# Stinky Shoes/Sandals



## yuandrew (Mar 14, 2007)

I bought a pair of Chaco Z1s recently but I've been recently wearing them a lot more often since the weather is getting warm. Now that I've had them on almost constantly for a week and a half; they currently smell like dirty socks. The smell is either comming from the footbed itself or the straps.






I sprayed both pairs with Invisible Glass (only stuff I had containing alcohol) and wiped them down and it seems to help but there's still a faint odor; maybe I'll do a more through cleaning job later this week. Anyone else have a solution to getting rid of the smell from sport sandals ?


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## Knighthood (Mar 14, 2007)

Try simple green. I love that stuff. Other than that. Baking soda.


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## frisco (Mar 14, 2007)

Gross!!!! I'm not a fan of that whole Teva type shoe/sandal. It's the most unflattering thing ever invented for the human foot! Reminds me of the Flintstones shoes.

frisco


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## Oddjob (Mar 14, 2007)

You can try to putting them in a bag (or two) and then into the freezer. The odour is a by product of bacterial metabolism. The cold kills the bacteria that causes the odour. Just a tip I saw on a show once.


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## Beamhead (Mar 14, 2007)

Oddjob said:


> You can try to putting them in a bag (or two) and then into the freezer. The odour is a by product of bacterial metabolism. The cold kills the bacteria that causes the odour. Just a tip I saw on a show once.


 
My wife would kill me if I put my shoes in the freezer.:candle:


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## Oddjob (Mar 14, 2007)

I hear you Beamhead. I still haven't tried it for the same reason. In the winter I used to leave my smelly hockey equipment in the garage which had the same effect.


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## Trashman (Mar 14, 2007)

frisco said:


> Gross!!!! I'm not a fan of that whole Teva type shoe/sandal. I most unflattering thing ever invented for the human foot! Reminds me of the Flintstones shoes.
> 
> frisco



Sounds like something a valley girl would say!

They're not gross at all. I never liked those sandals for me, either, until I bought a pair. I bought a cheap pair, which aren't very good for long walks, due to my bad ankle(s), but I quickly learned to appreciate their comfort. It feels really good to walk around in these "icky" sandals! I'm currently searching ebay for a cheap snag on a new pair of Ecco sandals in this style. I figure those should give me comfort as well as long walkability. I may look stupid wearing them--some may even say fruity (my brother would say that)--but the cool comfort you get from wearing them is well worth it.


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## carbine15 (Mar 14, 2007)

Beamhead said:


> My wife would kill me if I put my shoes in the freezer.:candle:



You could try the oven.


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## UncleFester (Mar 14, 2007)

I don't know how you would apply this to sandals. Stinky shoes can be cured by sprinkling a little boric acid powder in them the same way you would talc. Apply the powder in the morning and by the next day .. Stench all gone!


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## atm (Mar 14, 2007)

You could leave them out in the sun on a warm/hot dry day, bacteria dehydrate and die pretty quickly in these conditions. Sunlight is a great sterilizer.

Otherwise you could try a cool gadget that illuminates and write it off to flashaholism... 

http://www.uvlp.ca/portable_uv_sterilizer.htm


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## kingoftf (Mar 14, 2007)

I´ve got the same problems here in Tenerife with those kind of shoes. 
After a few hours walking with my dogs my shoes are smelling like a dead fish..


Put them in the washing machine (on the 30 Degrees program) works fine and the fish has gone....


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## jtice (Mar 14, 2007)

Baking Soda seems to work best for me.
If its shoes, I just sprinkle some in them every week or so.
For the sandals, I would sprinkle it on them, put them, and some more baking soda in a bag and seal it up over night.

~John


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## jarobi (Mar 14, 2007)

If all else fails, white vinegar should kill the smell. You'll have to wash them a couple times to get the vinegar smell out afterwards.


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## Manzerick (Mar 14, 2007)

+1

i haven't tried it but also saw it or heard it somewhere



Oddjob said:


> You can try to putting them in a bag (or two) and then into the freezer. The odour is a by product of bacterial metabolism. The cold kills the bacteria that causes the odour. Just a tip I saw on a show once.


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## TedTheLed (Mar 14, 2007)

atm beat me to it. I second the sun treatment. maybe more than a day of it..
I had the exact same problem with a pair of Teva sandals. they stank so badly I had to keep them outside at night. I'm fairly sure it's a bacterial problem caused by just wearing tem all the time without allowing them to dry out..
also possibly contributing to the problem was the folding back of a the layer of thin clothlike material that covered the footbed..
I took the sandals outside and bathed them in a (weak) clorox solution, then let them dry in the sun for a couple days. then I hotmelt-glued the footbed material back in place.
maybe this material has some kind of antibacterial function..I suspect this because the smell hasn't come back, yet.. but maybe it's becauseI haven't ben wearing them 24/7


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## elgarak (Mar 14, 2007)

Love my Chacos! Hey, here in FL you need sandals.

The good thing about them is that they're completely plastic... relatively easy to disinfect, while you would destroy natural fibers/cloth with most of the chemicals you use to kill the bacteria.

