Try The Freezer Trick
You can freeze smelly shoes to kill odors. The bacteria that cause shoe odor need a warm, dark place to breed. Freezing your shoes stops that process. All you need to do is tuck them in a freezer overnight. You should probably put them in a bag first, though, so the dirty soles of your shoes dont come into contact with your frozen foods.
The Trick Of Talcum Powder
Talcum powder works in the same way as baking soda. They have the virtue of absorbing humidity and thereby silencing the bad smell. In this case, you have two options:
- Apply a little talcum powder to each shoe and allow them to spend the night like this. In the morning, we can remove the rest of the powders.
- Apply talcum powder to the sole. In this way, we limit the sweating caused by the bad smell of the shoes.
Simple Homemade Tips To Get Rid Of Shoe Odor
Stinky shoes can be extremely inconvenient. They make your feet smelly, and altogether you feel uncomfortable and dirty. The kind of shoes you wear determines why you are suffering from this problem.
If you are fond of wearing heavy shoes with thick socks, especially during wintertime, then you need to be extra careful about keeping your shoe odor-free. The bare minimum you need to do is wash the pair frequently, but sometimes you need to put in some extra effort to remove shoe odor fast.
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Is It Healthy To Have Smelly Feet
Foot odor is rarely a sign of a health problem, but sometimes an infection can cause it. See a doctor if you see any signs of infection or if the smell just doesnt get better.
If your feet are also unusually sweaty, it may be plantar hyperhidrosis. This excessive foot sweating may interfere with daily activities.
There are tests to determine how severe the problem is. If you or a family member has hyperhidrosis, a doctor may prescribe a prescription antiperspirant, prescription cream, or nerve-blocking medication to reduce sweating. If that doesnt work, Botox injections may help.
Even if you have a condition that leaves you prone to foot odor, taking steps to keep your feet clean and dry will help with the smell.
Canadian Journal of MicrobiologyPlanta MedicaJournal of EthnopharmacologyElytropappus rhinocerotis
A Cure For Stinky Shoes

It doesnt matter who you are, weve all had a pair of tennis shoes that smelled really bad. Most people try to get the smell out of their 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 Maintain Good Hygiene In Your Shoes
Finally, we teach you how you must maintain proper hygiene to avoid bad odor from your shoes:
- Try not to wear closed shoes every day. It is terrible for the health of our feet and promotes awful smell.
- When you get home, change shoes and let those shoes air out.
- It doesn’t matter if the shoe is of good quality. They all absorb the terrible smell. Hence, we must maintain good cleaning of them. You can use a damp cloth with detergent and brush them every day.
- Apply talcum powder if the sole sweat excessively. It is a simple remedy that helps us a lot daily.
How Do You Get The Smell Of Cat Pee Out Of Shoes
Whats interesting is that the rotten soles dont change the performance of those stinky shoes. So you can wash them particularly focusing on the smell issue. Many consumers who faced badly constructed shoes that create the cat pee smell filed complaints to the companies. Some of the companies refunded their money, some of them sent a new pair of shoes to the customers. But if youre in bad luck, the new shoes can still be responsible for the intolerable smell. So when getting rid of the smell from your shoes is the only option left for you, were happy to help.
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Dry Your Smelly Shoes Out
Wet shoes are definitely a common culprit of bad smells. As if the sweat your feet naturally produces wasnt bad enough, sloshing through rain or snow will not help your shoes in the scent department.
If you realize your smelly shoes problem is caused by added moisture from the elements, start by drying them out. Finding a sunny spot or other heated area will be beneficial for drying your shoes and reducing the spread of bacteria and therefore the smell.
How To Prevent Smelly Shoes
There are steps you can take before you even start wearing shoes, to minimise the smell. The NHS advises:
- Using a spray deodorant or antiperspirant on your feet.
- Putting medicated insoles, which have a deodorising effect, in your shoes.
- Using a foot powder to absorb sweat.
- Trying socks for sweaty feet some sports socks are designed to keep feet dry, and you can get special antibacterial socks.
- Wearing leather or canvas shoes, as they let your feet breathe, unlike plastic ones.
- Always wearing socks with closed-toe shoes.
It’s also not advisable to put shoes on immediately after showering water between the toes can encourage bacteria. Also, where possible, let your shoes breathe somewhere ventilated for 24 hours between wears.
