The bad smell of footwear is not only annoying but can also make our faces red in certain situations (a shoe store, the doctor’s office, etc.). Also, if we keep the shoes in a closet or closed place (as is my case, you can see it here), that unpleasant smell will end up invading everything and it is quite difficult to eliminate. For this reason, I am going to tell you about the trick I use to remove bad smell from shoes and that works pretty well for me.
First of all, we must bear in mind that the bad smell of footwear is produced because the microorganisms that live inside it (they are there even if we do not see them), process the sweat of the foot (decompose it) generating that unpleasant “aroma”.
Therefore, to eliminate the bad smell of footwear we need something that neutralizes these microorganisms. This is why sneakers sometimes continue to smell bad even after they’ve been washed, because their foul-smelling tenants aren’t gone.
To neutralize them I use sodium bicarbonate that is a powerful natural disinfectant and absorbs bad odors, it is also very cheap and easy to find (don’t miss more tricks and uses of bicarbonate in this link).
Yes, I know I haven’t discovered gunpowder but if you look for this trick on the internet, you will most likely read that you should sprinkle baking soda inside the shoe and then shake it before putting it on. If you do it like this, the most normal thing is that traces of bicarbonate remain inside the shoe, no matter how much you shake it. These remains will stick to your feet or socks, becoming quite annoying (I say this from my own experience).
So that this does not happen, what I do is the following:
– Put a tablespoon of baking soda in a glass with 2 or 3 fingers of water and stir until completely dissolved (if it is pasty add a little more water).
– We introduce in this mixture a toothbrush. I usually keep old toothbrushes as they are good for cleaning joints and small corners.
– We brush the inside of the shoe with desire and joy 🙂
– We leave the shoes in a ventilated place until they dry completely. If they are closed boots or ankle boots or you are simply going to store the shoes until next season, put newspaper inside them to absorb moisture. I have also read that you can introduce a sock with cat litter as it also has great absorbent power, although I have not tried this… yet.
If what we want to deodorize are some sneakers, we can sprinkle baking soda inside and put them quietly in the washing machine. In this way we will also help eliminate odors that may be in the drum.
Of course we must repeat this deodorization operation from time to time because there will come a time when a bad smell will form again (our foot will sweat again and the microorganisms will be there to do their thing). It is also highly recommended to do it before storing the shoes with the change of season.
Finally, remember that it is advisable not to always wear the same shoes (no matter how comfortable or beautiful they are), it is advisable to alternate several pairs so that they can dry between one wearing and another.
UPDATE: In addition to bicarbonate, there is another ecological product with which you can also eliminate the bad smell of footwear, you can see it at this link.
Do you have problems to remove odor from shoes? What do you think of this trick? Have you ever used baking soda?
