Are you tired of your shoes smelling extremely bad? Hey! No worries. I have got you all covered. It is mostly because of the rainy season.
Shoes often tend to get wet and trap moisture which results in an unpleasant smell.
Here, I will share some very easy tips and tricks that will help you to get rid of the smell of your shoes. Let’s start, shall we?
Methods to Keep Wet Shoes from Smelling
This is very easy method which will freshen up your Plantar Fasciitis shoes instantly is to wash them in a washing machine with a pleasant smelling detergent.
Make sure to remove the laces from your shoes before washing them.
Wash them in a washing machine with cool water, and most importantly, turn off the spin cycle if you don’t want to destroy them.
Now next step is to dry the shoes completely. I will suggest you leave the shoes in the sun for several days.
This will help to clean the shoes up and remove all the moisture that is causing the smell.
If you happen to live in a humid area, you might want to invest in a shoe dryer.
You can also add a nickel-sized amount of bleach to make sure that your shoes are completely disinfected. Do not try this washing your leather shoes and sandals.
2. Rice for soaking the moisture
We all know the moisture-absorbing property of rice. Rice is known to absorb moisture completely and efficiently.
There are two methods to do this. The first method is to fill up your socks with rice and put them in your shoes. This method will ensure that moisture is absorbed from socks and shoes.
You can put the rice-filled socks into the cool oven in order to dry your socks out completely. In my opinion, this might not work 100% to absorb the moisture of the shoes.
Hence, we have another method which is to put rice in your shoes directly.
This hack is as old as times. It is a tried and tested tip that will definitely help you to get rid of the smell of your nursing school shoes.
Put your shoes in a container full of rice. Rice will absorb the moisture so that you can get fresh-smelling shoes.
3. The Sun for drying the shoes
A super easy tip is to keep your shoes in the sun for a day. For this, you should have two pairs of shoes and so that you can wear them alternatively.
Wear one pair and keep the other one in the sun, and on the next day, wear the one that you kept in the sun and put your current one in the sun and so on.
This is my personal favorite as it does not require much effort.
This might not work if you live in an area where sunlight is not very consistent so keep that in mind as well.
4. Oven for that extra heat
This is a bit tricky one so read it very carefully.
Heat up your empty oven for a minute. I repeat, it should be completely empty.
The next step is to put your shoes in the heated oven. In other words, please put it in a heated oven that will dry anything when it is turned off.
Remember, if you do this wrong, you will have burnt shoes. Therefore, do this very carefully and with all precautions.
Do not try it with leather, heat-sensitive and plastic shoes.
5. Clean feet and socks
Mostly, the smell from shoes comes from a bacterium that naturally grows on our feel. The bacteria build-up in your shoes, socks, and feet make them smell bad.
Now, if you don’t clean your feet and socks daily, your High Arch shoes are going to smell bad.
Hence, use a pair of socks for one day and use the other one the next day especially, in the rainy season.
Even if you don’t take a shower every day, make sure to wash your feet every day. Every once in a while, soak your feet in lukewarm water to clean them up completely.
Put shoes in the freezer to kill bacteria
As previously discussed, the smell is caused by bacteria.
A great way to freshen up the smell of your shoes is to put your shoes in the freezer to kill bacteria. Please put them in a zip-lock bag and place them in the freezer, which will help to get rid of your smelly shoes.
I personally think that this is an extremely easy step to do, and this can be done by anyone.
6. Essential oils to the rescue
A very nice way to freshen up your smelly shoes is to use essential oils. We all are aware of the wonders that essential oils can do.
Put a few drops of essential oil into your shoes and let them sit overnight.
If you are worried about the stain it may cause, you can also put the essential oil on tissue paper or a piece of cloth and put it in the shoes, and let it sit overnight.
My personal favorite oils to do this are lavender essential oil and peppermint essential oil.
7. Magical power of Baking soda
How can we forget the champion of all time? Baking soda!
Generously sprinkle baking soda in your shoes and let them sit overnight. Dump out the leftover baking soda in the morning. And there you have it, fresh-smelling clogs.
The magical power of baking soda will soak all the moisture.
You can also fill the toes of your old socks, tie them up, and put them in your shoes. With this method, there will be no extra baking soda in your shoes.
Using baking soda for leather shoes regularly can dry them out, so keep that in mind too!
8. Salt as a deodorizer
Another natural shoe deodorizer is salt. I think that salt is an ingredient that is present in every house, so you will have no difficulty in doing this step.
All you have to do is to sprinkle a little bit of salt in your wet and smelly shoes and let them sit for a couple of hours, and voila, clean and fresh shoes.
Salt helps to absorb the moisture and kill the bacteria.
9. Rubbing alcohol or alcohol wipes
Pouring some rubbing alcohol on the dirty part of your tennis shoes will not only help you to get rid of the smell but will also clean out all the germs and bacteria that are sitting there for a long time.
You can also get rubbing alcohol wipes and wipe your shoe with them. Do this every other day to get rid of the smell of your shoes.
10. Black teabags to eliminate bacteria
Black teabags contain a high amount of tannins that works amazingly for killing bacteria.
Putting black tea bags in your shoes can help to eliminate the bacteria present in the shoes, which results in fresh smelling shoes.
Put the black tea bag in boiling water for few minutes and remove it. Let the tea bag cool down, and after few minutes, it is ready to use as a shoe deodorizer.
After removing it, clean up the extra liquid which might be in the shoe.
11. Baby powder for a quick fix
This is one of the quickest ways to get rid of smelly shoes.
Just sprinkle some of the baby powder before wearing your shoes. This method will not eliminate the problem completely, but this is a great thing to do if you are in a rush.
12. Fabric softener sheets for absorbing moisture
Put fabric softener sheets in your nursing sneakers overnight. Take them out before wearing the shoes.
Fabric softener sheets have the ability to absorb any moisture and neutralize the odor.
You can also deodorize the area where you normally keep your shoes for a safer side.
For example, if you keep your shoes in your gym bag, keep a dryer sheet at the bottom of the gym bag until your nose lets you know to change them.
13. DIY Homemade deodorizer spray
There are many sprays in the market that are helpful to get rid of the smell in shoes.
I know a secret recipe that is the way cheaper and great result is guaranteed!
I am going to share the recipe with you so that you can save some bucks and have freshly smelling shoes at the same time.
All you need is half a cup of water, half a cup of vinegar, and five to six drops of any essential oil (I prefer lavender essential oil or tea tree essential oil). Combine these ingredients in a spray bottle, and there you have it, your very own deodorizer spray.
Make sure to shake the spray bottle before using it.
This method is awesome for all the DIY lovers out there who love to make everything with their own efforts. You can put your personalized touch in it by the selection of essential oils.
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