Stinky boots and shoes…

I know we cover this semi periodically but…

What are people doing about the horrible cats pee smell from wet/slow dried synthetic boots and shoes? I usually stick mine in the freezer overnight but I’ve a couple of pairs of Specialized shoes and boots that are impervious to this. One wet ride and they stink again despite being fully and quickly dried in the airing cupboard. I’ve tried sprays, Milton fluid and Jack Frost. Anything else other than a clothes peg?

Drying in the airing cupboard probably doesn’t help – the heat will speed up the growth of the smelly bacteria.

I dry shoes by stuffing them with scrunched up newspaper, changed 2 or 3 times to get the shoe dry-ish before air drying.  This usual avoids smelliness for me, although I realised that stinky-shoes is a very individual thing…

Air flow shoe dryer. Makes your shoes last longer and not smell

we have one of these, actually not bad value n Amazon today. It always has a pair of football boots, trainers drying on it

https://amzn.eu/d/fL5Osrg

A shoe dryer seems to work for my cat wee shoes. Haven’t tried the freezer trick

I also suffer from dead pigeon smell shoes.

Tumble dryer sheets X2 in each when not in use makes things altogether more fragrant. #thumbsup

Drying shoes properly will help prevent stink in the first place, but if they’re already stinking, it’s not going to do anything to remove it properly.

You need to get a bucket, fill it with hot water, put a good slug (like 200ml) of cleaning vinegar in there, a tiny bit of bleach, and soak the shoes overnight. Then dry them out as above.

Usually pop my boots or shoes near the air flow of the dehumidifier – works a treat.

Bicarbonate of soda. Tip in shoes. Dry. Tip out once dry. Zero smells.

Air flow shoe dryer. Makes your shoes last longer and not smell

we have one of these, actually not bad value n Amazon today. It always has a pair of football boots, trainers drying on it

https://amzn.eu/d/fL5Osrg

Came here to say get a MaxxDry shoe dryer, and that is a great deal (even though Amazon are evil). MrsIHN does a LOT of trail running, and we are approaching Wet Shoe Season. That dryer works a treat, gets them dry before they start festering

https://www.safetygloves.co.uk/maxxdry-work-glove-boot-and-shoe-dryer.html

Cheaper than from the non tax paying Amazon.

I use a shoe dryer, or leave them out in the sun if weather allows.

I use a Renogy boot dryer bought off ebay some years ago, which works well. It says it has Ozone to help kill smells …. who knows?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/387347084149

For those of you using the freezer, airing cupboard or tumble dryer, I’m sure it’s working fine for your boots, but how’s the divorce going?

They do make the airing cupboard whiff but not the freezer. I put them in double carrier bags then a night at -27°C usually helps with trainers but not these stinky beasts…

Everbody’s talking about stinky boots, stinky boots, stinky boots!

I have used bicarbonate of soda, it seems to do a good job.

at -27°C

That is one very cold freezer! Is it a chest freezer?

Wonder if I should have tried a at -80°C sample freezer back in the day. That would have paused bacterial growth in shoes.

I’ve been delacing them and spraying them (with a foot/shoe deodoriser eucalyptus, mint, teatree or something) like a mad man as soon as I take the wet shoes off and then leave them in roof of shed to get air flow. Takes a few days but seems to be working better then previous years, stench wise.

Is it a chest freezer?

At that temperature it will freeze anything! IGMC

Air dryer and it works well. Not got room to buy another freezer as that is where food is stored, so no room for damp, stinking footwear!

I spray my trainers with isopropanol alcohol, seems to kill even the nastiest bacteria in my toxic shoes!

One wet ride and they stink again despite being fully and quickly dried in the airing cupboard

As an experiment maybe try a different kind of sock. I had a pair of goretex walking boots that seems prone to getting really stinky after getting wet sometimes. Cured each time by freezing them but would come back suddenly after certain walks. Took me a while to twig that I correlated with wearing a particular pair of socks and whatever material they were made of. Chucked the socks out and the boots behaved themselves after that.

As an experiment maybe try a different kind of sock

I can give that a try but I’m not sure it’s it. I have a pair of summer shoes that stink and I usually wear merino based Hilly something or others in and a pair of winter boots that I usually wear Porelle (ha ha – who remembers them?), I mean Sealskins in. They both are rank. Both mainly plastic and both get wet frequently.

I think some shoes are just worse than others. I have a pair of Northwave boots that suffer from the catpiss smell while all my other boots/shoes are generally ok. I wondered if it was perhaps something to do with the materials used or even the glue used.

I’ve had a few shoes develop a more musty smell, usually after they’ve been through a bog or other “organic” wetness. Trainer spray sometimes works, but I’ve also taken to completely soaking and washing them I something like Milton’s or Puriclean.

The Maxxdry linked above is also excellent. With a constant stream of wet biking, running and walking shoes over the winter, we’d not be without one now.