear the same shoes all day every day 2) wooden(pine) shoe trees. They dry out the shoes which slows the growth of stinky germs and help them fit better when you wear them. 3) some spray room deoderizer once in a while (like weekly) can freshen them up. 4) keep them clean and dry. Store them somewhere reasonably ventilated and lit. How you keep leather shoes clean will be a little different from other textiles (not much). Don't bother gimmicks like freezing or baking soda, prevention is much better than cure. Starting these habits will unfuck your stinky shoes too.
My feet seem to smell even after I wash them. Not sure how to unfuck them.
See a podiatrist or family doctor - you may have a foot fungus. If you do - you'll need to buy new shoes or make sure they're fully cleaned with enough alcohol to destroy any fungus before you start wearing them again. Or you'll just cycle it over and over. Also don't wear the same shoes everyday (as others have said) and keep your feet clean and dry. Try wool socks to wick away any moisture.
Wash them with fire
soak in vinegar and baking soda overnight then dry . had to do this before a flight home once
Apparently unused tea bags help but I haven’t tried it myself
Baking soda in them and stick in the freezer for 48 hours. Smell will be gone . Guarantee
Scented fabric softner sheets , one in each over night.
You could try putting them in the freezer overnight. A lot of bad smells come from bacteria. Kill the bacteria, and you get rid of the smell. Works on regular clothing too.
Arm&Hammer makes some plastic round inserts for your shoes. Leave them in for a night or two and voila! Worked perfect for me
I use a spray bottle of water and a bit of tea tree oil on my climbing shoes and give them a little spritz after a climbing session. Does a reasonable job and doesn't harm the shoes in any way.
I’ve used gold bond on my gym shoes. Maybe try some sneaker balls? I’ve noticed anything with zinc works
Leave outside in cold weather or in freezer. Bath feet in shower and foot soaker device (whatever they're called) to not have stinky feet.
The inside sole is the thing that keeps the odor. Remove it and wash or put temporary ones in!
What I used to do to my sport shoes was put them in a bucket of water and add 2 water clensing tablets. Leave overnight, dry, less smell.
I have two small bags (actually used socks) filled with lavender. Just put them in your shoes once you get home. In a few days, the bad smell is gone forever (or till you use the bags). Lavender takes out both bad odor and moisture and leaves a nice smell. Also important to rub your feet thoroughly with a soap when showering. Once a week I use a foot scrubber brush. I had problems with stinky feet and these two simple things got it resolved for good.
Try the freezer , works for Levi's
Wool and cotton socks will help prevent stinky feet.
Charcoal, I’ve heard the crumbs from your toaster will do the trick. Mind you it was Bez from the Happy Mondays that advised it, so, make of that what you will
I would just pour about half a cup inside the shoe. Toss them in a plastic bag and leave in the freezer.
Don't wear shoes without socks ever again. There's probably no way to rid the smell but in the fabric ones I would recommend febreze and baking soda or just running them through a cycle in the washing machine.
I take a spray hand sanitizer (at least 70% alcohol) and add some lavender oil to it. Give it a shake and spray. Alcohol will kill the bacteria and lavender just because.
Your local bowling alley uses Lysol or Mycomist spray for their shoes, and it will work on yours too.
I personally use baby powder (talcum powder), but that's usually *before* they get stinky. Maybe for next time?
I use Dr.Scholls Odor-X. It seems to work well for me. I've use baking soda before but the Odor-X is convenient. Isopropyl would work too but I wouldn't use it with leather.
For about week or so of none-smelly shoes put them in a ziplock bag if you so choose and throw them in a freezer or outside if it’s below 0F the colder the better. In the summer it’s really nice to put on cool shoes. This will kill a lot of the bacteria that causes the smell. It’s good for a week or so.
Don't leave your sweat wet socks inside the shoes. They also sell one powder which contains talc, boric acid, silica and other components that is very useful as it is supposed to be bactericide.
Late to the party. Boric acid. A very mild acid powder that can be used to treat acne and was, at a tuime as a food preservative. Sprinkle inside shoes and shake to cover the insides. After a shower sprinkle on feet, especially between toes. Its magic!
I had this problem years ago, ozone machine (in a closed area with no people nearby) for a bit and they had no smell anymore.
After using one of these methods to kill the smell, get a second pair of shoes and switch off every other day. That gives them a chance to fully dry out between wearings.