Wash + Exfoliate Feet To Prevent Stinky Shoes
Since stinky shoes start with stinky feet, seems like thats a good place to begin. Practicing good foot hygiene can help keep the foot odor down.
Wash your feet every day. Even if you dont shower or bathe every day, take the time to wash your feet with warm soapy water. Rinse thoroughly and then dry with a clean, dry towel. Make sure you clean between your toes where bacteria love to grow.
Exfoliate. Removing dead skin can reduce foot odor. Wash your feet with an exfoliating pad, pumice stone, or exfoliating shower wipe.
Keep your feet dry. The bacteria that reacts with sweat thrives in moist areas. If your socks or shoes are wet, youve set up a feast for odor-causing bacteria. Wear breathable socks made of fabric that will wick away foot perspiration. Wearing shoes without socks may be fashionably cool, but its never a good idea. If you like stinky tennis shoes, dont wear socks.
Rocket Pure Natural Deodorizer Spray
Tester Smell Score: 4.5 out of 5
Rocket Pure Natural Foot & Shoe Deodorizer Spray
Rocket Pure Natural Foot & Shoe Deodorizer Spray
- Kept odors away after 24 hours
Cons
- Expensive for the amount you get
If youre put off by harsh chemicals, this formula from Rocket Pure draws on a half-dozen natural agents, like alcohol derived from organic cane sugar, citrus extracts, and cedarwood oil, to inhibit bacterial growth . Plus, all three scents are downright awesome. Im smelling something mild, yet clean and fresh, one tester said of the peppermint and eucalyptus scent. Its hard to place, but I can hardly smell the cheese behind it.
Steam Clean Shoes To Kill Bacteria And Odor
Steam can help eradicate bacteria and foot odor in your shoes. If you have a dryer with a steam feature, give that a try. Be sure that you try this method on shoes that can tolerate moisture.
Another method using steam requires a steam cleaning appliance. These are used for cleaning and disinfecting things around the house. Just stick the steam machines nozzle into each shoe for about 30 seconds. Let them completely dry before wearing again.
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Deodorize Shoes With Cat Litter Or Wood Chips
If your shoes are attracting attention because of shoe odor, heres a hack you may want to try. Youll need some cedar wood chips or kitty litter. Youll also need some clean old socks or paper towels.
This cure is easy: Fill up a pair of old, but clean, socks with either cedar wood chips or cat litter. Place one of the socks in each shoe, and let them stand overnight. The wood chips or kitty litter will absorb the foot odor hiding in the shoes. Citrus peels can also do a passable job of refreshing your shoes.
Why Do Adidas Football Boots Smell
There could be a few reasons as to why your Adidas football boots may be smelling. Firstly, if you live in a hot climate, or if you play football in hot weather conditions, your feet are likely to sweat more. This can cause your Adidas football boots to smell. Secondly, if you dont clean your Adidas football boots regularly, the sweat and dirt that has built up in them can cause them to smell. Thirdly, if you dont dry your Adidas football boots properly after playing football or after cleaning them, this can also cause them to smell.
To avoid your Adidas football boots from smelling, it is important to clean them regularly and to dry them thoroughly after each use.
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Stuff Some Cotton Wool
They help prevent the shoes from falling out. Simply put a few cotton balls in the front of your shoes and theyll fit again. In addition, the wadding is pleasantly soft, so that unnecessary pressure points are avoided.
This is super comfortable for the toes because the wadding adapts to the toes shape while shrinking the shoe in seconds so that they no longer slip out the back.
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Freeze The Stink Out Of Your Shoes
Disgusting foot odor is caused by bacteria lurking in the dark recesses of your footwear. Putting them in the freezer overnight kills this bacteria. These foul-intentioned germs cant stand the cold environment. But first, youll want to protect whatever else is in the freezer by following these simple steps:
- Make sure your shoes are completely dry.
- Put them in a sealable plastic bag or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.
- Leave them in the freezer for the night.
- Remove them in the morning
In the morning, dont be afraid to stick your nose where it normally doesnt belong. Youll be pleased to find that the shoe stench is gone.
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How To Clean Converse Shoes
If you own converse shoes, you can actually clean them in the washing machine. Remove the laces and put them in a delicates bag, then put them in the washing machine along with your Converse and a couple of heavy towels or jeans.
Wash the whole load in cold water with a gentle detergent. And if you want an extra deodorizing and brightening boost, add a scoop of oxygen bleach straight into the drum of your washing machine before you start the cycle. Always air dry your converse.
When your Converse are dry and ready to wear, add your DIY shoe powder, and theyll never be stinky again! For more detailed information on cleaning Converse plus stain removal and cleaning converse rubber, read How to Clean Converse Shoes.
