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Has any one ever found a way of dealing with the stinky shoe issue that actually works?
Bicarbonate of soda
Soaking in Halo and then drying them quickly as you can without excess heat.
If you can wash them then do it with either detol or white vinegar. Then rinse really well. Dry outside in sunlight, yes, I know, not a lot of that in February.
I then store mine with silicone cat litter in a tied sock inside each shoe. I’ve also used a car air freshener, the hang up type, in the shoe just to give a mild, inoffensive whiff to them.
On a related note I've just been in lidl, there's an electric shoe dryer for £12.99. I might do a PSA.
Has any one ever found a way of dealing with the stinky shoe issue that actually works?
Rotation.
Have more than one pair and change.
Newspaper, remember them? If your shoes are wet until bone dry then tumble dryer sheets, a couple in each until you use them again, and repeat..
I give them a little blast of Dettol all in one aerosol every couple of rides. Same with pads in between proper washes
Throw them out, treat fungal foot problem then buy new shoes.
Do you mean like sweaty trainers smell, or that horrid soggy peat bog smell?
Wonder whether a UV lamp would work or would it degrade the material?
Show dryer helps stop it happening in the first place.
Boot bananas help mask it.
Soaking in Vanish solution for a few hours takes the edge off it....
or that horrid soggy peat bog smell?
Yeah that smell. They go outside in summer and that will mostly get rid of it, but it's winter, shoes get wet through....regardless of what you do, they smell pretty "earthy"
Proper walking shoes (I've been buying Merrell GTXs for years) and Brigdale Merino Wool Socks.
I've been stuck in Malta for two weeks for work. Was supposed to be here for a weekend. Only brought 2 pairs of socks and one pair of shoes.
17 hour average days. Not on the second pair of socks yet.
Socks definitely help but wet shoes if not dried quickish get ugly fast.
From the worse case scenario of kayak wetboots worn without socks I find using a boot dryer with heat/ozone option works well with am occasional soak in milton sterilising fluid and then immediately on the dryer.
For the cycling shoes they dont really need the milton approach so long as I get them on the dryer as soon as I get in. Even the 5.10 sponges dry out well and quickly enough.
Although would depend on exactly what substances they have got soaked with since I tend to avoid the horse enhanced mud trails this time of year.
Carefully applied stuffing with newspaper and radiator is as good but I dont tend to have much newspaper nowadays.
This stuff https://grangers.co.uk/products/odour-eliminator
If the shoes already stink then it won't work magic on first application but if you give your shoes a spray after each wear the smell will gradually fade to the point after 5-10 applications you don't notice it anymore. Drying quickly helps too, I either put mine on top of a radiator or on a shoe dryer.