Realized that my trip shoes have been sitting in a plastic bag since IMAZ. Opened the bag and it smells like death.
What can I do?
Remove the cleats, and put them in the dishwasher (top rack).
Added bonus: it adds flavor to your plates and cups.
Remove the cleats, and put them in the dishwasher (top rack).
When I first did this I was shocked at how well this method worked.
interesting idea, but good to mark the cleat position with tape or something that won’t wear off in the wash. Good cleat position is priceless
Having an oxidizing detergent in the washer helps as well.
In case you didn’t get it from the first reply about adding flavors, run the shoes alone or with cycling hats and other clothes/things you don’t want to put in the washing machine…
rinse the shoes a few times
then soak the shoes in a 3 gallon bucket with hot water, 1/2 cup of baking soda and sports detergent for a half hour.
rinse again really well.
shake out as much water as posible and air dry (a shoe dryer works really well http://www.rei.com/...wide-body-boot-dryer)
Cat5 cleaner (the one DeSoto uses/recommends for wetsuits).
I had a pair of shoes like this… Also from IMAZ… I soaked them for about 48 hours in a wash tub with one part bleach to nine parts water. Took them out and air dried them and they seem good as new. I have gotten them sweaty since with no recurrence of vile smell. I did not take off my cleats
Thanks for the advice everyone. I’ll get them cleaned this evening. Probably take pics of cleat position as we worked hard on that with the fitter.
Don’t take them apart or wash them. Just put them in the freezer for a day or two…it’ll kill that bacteria dead. Works for stinky running shoes too.
I do this with my jeans. Unfortunately if I just do that, I end up with yellow shoes.
I tried the freezer method but to no avail. I ended up just wearing them as usual and the pee smell went in a week or two.
Don’t take them apart or wash them. Just put them in the freezer for a day or two…it’ll kill that bacteria dead. Works for stinky running shoes too.
Bacteria are really hardy - a huge percentage will survive the freeze/thaw process. Might be ok if it’s a very like bacterial load, but for well-worn shoes, it absolutely won’t help.
Realized that my trip shoes have been sitting in a plastic bag since IMAZ. Opened the bag and it smells like death.
What can I do?
don’t piss yourself on the bike. If you wash them now they’ll shrink.
You have to kill all the bacteria. It takes extreme heat, bleach, or white vinegar- with the vinegar being the most kind to the shoes themselves.
You have to kill all the bacteria. It takes extreme heat, bleach, or white vinegar- with the vinegar being the most kind to the shoes themselves.
Even if you kill all the bacteria, it usually doesn’t help for well-worn shoes. The dead bacteria form a biofilm of sorts and allow later waves of bacteria to recolonize incredibly quickly , like in hours or less. This is why old shoes will stank quickly even if they start fresh no matter what you do to them, even after bleaching the dang things.
An excuse for new shoes!!
And other new kit whilst you’re at at.
Like dissolves like.
Don’t take them apart or wash them. Just put them in the freezer for a day or two…it’ll kill that bacteria dead. Works for stinky running shoes too.
Bacteria are really hardy - a huge percentage will survive the freeze/thaw process. Might be ok if it’s a very like bacterial load, but for well-worn shoes, it absolutely won’t help.
Yep. Bacteria are resistant to anything that occurs in nature… such as freeze/thaw cycles. Extreme heat, the kind that does not occur in nature, would kill them, and the glue in your shoes too.
I say burn them in a fire and buy new shoes. Then don’t pee on the new shoes. Don’t stick shoes into a sealed container after use.
Drying shoes immediately after use is the best method of prevention short of dunking them in antiseptic after every run.
The urine smell however, should be wash-outable with strong detergents and possibly bleach. If there’s a bacterial biofilm, it’ll trap some of the urine even after its washed off but that should be almost all removable with laundering.
The restank of bacteria (not urine smell) after running again that recurs quickly with well-worn shoes though - that’s nearly impossible to get rid of.