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yg17

macrumors Pentium
Original poster
Aug 1, 2004
15,027
3,002
St. Louis, MO
Yes, this is perhaps the strangest question asked on MR....

Yesterday I had the joy of walking back to my car from class in a thunderstorm and had no choice but to go through some pretty deep puddles....in my tennis shoes, which obviously, got soaked. Anyways, as you probably know, water combined with a 1 year old pair of shoes that you wear every day will start to reek pretty quickly. And these are my only pair of shoes. Well, I also have a pair of sandals (30 degrees and snow this morning, I don't think so) and dress shoes (I'd rather wear the sandals), but these are the only shoes I'd wear ;)

They were dry by this morning, but you could smell them from a mile away. I had no choice but to wear them. This happens every time they get wet, and every time they get wet, I douse them with Febreeze to no avail, the smell goes away after a few days, but what's the best way to get rid of the smell as soon as possible and save myself the embarrassment? Does anyone know of any products I can try out?

And no, it's not my foot because they smell fine when they're not dry :p
 

zelmo

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2004
5,490
1
Mac since 7.5
Thank you.:D


Seriously, I have no suggestions to offer. Just want to thank you for the smile the title put on my face...and also because I am nowhere near you and your shoes.;)
 

Queso

Suspended
Mar 4, 2006
11,821
8
You can put trainers (sneakers I believer they're called in the USA) in the washing machine. They take a couple of days to dry, but it does get any smells out.
 

yg17

macrumors Pentium
Original poster
Aug 1, 2004
15,027
3,002
St. Louis, MO
You can put trainers (sneakers I believer they're called in the USA) in the washing machine. They take a couple of days to dry, but it does get any smells out.

Sneakers, tennis shoes or athletic shoes.


Not a bad idea, except I can't go to school and work barefoot for a couple days ;)

I was hoping more for a spray or something that specialized in getting the musty gym locker room with a toilet overflowing of sh*t smell out of shoes :D
 

Mr.Noisy

macrumors 65816
May 5, 2007
1,077
4
UK™
Can you put them in the tumble dryer, use one of those oderised things that moms put in with the laundry to give it a good smell, i know i prefer the smell of lavender to sweaty paws, plus it wont harm your sneakers/tennis shoes either ;)

A Tip my gran gave me for wet shoes, stuff them with newspapers and put them in the airing cupboard/dry warm place, the paper draws the damp out of them
 

letsgorangers

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2006
458
0
TN
Does the insole come out? If so, dry them with the insoles out of the shoe. Water gets trapped under there and mildews, causing the smell. I also loosen the laces a lot and get the shoe as open as possible to let it dry. Our gym parking lot turns into a mud hole when it rains (daily here lately).

Edit: You can dry shoes in the dryer, but if they have leather bits they will get some taut places. Also secure them to the door of the dryer unless you like hearing CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK for an hour.
 

Xfujinon

macrumors 6502
Jul 27, 2007
304
0
Iowa City, Iowa
Cheap idea:

Take some pantie hose, and fill them with cat litter.

Place these pantie hose into the stinky shoes.

Wait overnight.

Smell = gone.

Try it. Embarrasingly, I have RANCID foot odor because my feet sweat constantly, even barefoot. It works, I swear. A bag of cat litter goes a long way.

Try it.
 

blairwillis

macrumors regular
Jul 24, 2005
203
4
Spent years as a kayak guide walking through marsh mucky mud. We cleaned our sandals (Tevas, Chacos, etc.) with Simple Green. Spray on, rinse off, it worked great.... I'd be willing to try it on sneakers.

That reminds me... I once had a pair of Tevas that started smelling exactly like Fritos. Gross, I know. I just thought I'd share.
 

todd2000

macrumors 68000
Nov 14, 2005
1,624
11
Danville, VA
put cat liter in a sock then put it in the show. It works great.

Is there an Echo in here? :)

BOOBS.....BOOBS......BOOBS.......BOOBS........BOOBS :D


Back on topic, not sure how to get the odor out, but I am glad to see that Im not the only one who only has one pair of sneakers that they wear every day. My current pair of Vans is going on 1.5 years now. I just bought a new pair today though.
 
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