The sun treatment and regular washing helps (take them into the shower for quick everyday treatment )... they'll get a beach smell, not too bad...


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## greenlight (Mar 14, 2007)

I stopped wearing tevas regularly for this reason. I usually only take them river rafting; in the water all day they stay nice and clean. 

Just picked up a nice pair of Keen shoes. (They have closed toes, but they're like sandals). The rubber footbed started to stink the first day. 

I like all the GOOD suggestions for solving the problem, but in my experience, the problem returns after wearing the shoes for a while. I might start sprinkling baking soda on them.

I have some Dr. Martin sandals with leather footbed. They don't get stinky. 

I used to wear socks with my sandals... feet don't stink so much, but you get mistaken for a European...


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## DM51 (Mar 14, 2007)

Give them to your neighbor's dog to eat, then go and get yourself a proper pair of shoes while the rest of us read a new thread about the best way to clear up dog vomit.


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## supes (Mar 14, 2007)

Chacos are VERY comfortable and easy to wear. I also have the stink problem. What I do is pour some laundry detergent on the plastic insole and strap parts and scrub them a little bit and then just rinse them out with the garden hose. Put them out in the sun for half a day and their dry. Smells like Tide! 

I hear Gold Bond powder also works good.


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## PhotonBoy (Mar 14, 2007)

I have a very small fan turned to low located near a radiator which runs all winter. I put my boots and shoes downstream of the fan and in the morning, my footwear is fresh and dry. If you don't like the fan idea, park your sandals in an area where there's a continuous flow of air to dry them out.

A brief squirt of Febreze fabric freshener right after you remove them helps a lot too.


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## savumaki (Mar 14, 2007)

"Tongue in cheek"

Spray liberally with kerosene and pass by open flame.


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## TinderBox (UK) (Mar 14, 2007)

I saw an demostration of a new product, an "ionic silver sterilizer", it looks like a normal microwave oven.

the guy demonstrated it by putting some very smelly trainers and put lump of smelly cheese inside them for good measure.

after about a minute in the machine, he passed them to the audience to see if the still smelled, but the smell had miraciously gone.

the machine is supposed to have a lot of uses, and are going to be sold in a year or two.

regards.

John.


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## Omega Man (Mar 14, 2007)

I've worn Reefs for years, and the thing that works for me is giving them a scrub with an all purpose spray like Fantastik or Lysol non aerosol spray, then scrubbing with an abrassive pad. I regularly spray and wipe the bed of the flip flops every month with the spray and papertowels, and am amazed at how black the papertowels get. 
When they actually start to smell, I spray and srcub with the pad, paying close attention to the straps. When you can scrap gunk off the straps or soles with a fingernail (niiiiiice image), it's time to spray and scrub! 
They've had no odor ever since last year. 
I consider it routine mantainence, like polishing my Docs.


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## WAVE_PARTICLE (Mar 14, 2007)

Oddjob said:


> You can try to putting them in a bag (or two) and then into the freezer. The odour is a by product of bacterial metabolism. The cold kills the bacteria that causes the odour. Just a tip I saw on a show once.


 

Cold temperatures don't really kill bacteria. It just slows down their reproduction..... kinda like how a cold shower slows down your reproduction..... :lolsign: 


WP


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## mosport (Mar 14, 2007)

See if you can find a local sports facility or store with a sanitizing machine, they have them at some hockey arenas up here... 

They eliminate odours by using ozone to kill the bacteria. This is important since not only is hockey gear notorious for smelling bad, but that same bacteria can become potentially life threatening if it infects you via a cut or scratch.

www.sani-sport.com/sanisport-machines.html

www.playitclean.ca

Worth trying if you can find a place!


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## Chronos (Mar 14, 2007)

If you have crocs (ugly as H**l but incredibly comfortable) simply throw 'em in the dishwasher. No kidding.


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## ACMarina (Mar 14, 2007)

My wife tosses her Chacos in the washer. I hate the shoes myself, they're really uncomfortable, but she loves them so what do I know??


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## turbodog (Mar 14, 2007)

If they're uncomfortable it's likely because you don't have them adjusted properly.


I've been wearing teva/chaco for ~15 years (still have my original pair!). When they get funky, I scrub them in the sink with a toothbrush and some typical hand soap. All you've really got to do is clean the dirt/oil/etc deposits out of the grooves.





ACMarina said:


> My wife tosses her Chacos in the washer. I hate the shoes myself, they're really uncomfortable, but she loves them so what do I know??


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## greenlight (Mar 15, 2007)

:lolsign:


WAVE_PARTICLE said:


> Cold temperatures don't really kill bacteria. It just slows down their reproduction..... kinda like how a cold shower slows down your reproduction..... :lolsign:
> 
> 
> WP


 :lolsign: :laughing:


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## bfg9000 (Mar 15, 2007)

Chronos said:


> If you have crocs (ugly as H**l but incredibly comfortable) simply throw 'em in the dishwasher. No kidding.


If shoes in the freezer are yucky, how is washing them in the dishwasher going to be any better?






