So how do you clean your bike shoes? Mine have quite a high stink factor after months of training and a couple of races so far this year.
Share your secrets! Thanks!
So how do you clean your bike shoes? Mine have quite a high stink factor after months of training and a couple of races so far this year.
Share your secrets! Thanks!
Don’t pee in them…
Wash them with lots and lots of water and air dry…
Spray down with Oust or Fabreeze or even a solution of water/vanilla extract
If all else fails see rule # 1!
Paul …who’s bike shoes spent an entire week on a balcony in FL after IMFL…
There’s no way to get the odor out of either my running or bike shoes. I go to pick them up in the morning and I have to wash my hands because after touching them my fingers stink. When we go to races I either have to double bag them and tie or put them in the bed of the truck until we get to where we’re going. I’ve been running before and been like “what the hell is that in my shoe”? When I pull it off the SO has stuck a freakin dryer towel in there to try and keep them from stinking. It’s not worth the effort to complain to her about it. I just let her go.
Spray lysol.
Wear socks.
Wash with Hot water and Tide w/ Febreeze (remove insoles and use a brush). Rinse thuroughly. allow to air dry. Repeat. Repeat.
fill up yer kitchen sink or outdoor bucket with dish detergent and half bottle of febreeze.
let those stank-ass shoes soak for a for hours
then scrub them with a brush
rinse very well, until no soap bubbles are left
put them in sun to dry
repeat every few weeks
after rides, let them sit outside, or on air-condition register so they dry
do not keep them in your car or bag, as they cannot dry and little bacteria have lots of sex & poop, and stink up the place.
do the same for your running shoes!
Drying running shoes in the sun is not good for them. It breaks down the components of the soles.
nothing against the commercial stuff…but for anything washable and stinky:
wash 'em good and then soak for a bit in water and some vinegar (white) or baking soda, rinse, then air dry.
vinegar is amazing as a deodorizer.
Do a search there are a few topics that have addresses this. It seems that the diswasher is the way to go…
They smell a lot like my hockey gloves. I take pride in them ![]()
Grant
Good luck…
after a couple of years of no socks and a few pee incidents, mine pretty much had to be put down. ![]()
I tried the dishwasher, sun, kitty litter, putting them in the freezer, baking soda, Oxiclean. Nothing worked.
Wear socks (at least sometimes) and don’t pee in them.
I always wear socks, but after a couple of peeing incidents at CDA and being in a zip-loc bag while traveling back home…we’ll, you get the picture.
Thanks for everyone else response! Hopefully something will work!
Drying running shoes in the sun is not good for them. It breaks down the components of the soles.
this confirms my feelings towards running shoes…i hate them all.
Good luck…
after a couple of years of no socks and a few pee incidents, mine pretty much had to be put down. ![]()
I tried the dishwasher, sun, kitty litter, putting them in the freezer, baking soda, Oxiclean. Nothing worked.
Wear socks (at least sometimes) and don’t pee in them.
Dude, Couple of years?? For f sakes buy a new pair of shoes :).
The dishwasher!
I had 2 years and 3 races of nature calling in my Shimano’s. They stayed in the garage by the door unless I was using them they smelled so bad.
1 run through the dishwasher and they were almost new.
let the flaming begin, but put them in the freezer and leave them over night, the bacteria will not survive the temps and the smell will be gone at least temp.
Ben
For those that use the dishwasher, do you use the wash-only cycle, or do you run it through the dry cycle as well? Top or bottom rack?
Sell them on eBay with an auction title of “Almost New Cycling Shoes ~ Only Worn Once; Less Than 100 Miles.”
Someone like me won’t be able to pass up a steal priced at 95% of full retail.
Top Shelf, Regular cycle. I put my inserts and rubber orthotics in as well. Everything came out fine…
PS. Put a little laundry soap (Spray and Wash?)on the shoes themselves no dishwashing soap in the tray. And let them go!
Hey I had the same problem. For me special Zederna insoles are the key. They are made from cedarwood and it really works… the shoe smell is gone after some training days! Now my shoes smell a bit like menthol. So you maybe try such cedarsoles. Just do a quick online search for further infortmation.