But every now and then, when I take off my shoes, everyone in the car gets a surprise as a very unpleasant smell fills the air. Once the horror sinks into my consciousness that it’s my feet, I quickly (but discreetly) scramble to throw my shoes back on.
How to Freshen Stinky Shoes
I know I’m not the only one overwhelmed by the smell of stinky shoes and feet. I know that I have tried just about every shoe cleaning method known to man, or should I say woman, so I thought I’d share 15 stinky shoe solutions with you. You can have all of the best solutions to rid yourself of the unwanted stinky shoe “aroma” as well.
1. Tea Bags to help Your Shoes Shoes Smell Good
Do your shoes stink up the room after a workout? Let’s not run everyone out of the gym. Put some tea bags in those sticky shoes as soon as you take them off. The tea bags will absorb the odor and leave your shoes smelling fresh.
And the bonus is that you likely already have tea bags at home (maybe in a flavor you didn’t love) or can get some hands on it pretty inexpensively!
2. Customer Deodorizer Pouches for Stinky Shoes
Make your own deodorizer pouches for your shoes. Not only can you customize the size for your shoes, but you can also reuse the pouches again and again. You’ll always have sweet-smelling shoes. Winner! To make the all natural basic deodorizer, you will need the following supplies:
baking soda
essential oils – lavender, peppermint or whatever your favorite essential oil might be
Mr. Krabs: I smell the smelly smell of something that smells smelly.
Spongebob
3. DIY Stinky Shoe Spray
Make a DIY shoe spray with rubbing alcohol, apple cider vinegar, and tea tree oil. This mixture will help to kill the bacteria that are at the root of the gross smells. This mixture is amazing and works wonders! Lemon essential oil is a good alternative if you don’t have tea tree oil.
4. Natural Shoe Deodorizer for those Pesky Stinky Shoes
Mint spray is a (affiliate) natural shoe deodorizer. Every athlete, runner, or mom- well anyone who wears shoes really – should keep a bottle of shoe spray handy. It is a dual-acting odor prevention and removal so you aren’t just masking the bad smell, but removing and eliminating it at the source.
It is also safe to spray on everything which helps you banish bad odor for good extending the life of boots, sneakers, gym bags, boxing gloves, ski boots, Uggs, heels, ballet slippers, camping equipment, cycling gear and last but not least your running shoes!
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5. Dryer Sheet Method Stinky Shoe Help
For just a little bit of odor, put a dryer sheet in each shoe overnight. Your shoes will smell like laundry fresh in the morning. If they are really stinky then tuck the shoes into a plastic bag to concentrate the effects of the dryer sheet. (Get more dryer sheet tips.)
6. Coffee Filters and Baking Soda for Stinky Shoes
Insert a coffee filter into each shoe and fill it with baking soda to get rid of that stench. The baking soda will absorb the rank smell. You know that if it works in your fridge, it’ll work in your shoes, too!
I like the ease of this simple stinky shoe solution since everything you need is right in your kitchen!
Freshen Stinky Shoes Using Common Household Staples
7. Repurpose Things in Your Home to Freshen Stinky Shoes
Fill some socks with kitty litter and stick them in your shoes overnight. This is a great way to repurpose of your socks that have lost their mates. You know kitty litter is powerful stuff! I would have never thought of kitty litter to make shoes smell great!
8. Reuse Orange Peels in Those Stinky Shoes
It hard to go anywhere anymore without finding bags of cute little oranges. They make such a handy treat. Start saving your orange peels if you have stinky feet. Place them in your shoes for about 24 hours. The peels will absorb odors and leave a fresh citrusy scent behind. If oranges aren’t your thing – try lemons, limes, or even grapefruit. Any citrus should work.
9. Newspaper Hack for Stinky Shoes
What’s worse than stinky shoes? Stinky, damp shoes. Eww. Use crumpled-up newspaper to absorb the moisture and odor. You can also try placing your shoes on a window seal in the sun, on a drying rack, or anywhere you can find a nice sunny spot. This will help dry those damp shoes from the outside and the inside.
10. Stinky Shoe Freezer Method
We recommend putting them in a plastic bag first (a great way to repurpose those plastic bags from the grocery store), but putting your shoes in the freezer is a surefire way to get rid of odors. You need to leave them there for a day or two for the cold to kill all the odor-causing bacteria.