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How To Get Smell Out Of Shoes
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Smelly shoes can be unpleasant. You take off your shoes, and suddenly the room is filled with a nasty stench. If there are several people in the room, it becomes easily embarrassing. So you are very curious about How to Get Smell Out of Shoes.
Thankfully, there are several effective ways to avoid bad odors in the shoe and get rid of the smell if it has already occurred. We have gathered here our best tricks to keep the shoes fresh on the inside.
Why Do Your Shoes Smell Bad
The reason your shoes stink is that your feet contain 250,000 sweat glands. When those glands get confined in a shoe, the sweat and warmth create a breeding ground for bacteria. To get rid of the smell in your shoes, you need to destroy the bacteria causing the stink. You can do this by cleaning them properly. Using homemade shoe deodorizing sprays or powders also helps. Then follow good shoe and foot care to help keep feet from stinking.
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Getting The Stink Out Of Your Shoes
There are more sweat glands in your two feet than anywhere else on your body. And when bacteria breaks down that sweat, it can stink.
Because of all the sweat from your feet, which inevitably soaks into your shoes, stinky footwear is a rather common occurrence. While in some cases its a minor annoyance that really only impacts yourself, in others its a truly embarrassing matter people can smell it if theyre simply sitting next to you on the subway, and if you take your shoes off around folks, the stink can bowl them over!
The amount you sweat and the pungency of your body odor is partially genetic, and if youre on the more stinky end of things, youll just unfortunately have to do more to fight it .
Below youll find how to do just that. We start with a handful of tips focused on prevention, and then move into a number of mostly natural options you can try before youre forced to throw your permanently putrid footwear in an incinerator.
Black Tea Bags For Smelly Shoes:

How to get rid of shoe odor with tea bags? Tannis is an important ingredient found in black tea and its tea bags which have remarkable ability to kill odor. Take used tea bags and let them dry completely. Place the dried tea bags inside the shoes overnight. This will kill the entire odor from the shoes also this recipe is considered as Best shoe odor eliminator. For smelly shoes, tea bags used must be completely dry.
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Make Good Footwear Choices
Since shoe odor starts with sweaty feet, an easy way to reduce it is by choosing shoes made of natural materials and open weaves. Hemp, fabric, and canvas are all good choices since they allow air to circulate, so your feet stay drier. Plus, shoes made from natural materials are usually washable, so theyre easier to clean.
Foot Sense Natural Shoe Deodorizer Powder
Tester Smell Score: 3.5 out of 5
- Eliminates excess moisture
- Doesnt kill 100% of bacteria
We know, traditional powders can be messy. But Foot Sense uses an arrowroot-based, talc-free formula thats safe, effective, and smells greatso we didnt mind if some spilled outside of our shoes. Its not as powerful as some of the potent sprays weve tested, so youll likely need to reapply more frequently, but we loved this powders supreme ability to eliminate excess moisture alongside a lemony-lavender aroma.
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Lightfoot Foot And Shoe Deodorizer
This natural spray will do a tremendous job of removing odor from your shoes. A concoction of pure anti-Bacterial essential oils will help remove the most resilient foot and shoe odor without any exception.
The spray contains the power of peppermint, tea tree oil, eucalyptus, and thyme. Even a little spritz can go a long way. You can potentially use this bottle for hundreds of sprays.
While the spray is powerful, it is safe and gentle for your feet. You can directly spray it into your shoes to get that refreshing effect.
Remove Smells From Shoes With Baking Soda
Baking soda is a fabulous natural deodoriser and versatile cleaner. Follow the steps below to use it to get rid of smells in shoes and read our article on baking soda cleaning for more tips.
Pop a few tablespoons of baking soda into a coffee filter.
Tie the top with an elastic band. Repeat twice â one for each shoe.
Leave the baking soda filters in your shoes overnight to absorb smells and moisture.
Add a new scent by mixing in a few drops of your favourite essential oil.
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Elite Shoe Deodorizer And Foot Spray
This product serves multiple purposes as a shoe deodorizer, a foot spray, and a moisturizer. It can control odors and prevent your feet from becoming smelly.
Once you start using this product, you will notice that your feet are becoming healthier. Formulated in the United States, it contains 11 helpful herbs and 7 pure essential oils. It can both moisturize and repair dry feet. As soon as you spray the product on, you will feel an icy sensation.
