# Squeaky shoes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831 "2014-01-14T23:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/1 "2014-01-14T23:50:50Z")
About six months ago, I bought new shoes. Something like these: > **[No results for Merrell traveler spin canteen | Zappos.com](https://www.zappos.com/merrell-traveler-spin-canteen)** > > Free shipping BOTH ways on merrell traveler spin canteen from our vast selection of styles. Fast delivery, and 24/7/365 real-person service with a smile. Click or call 800-927-7671. (may not be the precise model, but close enough). I love them in every way except one: they’re noisy as hell. Every step, both feet…_creak creak creak creak creak_. I’m embarrassed to wear them in public. I wouldn’t have expected it from shoes that are just soft leather and rubber. Anybody else experience anything like this? Anything that can be done? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/2 "2014-01-15T00:10:12Z")
Try removing the inner sole and sprinkling some powder in there. It should absorb any moisture, which usually is the cause of squeaking. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/3 "2014-01-15T00:35:15Z")
Spray them with WD40, it works on squeaky doors. From the web site Spray lightly over stagnant water to keep mosquito eggs from hatching Spray locking rods of portable fire proof safes to keep them operating freely Spray old leather shoes and the leather will become soft and pliable Spray on a paint brush for an easy way to clean RC cars Spray on a rag and wipe steering wheel and gearshift knobs to keep them grease-free and grip-able ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/4 "2014-01-15T00:49:01Z")
DO NOT spray WD-40 on shoes that are suede, nubuck, or cloth/canvas. There is a definite risk of staining, and it can screw up the nap. Also, if the problem is that the layers comprising the bottom of the shoe are not properly bonded together (something that happens more often than it used to) they’ll rub against each other and chirp like cricket legs. The only way to fix that would be to pry everything apart and refasten it - AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT unless the soles are already separating. Putting soles like that back together isn’t something we relish at Ye Olde Cobbler Shoppe where I work, it would be difficult even for experienced shoe repair people to replicate the original look so I don’t recommend it for amateurs. Like I said, if you were already having a situation involving peeling or major separation and we’d be going in for repairs anyway we’d reglue everything but we don’t want to go into an intact sole for what is most likely annoying air bubbles trapped inside. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/5 "2014-01-15T01:25:29Z")
Coincidentally enough, I have a similar pair of leather/rubber Merrells that also squeaks. I determined that the insole was rubbing on some stitching on the insides. It was a slightly raised area where the leather side pieces are stitched together. In a pinch I rubbed a bit of chap stick on that area when they were particularly squeaky at an event. It worked temporarily, but the squeak has returned (though at least it’s not as loud.) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/6 "2014-01-15T02:33:13Z")
When I was a kid, we were told that squeaky shoes meant they weren’t paid for yet. Don’t know where that came from, I was told that (late 1960s) by my grandmother when I had squeaky shoes in church. I guess she disapproved of JC Penneys credit cards. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/7 "2014-01-15T03:09:46Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > When I was a kid, we were told that squeaky shoes meant they weren’t paid for yet. Don’t know where that came from, I was told that (late 1960s) by my grandmother when I had squeaky shoes in church. I guess she disapproved of JC Penneys credit cards. I got the same story from my grandfather in the 1960s - and he had been telling that to his kids long before that. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/8 "2014-01-15T03:50:40Z")
I’ve had this happen on a handful of shoes. (Get it? Ha!) It does tend to be the insole rubbing. Short term solution - put a tissue under/around the insole. Long term - a few treatments with baby oil. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeaky-shoes/678831/9 "2014-01-15T09:42:41Z")
Saddle soap may provide some lube for at least the leather parts.