Home Remedies for Stinky Feet and Shoes There is nothing so disgusting as the odor from feet... smelly farts come in a close second. Is it summer or winter that brings out the sweaty, stinky feet? For my house, it is summer because my sandals absorb the sweat from my hot feet and the stink just follows you around like toilet paper stuck to your foot. First off, sweaty feet is your body cooling off and a natural part of biology and only you would know if you sweat excessively. Sweat itself is odorless, but when it comes in contact with the bacteria on your skin and stays in a dark, damp and warm place for a period of time, it starts to smell. Photos courtesy Flickr/cc - cell105 and Save vs Death There are a few home remedies for the stink that come from the feet. Wash and Dry Well. Start the day with feet that are clean and dried well to give yourself a head start.The same antiperspirant that is used on under arms will work with the bottom of your dried off feet as well.
All your body parts should be clean and dry, so roll on or spray on and go.Changing your socks once or twice a day after drying your feet off will help cut down on foul smelling bacteria that builds up on your feet.There are quite a few options for soaking your feet. 1 Gal. Warm water with 1/2 C. Hydrogen Peroxide, or 1/2 C. Baking soda, or 1/2 C. Bleach. (bleach is not good if your are diabetic), or 1/2 C. Vinegar. Whichever you choose, doing this over a period of 1 week to 1 month every night appears to help many people.Getting a pumice stone or old toothbrush to ex-foliate your feet and give them a new life.Shoes and socks with natural materials and not man-made, like canvas or leather shoes and cotton or wool socks, allow your feet to breathe and dry out. Just a Sprinkle or Spray. Baby powder, baking powder or Lysol will work to dry up the shoe, absorb the odor and get you ready for day two.No powder around, no problem. Stuff the shoes with newspaper to dry them out.
Since air drying shoes does not happen over night, you would want to have some other shoes to use while they dry out fully.Toss the shoes into the washer for a good soak and swish, then let them air dry. One alternative is to wipe out the shoes with hydrogen peroxide or vinegar and then let them dry.Pour kitty litter or coffee grounds into pantyhose legs or and old sock, tie off the end and fit it to the shoe for overnight odor remover.Take out the old insoles and replace them with some new insoles or odor eater variety I think that about covers it. I have washed down my sandals with hydrogen peroxide and water (tested small area first) and they seem to be good for now. Just a matter of keeping feet and shoes clean and remembering that the opposite of dark, damp and warm is best for my shoes and feet. ** There is a non thrifty way to kill the bacteria in shoes and that is with a shoe tree with UV light. These are found at Amazon under Sterishoe for about $130 and I don't know how well they would work with sandals, if at all.
What other thrifty suggestions do you have for stinky feet and shoes? Does this rare condition affect your child? Learn what you can do to help. Foot pain can sometimes be a sign of an underlying condition that requires medical attention. Find out when to see your doctor, and much more. Many people use orthotics to improve the function and stability of their feet. Learn about the various types of orthotics used to help restore mobility. There are five metatarsals in all. The metatarsals are the long bones located in our feet, between the tarsal (ankle) bones and the phalanges (toes). to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Always seek the advice of a podiatrist, physician or other qualified health care professional for diagnosis and answers to your medical questions. By using this website, you agree to our Terms of Use. I have leather shoes(but others are affected by this as well); whenever I wear them for sufficiently long time(say, one hour), my socks, shoes and feet smell bad.
It makes me uncomfortable - e.g. I wouldn't be eager to go to someone's house with shoes like this. I tried freezing them, but smell comes back quickly. I also have shoe deodorant, but it's more of camouflage - I substitute bad smell for strong chemical smell. What can I do to prevent my shoes from developing bad smell and keep it out? In order to answer your question the first thing we need is to consider what causes your shoes in becoming bad in smell. Based on this link it states: Shoe odor is actually caused by the feet, namely, the bacteria that live on human skin. These bacteria in the sweat produced by humans are part of the body’s cooling mechanism. If you are in a tropical or warm country then this will occur to you most of the time, especially if you are doing much physical activity (e.g. exercising, running, etc.). If this is your case then you can do this Applying antibacterials to the feet before putting on a pair of shoes can also help kill the bacteria that are on the feet.
