Freshen Smelly Shoes

Funky feet and smelly shoes can lead to annoyance, embarrassment, and can prove to be a huge social hurdle that can alienate you whether you like it or not. So form a plan of attack to freshen smelly shoes so that you can save yourself the constant expense of replacing your footwear and replacing friends. Here are three different ways to approach the issue of smelly feet.

Steps

Freshen Shoes Naturally

1. Look for the cause. Stop and examine your shoes before you try to treat the odor. If you have damp or damaged insoles, either take them out and dry them, or purchase insoles that are specially formulated to prohibit bacterial growth.
2. Dry out your shoes by putting them near a heater or in a sunny spot. Take out the laces and lift the tongue up and out to dry the shoes out faster. By keeping them dry, you help prevent bacterial growth that causes odor.
3. Purchase cedar wood insoles. The cedar wood that they are made of is antifungal and can help you prevent odor. Plus, cedar smells fresh, light, and crisp, making it a great choice for removing odor and preventing bacterial growth.
4. Freeze your shoes. Put your smelly shoes in a plastic bag, and then put them in the freezer over the course of a night. Thaw them naturally the next day in the sunlight for the best results.
   • There is inconclusive evidence that this strategy works. The idea is that freezing the shoes kills the odor-producing bacteria, but some suggest that this method will only temporarily relieve the odor. Try it out for yourself and see what you think.
5. Use fabric softener/conditioner sheets. Ball up one or two fabric freshener sheets (that you stick in the drier, or in between your sheets) and place them in your shoes after you use them. The sheets should impart their pleasant perfume into the shoes and wick away any moisture that is still left in shoes.
6. Use a steam machine or try the steam feature of your washer or dryer. Steam may help to eradicate bacteria and fungus, thus getting rid of odor. If you're not worried about getting your shoes a little damp, give it a try.
7. Place fresh orange, grapefruit, lemon, or lime peel into the shoes. Fresh citrus peel has a great smell because of its essential oils. Leave fresh citrus peel in your shoes overnight and remove them before using. They should smell a lot better.
8. Add a few drops of lavender oil to your shoes. One or two drops will suffice inside each shoe, on the sole. This will both add anti-bacterial properties and eliminate the odor, replacing it with a fresh fragrance.

Freshen Shoes Chemically

1. Use antifungal foot powder, or try an antibacterial spray. Both of these can be purchased at convenience, grocery, or drug stores.
   • Antifungal foot powder is commonly associated with athlete's foot. While athletes foot is a cause of foot odor and smelly shoes, it is possible to have smelly shoes without also having athlete's foot.
   • If you do have athlete's foot, consider using a cream, lotion, or other mixture of tea tree oil on the feet to fight the fungus. Tea tree oil is a natural, great-smelling anti-fungal oil. Rub it onto the feet in order to combat athlete's foot.
2. Take out your soles and laces and place your shoes in a pillow cushion. Wash them in a water cycle that is around 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Repeat this a second time as soon as the first cycle is over, and then let the shoes air dry.
3. Put baking soda in the offending shoes. If the freezer trick does not work, put in a healthy dose of baking soda and let the powder absorb the odor overnight. Baking soda can be used in a wide variety of ways, including as an anti-fungal powder.
   • Alternately, mix baking soda with zinc oxide powder to create an odor-crunching, fungal-fighting powder. Mix equal parts baking soda and zinc oxide and apply to shoes overnight. Zinc oxide has deodorizing and antibacterial properties.
   • Dump out the powder the next day prior to putting the shoes back on so that you don't give yourself a white, powdery mess or trail all day.
4. Try store-bought odor removers. Most contain bacteria and/or enzymes that eat away at what is causing the odor.
5. Use rubbing alcohol. Swab shoes that you cannot wash with a cotton ball or cotton square with rubbing alcohol on it. This will help dry out offending odor causes and hopefully allow you full use of the shoes again. Rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly in addition to being an antiseptic. When it mixes with other liquids, it helps them evaporate, too.
6. Use fresh cat litter. Cat litter might seem a bit off-putting, but it works for a reason: it has great deodorizing properties. Stuff a sock with fresh, unused kitty litter, seal it off with a knot on top, and stuff into shoes overnight.
7. Use water and vinegar. Spray your shoes with a combination of 50 percent water and 50 percent white distilled vinegar. Spritz the mixture into your shoe lining and sole, and let it air dry for 30 minutes. You can use a hair dryer after that if you are in a hurry to dry the shoe. Follow that up with baking soda in the shoe overnight.

Tips

• Keep a sock or pair of tights full of kitty litter and baking soda that has been knotted at the top in the shoes for a daily trick. Keep this mixture in your shoes overnight each evening to help combat odor.
• Clean feet before putting into shoes and remember put Clean socks.

Related Articles

• Eliminate Odor from Smelly Shoes
• Remove the Smell of Cat Urine from Running Shoes
• Clean Tennis Shoes
• Clean Smelly Sneakers

Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by HouseholdHacker
• http://www.parentsconnect.com/tips/one_way_to_freshen_sneakers.jhtml

See also

• Remove Dye from Suede Shoes
• Clean Flats
• Scuff Up New Shoes
• Clean Wrestling Shoes
• Scuff Up Boots
• Re‐Ice Shoe Soles
• Clean Muddy Shoes
• Clean Hiking Boots
• Clean Shoe Insoles
• Clean White Converse

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