I have lately noticed a problem with my mostly fabric hiking/gym shoes. If they ever get wet (like in the rain) it is common that mildew or some other fungus sets in, and they smell horrible (like the mildew from hell) forever after whenever I wear them. Is there any way to get rid of this mildew?
I am positive it is a fungus, and I do not have any foot diseases, nor have I ever had any such problems with my feet. My feet do not smell. I know mildew in general is notoriously difficult to get rid of. I have tried washing the shoes, but of course, that doesn’t help, and only wears down the shoes. The few times I’ve tried this, the shoes smelled as I took them wet out of the washing machine. Drying them in a dryer apparently did not kill the mildew or whatever it is.
I don’t seem to have this problem with my leather sandals and other, mostly leather shoes, only the shoes which have a lot of fabric on the inside.
I’ve gone through quite a few pairs of shoes recently because of this situation. I hope someone can offer some good advice.
You need to kill the bacteria causing the odor. There are quite a few ways to do that.
First of all, you could wash them with a little bleach (perhaps half a cup to avoid discoloration) or Lysol when you put them in the washing machine. If you’d rather not run them through the machine again, you could just let them soak in a small tub of water for a while, (use less bleach because there’s less water) and then put them in a warm place to dry, such as over a heater vent.
Secondly, you can try spraying a germicidal product into the shoes, such as Lysol spray, but since it wouldn’t completely saturate the fabric, I’d gander to say it’d be less effective.
You could also use steam. You’d need one of those steam-cleaning machines though, not just a slow trickle like which comes from an iron.
After you clean them, I suggest using a specially-formulated foot odor powder like Dr. Scholls to keep the problem from re-occurring. If your shoes get particularly damp after wearing, though, the effacacy would be limited–basically just slowing down eventual re-occurance.
I had a sudden inspiration and I sprinkled the inside of my shoes with isopropyl alcohol before I went out today. This seems to have solved the problem at least temporarily. Perhaps a more liberal and thorough application and drying will solve it permanently. I think this is probably more forgiving to my shoes than water and bleach, but I’ll keep that option in mind, thanks.
I’ve found that a really easy way to get rid of fungi is a commercial tub and tile cleaner. I have a spray bottle of it and use it to get rid of mold/mushrooms I find in my garden (although don’t spray directly on plants). These commercial products have a powerful antifungal and work quickly.
Put them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for a few days. Then wash them (no bleach) with detergent. It’s the only thing that kills the stink funk nasties. I don’t recommend bleach with composite textile shoes & boots. Bleach beats the hell out of the threads, fabrics and glues that hold the shoe together.
Steam is not the best idea if mold it the problem. Steam provides mold with heat and moisture, which it loves. People who use steam to clean their carpets are often shocked when they pull up the carpet and find black mold growing on their floor.
I second the mild bleach solution. As a plus, it will clean your shoes of dirt and stains.
Most problems like this can be resolved with sunlight. Mold and fungus needs three things: heat, moisture, and darkness. Just leave your shoes out in the sun and let them dry, sunlight will kill and mold or stuff that’s growing there.
Thanks for the wetsuit solution cited above, however, my shoe problem is caused by mold or mildew, not bacteria. Reading the description of “sink the stink” - it sounds really innovative and a great solution if your problem is rotting organic matter in your wetsuit. :eek: Fungi don’t need that to live, just heat, darkness and dankness, which is why they’re so hard to get rid of. I’m a bit puzzled why they say that it fights mildew, unless their organic-munching bacteria consider mildew lunch…
The commercial tub and tile cleaner sounds like a good option, especially if they are anti-fungal.
I will also try the freezer thing, it also sounds promising. Maybe after that I’ll put them in the sun.
I can’t really soak these shoes in bleach, they are made up of pieces of suede and man made materials and I think they’d fall apart.
If it’s the same nasties stinking up my cycling sandals, the freezer will be very effective. I just wrap my sandals in a few layers of plastic bags and freeze them for a day or two.