Odor-Free Footwear: Effective Techniques to Remove Shoe Odor and Keep Your Feet Fresh

Say Goodbye to Shoe Odor: Proven Methods for Effectively Eliminating Unpleasant Smells

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By Edward Campbell

shoes odor removal

Odor removal, the ultimate guide to Removing Odor from Your Footwear: do you know how to remove odor from shoes without resorting to chemical solutions and products?

This guide will highlight the best solutions for this problem, follow this step-by-Step Guide on  How to remove Stubborn Odor from Your Shoes Successfully

Origin of the bad smell

Nobody likes a bad smell coming from their shoes, let alone those of others: fortunately there are different natural solutions which are easy to find and use to neutralize, cover up and stop the smell completely.

The smell comes from bacteria, that form and reproduce in a hot, humid environment such as the shoes and the sweating foot; afterwards sometimes fungus and molds form, which cause odor and smell.

Timely and continuous hygiene can help keep them away. So clean feet and shoes are essential. Pay attention and wash your shoes as much as possible, ensuring you dry them thoroughly before wear.

Obviously, when it rains, they get wet. When you take them off at home, it is recommended that you dry them perfectly, placing crumpled newspaper inside, to absorb the moisture from the wet shoes.

Odor removal: How to remove odor from shoes

Among the solutions for removing odor and mold from shoes is the use of old newspapers and magazines for daily maintenance. The foot moisture trapped in the shoes will be released if a crumpled sheet is put inside for a night, or even for the whole time in which you don’t wear them, place it inside and leave until the shoes are bone-dry.

Odor removal: another remedy to remove the odor is to put orange peel and keep it overnight (or as long as you don’t need to wear the shoes), which help eliminate the smell and even gives a new perfume to the shoes.

Odor removal: the best known solution to remove odor and mold from shoes is the use of bicarbonate (also known as baking soda).

  • Sprinkle the inside of the shoe with a good amount of baking soda and leave overnight, in the morning remove it with a brush.
  • The baking soda absorbs odor and also eliminated bacteria molds that form inside the shoe.

It might seem like a bad idea, but a working solution is to put in a sock filled with gravel for a cat litter, which is produced with the sole purpose to absorb odors.

You can also put the shoes in the freezer for a couple of hours, which surely can make you smile, but you have to do it only after wrapping them in a plastic bag and closing it hermetically! This method kills the bacteria responsible for the odor.

odor removal in shoes
Say farewell to smelly shoes with our tips and tricks.

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Odor removal: mold

As for the mold that forms due to moisture, there are different remedies depending on the type of shoe, whether it is a sport sneakers fabric, or a stylish leather shoe. With sneakers and sports shoes, we recommend rubbing off gunk and dirt off the outside with a dry toothbrush (that’s why you don’t always throw away old toothbrushes), followed by a washing machine cycle and 30-minute immersion in white vinegar. Afterwards just put the shoes outdoors and let them dry out. Do not wear until they completely dry out…

To remove mold from the inside of leather shoes you can use rubbing alcohol, pour out inside the shoe, in a way to disinfect every part of the shoe, afterwards left to dry. To kill mold that is inside and outside of the shoe, take a spray bottle and fill it with white vinegar, then apply it on the whole shoe, inside and out. Let it soak for 5 minutes and repeat. After that dab the shoe with a cloth and put outside or in another suitable place for drying.

Say goodbye to smelly shoes!

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