This is an option for those with particularly bad foot odor or those who are heavy sweaters. So the question now is what antibacterials can I use, right? The answer to that is GARLIC! Based on this article you can rub it in your foot Ajoene creams and solutions are not available commercially. But some experts recommend simply adding a few finely crushed cloves of garlic to a foot bath and soaking the affected foot for 30 minutes, or mincing a few garlic cloves, mixing the minced garlic with olive oil, and then using a cotton ball to rub some of the solution on the affected area. I put my shoes in the sun when they smell bad. This works well to prevent odor. The reason is that by keeping your shoes dry, you prevent bacterial growth that causes odor. If you live in a place that does not get a lot of sun, you can dry them next to a heater. Warning: Putting your shoes in the sun may affect the colors, but since your shoes are leather, I hardly believe that it would be a problem.
I switched to wool socks - mostly merino - a few years ago and now have very little problem with shoe / foot odor. Wool is naturally antimicrobial and merino is very comfortable. I don't think it would solve existing shoe stink but an old grandmothers' trick is soaking them in tomato juice for a couple days. Obviously this could have some effect on the color of shoes but it worked great on a goatskin bag I own. Put a dryer sheet in each shoe each day while you wear them. They're designed to deodorize cloth materials; like your socks and shoes are made of. If they already smell, put them through the washer and dryer just like you would if they got swamp-mucked (or whatever cleaning method you use for your shoes, I think some people use a dish washer). Dryer sheet/Fabric Softener/Whatever you call it, you know Snuggle the iconic bear tries selling these things: I was skeptical about the use of colloidal silver solution for this, but have found by personal experimentation that it works quite well for bacterial smells.
Get colloidal silver solution from a health food/natural medicine store. If possible, it's even better and more cost-effective to make your own, but you'll need specialized equipment (not too pricy). Put it in a spray bottle and spray the inside of the shoe. Also works on feet, underarms, and other smelly areas. You will need to reapply from time-to-time, perhaps daily.It will keep the shoes dry and prevent bacteria from growing as well as provide a nice deodorant. Several of my basketball mates used it. Someone once told me to put tea bag in every shoe that has a bad smell, and leave it that way for a few days maybe. I don't know why, but it helps remove the smell, and also prevent it a bit (just put the same tea bag again after you take of the shoes, and keep them with the tea bag inside while not wearing them). And of course you can put talc (baby powder) in your shoes before you wear them, and it help absorb the sweat and smell. I would say that you should always wear clean socks.
Do not wear the same socks twice, always clean ones. It is also important to keep your shoes dry. Not really a hack, but if you have two pairs of identical shoes and wear them on alternate days they can dry out thoroughly. This used to be a problem with some leather shoes called "Nature Trek" in the 70s. If you are in the office keep some sandals there and take your shoes off. You can put them on the windowsill if they bother you, or in front of a ventilator until they are dry. In hot weather wear sandals anyway, without socks. You can get high-tech sandals you don't need to feel ashamed about. This suggestion is going to depend on the type of liner in the shoe and the sole material. I have leather boots and boat shoes, which have cloth liners and cloth soles. My feet stink really bad to me, so when the shoes start to stink, I spray ammonia in them and let it dry out. If they really stink, I spray ammonia in them and then put the shoes and charcoal in plastic grocery bag and tie it up decently tight, but with enough air leakage to allow the ammonia to dry.
Last ditch effort is to spray with ammonia, after that dries place baking soda in them for a few days, shake that out, spray in more ammonia and then place in the aforementioned bag with the charcoal. This has worked for me, but others may be leery to spray ammonia near leather, however I always keep my leather footwear oiled so the ammonia does not dry them out. Though you said you did this, every couple of days, put them in a large ziplock bag and place them in the freezer. The problem with most solutions is that you wind up with the smell intermingling with the foot odor creating a worse smell. Freezing will kill off the bacteria and smell for a few days until you need to do it again. Just make it a routine. It is even refreshing in he Summer to put them on freezing and they warm up quickly enough. Works like a charm, especially on nasty smelling sandals. Sign up or log in Sign up using Email and Password Post as a guest By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.