# My feet are stinking **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 12, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928 "2000-09-12T20:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/1 "2000-09-12T20:10:56Z")
I’m sitting here at work and I can smell my feet. Not so much corn chip smell this time… just foot smell. You think other people can smell it too? I hope not. I don’t know why they stink now. They have nothing to be stinky for. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/2 "2000-09-12T20:12:10Z")
If foot smells came in sauce form this would be “chunky style”. ---
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/3 "2000-09-12T20:20:26Z")
Whammo, I sincerely hope you take this the way it’s intended…I always love to you read what you post. You never fail to elicit giggles galore. Your feet? You’ve had this problem before…IIRC? ---
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/4 "2000-09-12T20:22:22Z")
Hello? Idiot girl? That would be ME. I meant I always love to read what you post…ugh. sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/5 "2000-09-12T20:27:10Z")
Try wearing socks with more cotton in them. It seems to keep my feet drier. It’s worth a try and it’s cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/6 "2000-09-12T20:28:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by struuter \* > \*\* > > Your feet? You’ve had this problem before…IIRC? \*\* Yeah… thats when they were smelling like corn chips. No chips today… just funk. ---
**Author:** ![andyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@andyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/7 "2000-09-12T20:32:04Z")
An easy and fairly cheap way of getting rid of foot funk is to use boric acid powder. You can find it in the pharmacy section of pretty much any major grocery store for just a couple dollars IIRC. Just sprinkle is in your shoes, and rub some into your feet. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/8 "2000-09-12T20:43:43Z")
I have never had this problem and it is really VERY easy to prevent. Good hygiene is all that is needed. Use socks of natural fibers only (wool or cotton) that are not too thin and wash them daily. They will not have enough time to develop anything in a few hours that you are wearing them. Needless to say, wash your feet daily as well. The only thing left is the shoes. By following the above rules, I have _never_ had any problem with shoes developing odor. I mean _never_. But, it can happen if you wear shoes without socks or if you do not keeps feet and socks in clean condition. Any disinfectant should do the job and you have to choose the best one for that pair of shoes. Tennis shoes can go in the washer. I guess you _could_ use boric acid as has been suggested but I would tend to imagine the powder would sort of end up caking with your sweat. That is why washing socks daily gets rid of everything. You can also try spraying the inside of the shoe with dilited bleach (this is the approach I use on the boat which is a constant fight against fungus). With towels and other clothes I frequently disinffect them by boiling them in different ways: sometimes in the pressure cooker, sometimes just in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/9 "2000-09-12T20:45:44Z")
If boric acid doesn’t work, try sulfuric acid. I’m not sure if this is the drastic measure you’re shooting for, but it’ll probably solve your foot funk problem. ---
**Author:** ![Kiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiki)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/10 "2000-09-12T20:53:26Z")
Spray some deodorant on your feet in the morning. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing socks or not, it works either way. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/11 "2000-09-12T21:13:11Z")
Rachelle, I realize you are a woman and wearing thick socks is not something you can do all the time. Having said that I will point out that your feet shed a lot of dead skin, much more than your average skin anywhere else on your body. That is what “toe jam” is. If you wash your socks you get rid of it every day. If you do not wear socks and wear shoes that cannot be washed it just accumulates there breeding bacteria. Using deodorant is not my idea of hygiene. This is like people who do not wash and use deodorant. I’d rather they wash themselves and their clothes more often. Acrilic clothes will smell bad so soon that I will only wear natural fibers next to my body. By the way, I can think of no bigger turnoff than bad odors (bad breath, smelly feet etc) in a person and those around you are too embarrassed to tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/12 "2000-09-12T21:13:21Z")
Odor Eaters bro…Odor Eaters… But really, clean, dry socks are best, as has been suggested earlier. There are some people who should just not wear shoes with no socks. Talk about gag-city! 😉 And the general rule is: If you can smell yourself, everyone else can smell it too. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/13 "2000-09-12T21:21:08Z")
A foot stink link for your reading pleasure [Stinky Feet Project](http://www.ontap.com/health/stinkyfeet/) Check it out… you’ll thank me later. ---
**Author:** ![DeathLlama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DeathLlama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeathLlama)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/14 "2000-09-13T00:15:13Z")
Have you considered hooves? ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/15 "2000-09-13T00:32:10Z")
WASH THEM!!! ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/16 "2000-09-13T00:32:30Z")
What is it with people giving you advice on your stinky feet, Whammo? _I_ know the truth. You just wanted to try & gross us out with the whole sordid, smelly tale of you and your poor little stank-ridden feet, didn’t you? Oh, I bet you knew all along you’d sucker some kind-hearted folks with their pearls of wisdom on how to control the stench from your dogs, didn’t you? You _knew_ they’d wander in, pat you on your pointy little head, and say “Poor Whammo. Here, try this. It works for me!” You’re setting them up just so’s you can knock them down when you peel off those slime-ridden socks. You are one sick puppy. I’d like to say I can see right through you and your little charade, but the green fog rising from those malodorous pods of yours is clouding my vision and making me gag. Vicious b\*\*\*\*\*\*. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aglarond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@Aglarond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglarond)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/17 "2000-09-13T15:05:43Z")
I heard from a guy one time who said he used to have stinky feet. Then he found a magic solution that would help. He’d close off the bathtub drain and pee in the tub. He’d stand in it for a minute, unstop the drain, then take a shower like normal. Voila, no more stinky feet. He claimed it worked, but I’ve never tried it. I’ve, of course, peed in the shower before, but never wallowed in it. And that would be a thread for another time. I’m outta here before I come up with something else to post. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/18 "2000-09-13T15:21:57Z")
Aglarond, are you sure he was talking about foot odor, not Athlete’s Foot (though, I suppose they might be somewhat related)? IIRC, the “home remedy” you describe is usually mentioned as a cure for AF. ---
**Author:** ![Aglarond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@Aglarond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglarond)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/19 "2000-09-13T17:09:00Z")
Stuyguy, as much as I would have loved to keep the conversation with this guy alive, I didn’t press him for a lot of details. 😃 I know he was using it as a foot odor remedy, but he may have gotten mixed up with an athlete’s foot cure. Anybody want to try it and find out? ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928/20 "2000-09-13T17:25:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Persephone \* > \*\*_I_ know the truth. You just wanted to try & gross us out with the whole sordid, smelly tale of you and your poor little stank-ridden feet, didn’t you? > > I’d like to say I can see right through you and your little charade, but the green fog rising from those malodorous pods of yours is clouding my vision and making me gag. Vicious b\*\*\*\*\*\*. > \*\* 😛 They’re not _quite_ so stinky today… but I’m eating corn chips so that makes up for it. Aglarond said: \*\* > [@](#): > > He’d close off the bathtub drain and pee in the tub. He’d stand in it for a minute, unstop the drain, then take a shower like normal. \*\* Well I’ve always done that… but I didn’t know it had HEALTH benifits too! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-feet-are-stinking/32928.md?page=2)