Rid me of my smelly shoes...please?

For the past year I have been using a new pair of velcro climbing shoes but over that time they began to stink horribly. I tried using Febreze, scrubbing the inside, and some gold-bond to make it smell better. Sadly, nothing works to rid the shoe of the odors.

The shoes are great climbing shoes, and I would get another pair in a second if it wasn't for the smell. I had read reviews before I bought the shoe that some people experienced the same smell issues (because of the material used), but I couldn't resist the other positive feedback on the shoe and the price at the time.

Does anyone know how to get such smells out of shoes? I could just stop being so smelly, but that seems too difficult. :)

Let me guess...are they Galileos? Mine are the same way. Can't get rid of the smell either.

One thing that has worked fairly well for me is to leave several scented dryer sheets in the shoes after you climb. Depending on the strength of your foot odor, this may not work since you tried all those other things. Odor Eaters maybe??

Don't stuff your shoes into your pack a the end of the day, let them stay on the outside to air/dry out...

Freeze them...no, REALLY! Stick them in the freezer next to your Fudgecicles for a few hours and SHA-BAM!, stench is gone! The low temperature kills bacteria that causes odor.

Until recently, my number one shoes were Evolv Demortos (sadly, they are too beat up for their third resole). I believe Demortos is Latin for "smells of small, dead animals."

Anyway, I tried a "sport" spray that worked a little bit, but required soaking the shoes and left them smelling of chemicals covering up small, dead animals.

The one thing that really worked was soaking the shoes in a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water, followed by washing them several times in the sink with Woolite. After that treatment, the shoes didn't smell at all. Of course, after a few weeks of use they were back to their old stinky selves, so repeated washing is probably the only real answer.

I suspect that as long as the shoe material is synthetic that the alcohol/water soak followed by washing with soap won't damage the shoes.

BTW, my shoes always hang on the outside of my pack. With synthetics, letting them dry quickly only helps a little.

Jeremy Monahan wrote:One thing that has worked fairly well for me is to leave several scented dryer sheets in the shoes after you climb.

Do you find that this leaves a greasy residue in your shoes? I've never tried it, but it seems that if your shoes were exposed to any warm temps the dryer sheets would discharge their active ingredients into the inside of the shoe.

I'll second Duca's solution; I've heard that works well also. I wonder if a UV light would work also, by the same token...?

--Marc

I haven't tried it on my climbing shoes yet, but for my boxing gloves I put regular foot powder in after each workout. An old sock full of cedar chips (hamster bedding style) stuffed in each glove has also helped. I have found the cedar chips I change out on a fairly regular basis - but it's cheap and easy.

what works for me is to wash my feet before i wear them

Wow, those are all some great and creative ideas. Thank you for the help! I will probably cycle through each method and see what works best.

I will start off by taking a shower at least once a month and see if that helps (kidding!).

The shoes I am using now are the Evolv Defys. Like I said, great shoe except the smell. I think instead of leather they are some sort of leather look-and-feel-a-like material.

Thanks again!

If there's room in your shoes, you could try a thin pair of socks. That's helped me a lot.

I had major issues with my mythos. I found a product online that worked amazing. I used it on my new pair from day 1 and they smell better than i do (not that hard). it is called "on your toes" and is footodor.net.
just sprinkle a little bit in your shoes every few months. great stuff.
failing this, consult an exorcist!

I have a pair of the Defys and Quests. They both stink something fierce. I'm sure its due to the fact that they are all synthetic, lined and outer. Anyway, I was about ready to burn the Defys and figured I had nothing to loose, so I threw them in the washer. Warm water, regular cycle, it worked awesome and didn't hurt the shoe. I've only done it once so I don't know if repeated washing will hurt the shoe. Since the first washing they have started to wreak again so I'm going to wash them a second time here soon. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's not really a solution to 'already smelly' shoes, but it sure seems to help if you never put your shoes inside your pack after climbing -- because, inevitably you forget to take them out for a day or two. At that point, they're 'alive and growing'.

Darren Mabe wrote:what works for me is to wash my feet before i wear them

You nailed it at the source. Shoe odor is caused by fungus and bacteria. Both feed on dead organic matter, such as - dead skin cells. Warm, dark and moist location full of dead skin cells is pure heaven for odor causing fungi and bacteria so i've found the most effective remedy (but certainly not the only one to implement) is a very thorough washing of the feet. Use a washcloth or loofah (sp?) if available. The idea being to exfoliate the feet, reducing the dead layer of skin cells that will just rub off. Climbing shoes, being tight-fitting, typically will cause more skin cells to rub off.
Thanks, all for the remedies!
d

I found that it is dependent on the shoes. Some manufacturers must use different leather (wart-hog :-) or use a different tanning process. I have a pair of LaSportiva that stink and I have other brands that never stink. I think that the only remedy may be to switch to another brand of shoe. I tried most of the solutions suggested and found that they only serve as a temporary measure. Once you take the shoes off at the end of the day everyone around you will scatter.

Matthew Prom wrote:For the past year I have been using a new pair of velcro climbing shoes but over that time they began to stink horribly. I tried using Febreze, scrubbing the inside, and some gold-bond to make it smell better. Sadly, nothing works to rid the shoe of the odors. The shoes are great climbing shoes, and I would get another pair in a second if it wasn't for the smell. I had read reviews before I bought the shoe that some people experienced the same smell issues (because of the material used), but I couldn't resist the other positive feedback on the shoe and the price at the time. Does anyone know how to get such smells out of shoes? I could just stop being so smelly, but that seems too difficult. :)

definitely a shoe-material-dependent issue - good luck Matt

my feet always sweet (I could eat with them) till I slip on a RocketDogs made in China. I'm hangin on to my leather-type rock shoes till I find a no-smell-money-back guarantee

IMO pack up all the smelly shoes and ship 'em back in those empty containers. Anyone know the translation of "man-made materials"? -lol

kirra wrote:my feet always sweet (I could eat with them)

about how far are you able to shove those things in?

far enough to get my biner's gate to close

odd question Geir...is this how you eat?

Umm..... You could get rid of the source?

Try this? drionic.com/

they are climbing shoes enjoy the sweet stench of hard use!