Any hope for stinky sneakers?

I went out rafting a few days ago, and for some reason I neglected to wear sandals–just wore ordinary socks and sneakers. The sneakers got soaked, of course. Now they’re dried out, but they still have that lingering dirty river bed aroma about them.

What can I do? Soak them in clean water and dry them out again? Throw them in the washing machine with some detergent?

Put them into the washing machine with 1/2 c. each detergent, borax, and washing soda (find them in the laundry aisle). Add 1/2 cup white vinegar to the rinse water.

If that doesn’t work, try a half cup of ammonia with your detergent.

Thanks for the replies. BTW, there’s no danger that ammonia plus detergent will create chlorine gas, is there? Or do I need to be careful not to use detergent with added-in bleach?

If the midsole of your shoe is made of polyurethane (hehe…P-U), then you might as well go shop for a new pair. P-U tends to “rot” after it gets wet and and the shoes, no matter how flowery your feet smell, will always have that lingering “time to change the catbox” funk to them. Washing shoes with P-U midsoles is not a good idea for that reason.

Other midsole materials (EVA, molded EVA) do better job of surviving wetness, and can be washed…but only in cold water. The glue that holds the sole to the midsole has a hard time doing its job if you wash them with warm water. Additionally, any fabric on the shoe that can be shrunk will shhrink.

Here’s how to determine your midsole material: P-U and compression molded EVA can be molded into all kinds of interesting shapes. P-U is a dense open-cell foam and you should be readily be able to see tiny holes in the outer walls of the midsole. Molded EVA is readily distinguishable by the sight of slight wrinkles in the walls, which occur during the molding process of the midsole. P-U is harder to the touch and heavier than molded EVA. P-U midsoles are not very common these days…mainly used for running shoes for heavier people and in some heavy duty basketball shoes. Most everything nowadays is molded EVA.

Some “old skool” and bargain bin shoes still use plain old EVA, which looks like it was cookie-cut from a sheet (it was). Think cheep flip-flop material, and you’ve correctly pictured EVA.

Hope this is helpful and not just an exercise in disseminating useless knowledge. Any athletic shoe questions? I’m your guy.