How To Get Rid Of Shoe Odor
Are you embarrassed to remove your shoes in front of others? Do you wish to throw away your favorite pair of shoes due to the foul smell it transmits? If the answer is yes, the good news is that you do not need to get embarrassed about the unpleasant smell that comes from your shoes. Almost everyone faces the problem of stinky shoes once or twice in a lifetime.
If you have noticed that your shoes smell bad, its likely that you want to get rid of the odor as quickly as possible. But before that you need to first understand that reason behind the stinky smell coming from your shoes.
In This Article: |
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How To Clean Smelly Shoes
Some shoes, like leather and canvas trainers, will wash in your washing machine if you put them inside a bag or pillowcase. However, others will disintegrate in the washing machine such as those with a cork sole.
Recently, one blogger revealed a genius hack for keep them fresh. Lynsey Queen of Clean shared a picture on Instagram and wrote: “Pop a few tea bags inside your smelly shoes to fight off bad odours that are caused by heat and bacteria.”Leave to sit over night in a warm dry place. The longer you leave the better”
You can make your own cleaning solution using store cupboard staples. Bicarbonate of soda left inside the shoes overnight will help soak up some of the smell. Otherwise, you can make your own solution by mixing equal parts water and vinegar and spraying a small amount inside the shoes. Be sure to let them dry properly before wearing them again.
If that sounds like too much hassle to you, there’s plenty of remedies available to buy online. Here’s some of the best:
Why Do My Boots Smell Bad

Boots smell because feet stink. Plus, boots have less ventilation than other shoes, so it traps the odors in a lot more fiercely.
Feet stink because they sweat. A lot. This is more likely to happen if youre on your feet all day, wear enclosed shoes, are going through hormonal changes, are stressed or have a medical condition called hyperhidrosis .
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Natural Foot Spray For Foot Odor
This amazing recipe is all-natural foot spray which capable of killing the bacteria and de-stink the shoes effectively. Why? The grapefruit seed extract, rosemary essential oil and tea tree oil contains antibacterial, antifungal and anti-parasitic agents. The lavender oil and geranium oil soothes the skin. Apart from making you feet smell better, this recipe also heals them.
- To a small bottle, add 1 ounce witch hazel, 20 drops each of tea tree oil and lavender oil, 35 drops of grapefruit seed extract, 15 drops of geranium oil, 10 drops of peppermint oil, 5 drops of rosemary oil and 1/2 ounce of rubbing alcohol.
- Close the lid of the bottle and shake well to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Spray the mixture as many times as you want on your feet. Especially after a shower and before putting on your shoes.
- The mixture is quickly absorbed by the skin and leaves an amazing herbal scent.
- Note: Make sure to shake the mixture well before each use.
How To Clean Smelly Sneakers
What You’ll Need:
- White vinegar
Follow These Steps:
1. If the shoes are machine washable, launder them in warm water with a small amount of detergent and a cup of white vinegar, says Katie Berry, author of 30 Days to a Clean and Organized House.
2. After the wash, place the shoes in the sun to dry. Never put sneakers in the dryer, as it could damage the adhesive.
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Rocket Pure Natural Deodorizer Spray
Tester Smell Score: 4.5 out of 5
- Made in USA from all-natural ingredients
- Kept odors away after 24 hours
- Expensive for the amount you get
If youre put off by harsh chemicals, this formula from Rocket Pure draws on half-a-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.
Orange Lemon Or Grapefruit
Another straightforward remedy is to use the peel of lemons, oranges, or grapefruits. The peeling of citrus not only provides a very characteristic smell, but it can also be a homemade trick for this problem.
Citrus peelings would help to remove bad odor from shoes. For this, we will follow the same method as with the previous ingredients:
- Put the citrus peelings in the shoes.
- Let it act all night.
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How To Get The Smell Out Of Shoes
Smelly shoes are not only annoying, they can be embarrassing too! But dont throw out those stinky shoes just yet! Well show you 6 of the best methods on how to get the smell out of shoes.
The helpful tips are one of my favorite tips for keeping my house clean and odor free. Some of my other favorite cleaning hacks are these tips for Cleaning Your Vents, keeping your Washing Machine Clean and getting that baked on food off of your Oven Glass.