Place The Sachets In Your Shoes
You can place these sachets in your shoes each time you take them off. Tennis shoes, sneakers, and walking shoes used for exercising are especially prone to collecting odors. Keep the sachet in the shoes until you wear them again.
Variation: Fill the toe of a sock with baking soda and tie it off. Leave sock sachets in your shoes overnight to absorb odors. This can be part of your ongoing routine for any athletic shoes you wear regularly.
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Tips For Keeping Shoes Dry
- Toss them in the dryer, put them near a heater, or put them in a sunny window. Canvas shoes should be fine taking a spin in the dryer, but other shoes will get ruined, so just be careful!
- Go barefoot at home as much as possible. My 10 year literally wears his tennis shoes from the time he leaves for the bus until he gets into bed at night and his shoes suffer because of it! Im trying to teach him that the less he wears his shoes, the faster they will dry out and the less they will smell. Were still working on it.
- Toss them in the freezer. Place your shoes in a plastic bag, then put them in the freezer. The freezer helps kill the bacteria and dry out your soles.
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Proven Hacks To Fix Smelly Shoes
Have you ever returned home and taken off your shoes only to be met with a horrid smell that seems to be stained into your shoes? It sucks, I know. But its even worse when your stinky shoes are out in public as people wrinkle their noses, while you desperately stand still and avoid eye contact.
In general, shoe odor is caused by bacteria that is created in the warm and sweaty breeding ground in your shoes. This happens to your feet in particular because your feet are tightly wrapped by your socks and shoes on a daily basis without having room to breathe. Bacteria loves dark, damp places, which is why they flourish in your shoes.
For those who sweat less, consider yourselves lucky. For everyone else, no need to worryweve figured out how to get rid of smelly feet to make your life more pleasant!
Try any of these ten proven smelly shoe remedies:
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Dryer Sheets To The Rescue
Though you might not suspect it, your dryer sheets can be a great tool to remove the smell from your shoes.
This hack is straightforward and requires the bare minimum when it comes to effort. All you need to do is take one or two dryer sheets per shoe, bunch them up, and stick them inside your shoes overnight. In the morning, just remove the dryer sheets, and your shoes will smell brand new, perhaps even fresher!
Typically, the purpose of a dryer sheet is to soften your clothes in the drying process and prevent static. Theyre also coated with scents that come in handy when it is time to freshen up your favorite pair of KOKOLU comfy knit sneakers.
When you use the dryer sheet trick, the fresh scent fills up your shoes, and the bad odor is absorbed into the sheet. Its a little tradeoff that makes your shoes smell like clean laundry!
As long as you have access to dryer sheets, this tip is a great way to get the smell out of your shoes. If you do not have dryer sheets at hand, dont fret! There are plenty more cost-effective ways to fix up those shoes of yours!
A Cure For Stinky Shoes
Most people try to get the smell out of their stinky shoes by covering it up with a deodorizing spray or powder. And while this is a quick cover for stinky shoes, this actually doesnt help solve what is causing the problem to begin with. The deodorizer might mask the smell for a short period of time, but as soon as the fragrance wears off, the stench is back in full force!
Odor-causing bacteria live and breed in moist, dark places. If we cant eliminate the fertile breeding ground for bacteria, there will be no way get rid of the smell permanently. Therefore, the first step to removing the smell from your shoes is to dry them out and keep them dry.
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How To Get Smell And Bacteria Out Of Shoes
Deodorizing shoes is not just important for the social factor of not being the person with smelly shoes, but it is also a practice in foot health. Remember, smell comes from the combination of bacteria and sweat. According to this article in the Journal of Athletic Training, athletes are more susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections on their feet. And while bacteria-rich shoes are not the only cause of infections like athletes foot, giving them some TLC is just one more way to keep feet healthy.
Where To Put Your Shoe Collection
Keeping your shoes where you grab them most often is ideal. That way youll be less likely to lose them and theyll be less likely to cause you problems in the first place.
Houses, schools, and workplaces are all common places to keep a shoe collection. And theres one place in particular where you shouldnt keep your shoes: your room.
If you keep your shoes in the room where you sleep, youre likely to end up with a shoe collection thats more mess than it is beautiful. Not only will your neatly organized shoes be a mess, but your room will also look messy and youll be fighting the urge to keep picking through your shoes in an attempt to find a cause.
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Get Bad Smell Out Of Shoes
How do you get a bad smell out of shoes?