As for the freezing thing, how long do you think it would take? I mean we know 32,000 years is not long enough. Too bad because if it worked at all, we could solve all of our E. coli and other food borne illnesses simply by freezing the food...

You can kill the Trichinella worms in pork by freezing for 90 days. It's not the freezing itself that kills them but the dehydration from having all available water locked up in ice crystals. It takes that long because their metabolism is understandably slowed by the low temperature.

I have to point out that any sterilization of the shoes will not last unless you get rid of the source of the stinkiness, namely the germs on your stinky feet that will recontaminate the shoes as soon as you put them on. Since you can't boil your feet, painting them with Betadine for a few minutes should do it, if you sterilize *all* of your shoes also (ozone, bleach, UV). This is akin to scorched-earth methods like fumigation or nuclear bombs, but hopefully your feet will be recolonized by non-stinky germs that will outcompete the stinky germs this time so this problem does not recur.


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## Illum (Mar 15, 2007)

Beamhead said:


> My wife would kill me if I put my shoes in the freezer.:candle:



hey, at least you put them in the bag when you do...she might kill you if you decide to boil them in her pot:laughing:



atm said:


> You could leave them out in the sun on a warm/hot dry day, bacteria dehydrate and die pretty quickly in these conditions. Sunlight is a great sterilizer.



Done this before....but I think full sun and high humidity actually facilitates the bacterial growth, the smell weakens sure ...but it lingers there

never tried baking soda...boric acid helped though. I still tossed my sandals in the end


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## Illum (Mar 15, 2007)

double post


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## TedTheLed (Mar 15, 2007)

bfg, then how come it's only the tevas that stink, and not my Hitec boots which i wear as often if not more so..? nor has it happened with other shoes in the past that i have worn '24/7' -- of course the stink bugs crawl out of my toes into the shoes, but is it this foam material in Chacos and Tevas etc that seems to give the bugs a nicer home than any other shoe material..?


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## Vermonter73 (Mar 15, 2007)

Get another pair so you can alternate. ANY footwear worn all the time will stink. They don't have a chance to dry out, thus the bacteria can stay alive.

As explained to me by my friend's Dad who makes custom leather footwear.

I haven't had stinky shoes since I learned this.


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## bfg9000 (Mar 15, 2007)

Good shoes (especially ones with tanned leather insoles) tend to contain lots of germicides too. The problem with sponge rubber is there is just so much surface area to trap moisture and let bacteria stay alive between uses.

It has been documented that kitchen sponges are by far the most germ-laden things in the household for the same reason. That's why most health departments require restaurants to store them in bleach solution between uses.


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## daloosh (Mar 15, 2007)

I feel sick now. Thanks.

I microwave my sponges, but I'm not sure that's a good idea for your shoes. You guys remember last month or so that news bit about people microwaving their sponges without wetting them? Result = fire. Oy.

daloosh


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## PhotonWrangler (Mar 15, 2007)

For around $23 you can buy a plug-in germicidal UV lamp that will fit in many fluorescent desk lamp fixtures. I converted a metal desk lamp into a portable UV sterilizer with one of these. Just remember to protect your eyes and use it in a well-ventilated area. Ozone is a byproduct of these lamps and it's not terribly good for your lungs.


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## bfg9000 (Mar 15, 2007)

Yeech, shoes in the freezer, oven, dishwasher, kitchen pot and now microwave





I'm not eating at _your_ house


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## PhotonBoy (Mar 15, 2007)

I'd like to expand on my previous post where I recommended ways to dry footwear to reduce odors and the growth of unwanted bugs that haunt everyone who uses footwear. :sick2: :mecry:

I suggested a brief squirt of the fabric freshener Febreze. It turns out that Febreze is not just hype and marketing. It contains an active ingredient called *cyclodextrin* which is quite remarkable. It has "the ability to stabilize volatile or unstable compounds and the reduction of unwanted tastes and odour."

Read about Febreze here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febreze

and about cyclodextrin here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclodextrin

The second article is quite interesting.

Cyclodextrin is obviously not a cure; it just treats the effects of the problem. You should take constant measures to keep footwear dry and sanitary.


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## TedTheLed (Mar 15, 2007)

whichever employee of 'Febreze' wrote that for the wikipedia deserves a raise.. look at the references; something by Proctor and Gamble..well I guess they would know..


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## mossyoak (Mar 17, 2007)

chacos sandals are the best footwear in the world. and they give specific directions on how to clean them. throw them in the washer with your clothes. i do it ever week and they never get stinky or the sticky footbeds.


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## dalekcommander (Mar 23, 2007)

I usually wear my boots to work everynight - big ol' honkin' 5.11's.
I use this stuff called Bio-Tac that you can get at quartermaster uniforms.
The company claims that it works to kill the smell and bacteria on body-armor, etc. Works great in my boots!
I have actually used it at work for "other" uses and it stands up!


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## will (Mar 23, 2007)

There are times when a few treatments for athletes foot may be required. That won't get rid of the odor, but it may prevent future odors from happening.


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