Forum: lifehacks.stackexchange.com
Tags: <shoes><smell><weather>
Title: How to deodorize the bad odour in footwear due to wetness?
Question: During rainy season, footwear is often wet and due to moisture in air and cloudy weather, it takes time to dry. And it ends up with odour which is very unpleasant in nature.

Answers:
sents: text: To deodorize sneakers and tennis shoes, an easy solutions to eliminate odor is to wash them in a laundry machine with detergent, cold water and no spin cycle.
text: Before washing, separate the shoe laces and insoles from the shoes.
text: It is really important to turn off the spin cycle or the shoes will be destroyed.
text: (cough, cough)
text: After washing, you'll need to dry them.
text: Leave them in the sun for a couple of days, on a cloths line hanging from the tongue.
text: If you live in a humid area where two days isn't enough, consider investing in a shoe dryer .
text: Various sources on the internet warn to avoid using bleach with the shoes in the washing machine.
text: I personally always use a little bit of bleach just to make sure the shoes are perfectly disinfected.
text: Please note, don't do this plan with leather shoes or sandals.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/15323/axsvl77
score: 2
sents: text: put socks filled with rice in them when not in use, the rice will absorb the moisture.
text: you can occasionally put the rice socks into a coolish oven to pull some of the moisture out of them so they can work better in your shoes.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/15794/Topher Brink
score: 2
sents: text: Refer to my answer here: https://lifehacks.stackexchange.com/a/14156/17827 Sodium Bicarbonate really is a wonderful substance, it helps with a lot of things, lessening effects of bad odor is just one of them.
text: Do read my other answer.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/17827/Keyur PATEL
score: 1
sents: text: I made a boot dryer with two tubes (pvc?), a coffee can, and a computer fan.
text: Wear your shoes/boots in the shower, then rinse well, drain for a while, stick the dryer in them overnight.
text: No stinky!
text: ('Til next time.)
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/18403/B. Fife
score: 1
sents: text: Make sure that you get 2 pairs of shoes.
text: Use each one on alternate days.
text: If you are using one pair then keep other pair open in sun for that day.
text: For next day replace dry shoes with wet shoes.
text: And keep them in sum.
text: Andso on..
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/2186/Fennekin
score: 1
sents: text: What would be the easiest way for you to be able to dry your footwear?
text: I would suggest an oven you heat up for less than a minute empty.
text: Turn it off.
text: Then put your shoes in it on a tray that is room temperature.
text: But if you do that wrong, you will have burnt shoes. :(
text: But an oven that is already heated just a little bit will dry anything out pretty well.
text: Also, you can put shoes in a regular dryer, or in the sun coming through a window.
text: Anything to get the temperature up just a little bit so the water evaporates faster.
text: Also, and this may not apply to you at all, but most smell from shoes come from bacteria that grow naturally on your feet.
text: That bacteria will build up throughout the day in your socks, then be washed away when you wash your socks.
text: If you are NOT wearing socks, you will have LOTS of bacteria in your shoes, and they will always stink, wet or not.
text: The only way to get rid of it is to wash your shoes regularly, which is not good for them.
text: Good luck!
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/4539/JGTaylor
score: 0
sents: text: The smell is caused by bacteria.
text: Place the shoes in a freezer overnight and allow them to warm up to room temperature normally the next morning.
text: This process will kill the bacteria.
text: Consider placing the shoes in a plastic bag before putting them in the freezer to prevent contact with food.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/17770/user17770
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
There are a few potential techniques for getting rid of bad odour from damp footwear. One option is to wash them in a laundry machine with detergent, cold water and no spin cycle and then to leave them in the sun to dry. Other possibile solutions include filling them with socks filled with rice to absorb the moisture or putting them briefly in a preheated but turned off oven to dry out.
The options are to remove laces and insoles and wash in a laundry machine without spin cycle then dry in the sun, place socks filled with rice in the shoes, wear shoes in the shower to wash and rinse them and then dry using a fan, have 2 pairs of shoes and alternate between them, drying the other pair in the sun each time, put them in a plastic bag and leave in the freezer over night or warm an oven for a minute then switch it off and place shoes inside and always change socks regularly.