The more we wear our favorite pair of shoes, the more we may notice that they are beginning to smell. Overuse, sweat, skin shedding, dirt, bacteria, fungus, and lack of aeration can all contribute to stinky shoes. Below are a few ways to remove the bad smell out of the shoes:
Simple methods:
- One of the best ways to remove smells from shoes is to revitalize them with a much more pleasant smell. Leave a fresh lemon or lime peel in your shoes overnight or squirt a few drops of any essential oil such as lavender into the soles of your shoes and allow the shoes to dry. Both remedies will help to eliminate odors.
- If your shoes are washable, give them a bath. You can get leather and fabric cleaner to clean up shoes that are not washer friendly, or if theyre machine safe, throw them into the washing machine or submerge and hand wash them in a detergent bath. Place your shoes in the sun or near a heater and allow them to dry out. This will help to prevent the bacterial growth that causes odor. Ensure they are completely dry before reassembling the shoes and wearing them again.
- Pop your smelly shoes in a large plastic sandwich bag and leave them in the freezer overnight. Take them out of the freezer the next day and allow them to dry naturally. The extremely cold temperature will kill the bacteria and make your shoes less stinky.
Ingredients methods:
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Putting Powder In Your Shoes
If the stinky odor remains in your shoes after you have washed and dried them, try sprinkling the inside of each shoe with baking soda or a foot powder made to control odor. Leave a generous amount of the powder in your shoes overnight. Remove the powder the next day by shaking out your shoes. If any stubborn powder remains in small corners of the sneakers you can remove it using the hose attachment on your vacuum cleaner.
To kill the smell, use this method for all types of footwear.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 5 drops of tea tree oil
Procedure:
In a spray bottle, mix well water, distilled white V, and drops of tea tree oil . Shake thoroughly.
Directly spray or apply to a cloth and wipe the shoe interior,
Better to cover the outer side, particularly the front upper part of the shoe, with a plastic paper. This spray is only to use on the interior side of the shoe. After spraying them, let your shoes dry in a sunny spot.
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Wash Your Feet And Wear Clean Socks
The bacteria on your feet just keep multiplying, so your feet should be washed daily with soap and water, says the ACFAS. When you’re in the shower or bath, lather with soap on your soles, and dont forget between your toes.
Rinse and completely dry your feet when you get out of the shower . You can also give them a blast with the hairdryer for extra dryness. Add clean, dry socks before slipping on shoes. The Institute for Preventative Foot Health suggests padded socks for their moisture-wicking properties for people with very sweaty feet.
Clean Shoe Inserts Only
If you only have the inserts of your shoes and not the entire shoe, then you can try using vinegar to get rid of the smell. Vinegar is a natural deodorant and will help to remove any bad smell from your inserts.
Mix one part vinegar with two parts water in a bowl to clean your shoe inserts with vinegar. Soak your shoe inserts in the mixture for about 30 minutes. Then, rinse them well with cold water and let them air dry. Your shoe inserts should now be free of any bad smells!
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The Best Way To Clean Your Shoes So They Stop Smelling
Kill the bacteria! Spray or wipe a disinfectant in your shoe.
- hydrogen peroxide a disinfectant that is far less harmful than a chemical like bleach that can be found at any grocery store. You can put it in a spray bottle and spritz the inside of your shoes. Or you can use a cotton ball / sponge / toothbrush and rub the entire inside of your shoe, concentrating on breaking up anything you can see that is not naturally a part of the shoe. If you get a little overzealous, dry off the extra liquid with a rag.
- tea tree oil WebMD agrees its great for fungal infections and getting rid of athletes foot. Alternatively, use lavender oil, another natural disinfectant. To use, make up a spray bottle filled with water and add 3-8 drops of the oil. Spritz shoes and let them air dry.
If the methods above dont work, then your shoes may have some seriously caked on sludge. Youll actually have to wash them with the aid of room-temperature soapy water and get the scrub brush out.
While scrubbing, try to avoid saturating your shoes with water , and instead work on cleaning any gunk out with the scrubber / toothbrush with help from the tepid soapy water.
After washing, help your shoes dry by stuffing them with newspaper and then let the shoes finish drying in an open area or use a fan to speed up the process . Once clean, use the methods listed above to keep ahead of the build-up.
How Do I Clean The Inside Of My Baseball Cleats
The easiest way to clean the inside of your baseball cleats is to use a damp cloth to wipe them down after each use. If they start to get really dirty, you can remove the laces and use a soft bristled brush to scrub the inside of the cleat. Be sure to rinse the cleats off afterwards to remove any soap residue. You can also use a mild soap and water solution to clean your cleats, but be sure to rinse them thoroughly afterwards. If your cleats are made of leather, you can use a leather conditioner to help keep them clean and conditioned.
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