I’ve got a rather odouriferous problem. Simply, my sneakers reek. I mean, bad enough to gag a maggot. A good stiff whiff is enough to give me a case of the heaves. I can still occasionally smell them when I have them on. When I take them off, my socks stink. If I leave them in my room, I get a headache, it’s that bad.
The problem started this summer when I started wearing them sans socks. I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I figured if they got too funky, I could just spray them with odour eaters or somesuch.
Well, the day of judgement had arrived. They got funky. And not George Clinton funky either.
And the spray did nothing.
Now, I figure that it is a bacterial thing. would it be okay to toss 'em in the washer with some bleach? Soak them in dilute bleach? Full strength bleach? Gas? Bueller?
While I don’t want to toss 'em, as they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned (adidas campus), and are perfectly broken in, which is tough with my wide assed feet, I’m not too concerned how they look at the end of this ordeal. I wear them everyday, for everything, including sports, golf, hiking, and hunting. They have seen better days, I just want them to see a few more.
If anybody has any good advice, please fell free to share. My stomach, nose, and all those around me will thank you!
You can throw them in the washing machine. Use a cup of bleach diluted in the wash water, and soap as usual.
If they’re pretty beaten up, you might want to use the Gentle cycle, and instead of putting them in the dryer, let them air-dry, or use a hairdryer on them.
When my son’s sneaks get too rank, I either wash them in the washer and let them air-dry a few days, or sprinkle in some baking soda overnight, shake it out in the morning.
Try sprinkling them with a bit of baking soda, putting some scrunched up newspaper in the toes and putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
Try the ideas in the link below. The suggestions designed to kill bacteria make the most sense to me. You may have to ditch the shoes if they are as bad as you say in your OP. I know how you guys love your sneakers but with your next pair I think you could avoid this by rotating them with with other shoes and giving them a break between wearings. :eek:
Thank you everybody for the input. I was a bit worried about putting them in the washer. I wasn’t sure if it the machine would be up to the task of handling rapidly rotating footwear. I had a mental image of me explaining to my landlord as he stood over the smoking remains of the washer why putting my shoes in there seemed like a good idea at the time. I’m a guy at heart. All I know is dirty clothes go in, clean ones come out. Everything in between is magic.
I can’t believe I didn’t think of the freezer idea. Of course that would wipe the little beasties out. I just have to remember to freeze first, then wash. Of course, it means explaining to my roomates just what my shoes are doing in the freezer. That’ll be fun. It’s not like they already don’t think I’m weird enough.
As far as rotating footwear goes, I own exactly three pairs of footwear. A pair of Caterpillar oxfords, which stay at the office I work at, as they are hell to walk in, a pair of sandals, which aren’t really all weather footwear, lord knows I’ve tried, and the aformetioned sneakers. I figure three pairs of shoes are enough. I have very little space in which to store them.
This won’t fix already nasty sneakers but in the future you might want to consired oder-eater type things to slip in them. When one pair gets nasty throw them out and replace them. They’re not that expensive and work pretty good.
This won’t keep them fresh forever but it will keep them stink free much longer.
Do everyone in your house/apartment building a favor, and please don’t do this at night or on a weekend before noon. It’s likely to make quite a bit of noise.
I haven’t laundered sneakers myself, but I would take the laces out first if I were going to launder some sneakers. I’ve seen how drawstrings in pants can get tangled up in the washer and/or dryer.
