OMG this stuff is so highly effective. It’s freaking awesome and instantly kills shoe/boot/skate whatever odor. Smells good too.
Rocket Pure
http://www.amazon.com/...keywords=rocket+pure
Pretty expensive for 4 oz, but I may give it a try.
It lasts a long time. Literally only need one spray per shoe every few days or when it comes back. My teenage son’s shoes smelled so freaking bad and I was amazed at how well it worked. Seems almost like they are more ‘resistant’ to the smell now too.
If my trainers begin to honk then I just screw up some newspaper and put it in them overnight. I’d advise anybody to give this a try before they go buy anything to deal with footwear odour.
And, according to the site, you can also buy one ‘used’ at a discount.
iO4,
Sometimes it’s worth looking at why the shoes are so smelly on a regular basis. For example, it could be from urea (that piss like smell) sweat or something else that you might want to address. My shoes would smell awful and then I got better at hydration and a diet/hydration plan that helped minimize uric acid.
Shoes also need to dry out so “growth” does not occur within the shoes. Hence the newspaper or several pair of shoes.
Vinegar, chlorine, or baking soda can help shoes or clothing much more cheaply and are usually already on hand.
Thank you for the product suggestion, when the above don’t work, I do get desperate and try a wide range of things in spite of the cost.
Boot dryer. Keeps my indoor cycling shoes that I ride in 6 days a week smelling nearly new 2+ years later.
Cedar shoe trees. No smell, and they’ll double the life of your running shoes and keep your shoes feeling like brand new because they gently reshape them and keep them from curling up. Best running shoe idea I ever came across…
If your shoes are washable (like running shoes), I’ve found the best solution is to pull the insoles and soak them in a bucket with a cold water, a cup or two of vinegar and a little laundry detergent. Weight the shoes to sink them and soak them for 24 hours. Take them out, rinse them out thoroughly in cold water and dry them by stuffing them repeatedly with newspaper. Nothing matches vinegar for killing bacteria and odor in my experience.
Also, this method works wonders with smelly workout clothes. Just chuck them in the wash wet after soaking them for a few hours.
The smell is bacteria.
You need to kill bacteria and remove its food source (mostly your own skin flakes and skin oil) to get rid of the smell.
Sure some spray can do the trick, but what is it doing to your skin? Does it absorb through the skin? If you ride 3-4 times a week, and you should, that could be a lot of exposure.
I hose the shoes out with the garden hose and then dry them as quickly as possible. Usually by leaving them out under the noon sun. Pointing a hair drier into the shoe for 10 minutes works too. Shoe drier is best if you are willing to invest in one. Drying the shoes out quickly is the key to controlling bacteria.