11. Coffee Grounds Hack for Stinky Shoes
Coffee grounds can freshen everything from shoes to garbage disposals! If your household doesn’t drink coffee or you would rather not dig out the small number of grounds from each of your coffee pods, you can stop in at your local coffee shop. Most coffee shops will have bags of coffee and espresso grounds that they will happily let you take for free. I love the smell of coffee…so when I grab the bags of grounds I also use my mate-less socks (and if needed some cheap cotton muslin) to make bags of “odor absorbers”. These are good anywhere there is a stinky smell: under the seats of the car to absorb musty odors; the area that houses the kitty’s litter box; under the sink of the bathroom.
The coffee grounds that you pick up at the coffee shop may be damp, if that’s the case pour some out into a shallow plastic storage container and allow them to dry before you used them to freshen up your shoes or making your odor absorbers. Put the coffee grounds in aluminum foil first before adding them to your shoes; or You don’t want a wet, mushy mess on your hands (or feet).
12. Bar of Soap Stinky Shoe Hack
Put a bar of soap in each shoe to get rid of the foot funk. I would probably recommend that you buy some cheap bars of soap at the dollar store and keep it on hand just for this purpose. You’ll probably have the best success with the stronger smelling bar soaps. It’s also a great way to freshen drawers and closets.
13. Natural Bamboo Charcoal Shoe Deodorizers
Natural Bamboo Charcoal Shoe Deodorizers work well in gym bags, diaper pails, and lockers as well as shoes. The activated charcoal absorbs foul odors, and these bags are reusable. As a bonus, they will absorb the funk from that gym bag when you have the shoes on your feet.
14. Use The Dishwasher to Freshen Stinky Shoes
Did you know you could put your shoes in the dishwasher? Yep, it’s true. I think that this is the one that I’m probably less likely to use, but when you think about it – it makes perfect sense. Those dishwasher racks come in so handy.
If I did use this method I’d probably run the dishwasher a cycle without dishes to just clean things up before I moved on to the plates. But, hey clean shoes and a clean dishwasher – a two for one. (More Things You Can Put in the Dishwasher)
15. Clean Stinky Shoes in the Washing Machine
And if all else fails, toss your shoes in a mesh bag or pillowcase, and put them in the washing machine. If you choose to use a pillowcase I have found it’s best to close the end up with a hair tie.
I’ve tried the tie-the-knot in the pillowcase method, and every single time I’ve tried it the pillowcase comes undone. If you do choose to tie it, or knot it, I hope you have better luck than I do. (Get more laundry hacks here.)
If you don’t have either a mesh bag or a pillowcase, you want to use – this is not the job for the guest linens – then another laundry idea is to toss the shoes in with a load of towels. Just don’t forget to not use the bleach on that load, and maybe the highest heat setting isn’t the best idea. But the towels will help muffle the sounds of a thousand running feet as the shoe wash.
More Stinky Shoe Tips & Hacks
Don’t let stinky shoes, and feet catch, you off guard anymore. By taking a few simple and effective preventative measures you can control even the worse of the worst funky foot smells:
If you do get caught in a spring shower, and your shoes get wet, find a well-ventilated area (preferably in the sunshine) and (if at all possible) allow them to completely dry before you next wear them.
Always remember to take your shoes out of your gym bag, or your child’s school bag, as soon as you get home. That dark cool space becomes the perfect place for shoe stink to grow and multiply.
If you typically wear shoes without socks, experiment until you find no-show socks you like. You can try spraying your feet with spray deodorant to help keep your feet from sweating in the first place. If you carry spray-on deodorant in your purse anyway, this is a perfect two-for-one way to use it.
Most foot funk is caused by sweaty feet and eventual bacteria growth (in the shoes). Even something as simple as a dryer sheet can make a huge difference in limiting the. Which tricks, tips or stinky shoe hacks do you think you’ll try first?
If you liked these ideas to solve stinky shoes, you may also enjoy:
13 Tricks for the Most Comfortable Shoes Ever
15 Storage Ideas for People With Way Too Many Shoes
Clean Old Sneakers with This Easy Shoe Hack!
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