Any more, if I know I will be wearing them constantly, I buy 2 pairs of the same shoes, and rotate them daily....it really does work. I have 2 pair of work shoes, they are identical, and 2 pairs of running shoes for after work. Your feet also smell better when the shoes/boots have time to dry out between wearings. I'll bet you are also working into a case of toenail fungus, too?
Barring the 2 pairs of shoes "deal", I second the good socks, rotated often, too.
The comments about the quality of the shoes' construction are also interesting. These things (Ariat) are quite solid, but definitely a couple orders of magnitude of lesser quality than the last few pairs I've had (Magnum, Bates, Garamont, Hi Tec), and decidedly sweatshop-made, which I usually try to avoid, especially with shoes/boots.
I think I have a Perfect Storm of foot funk going on: a minimally-breathable waterproof lining, cheap leather, cheap socks, and generally low quality materials that might be reacting with my personal chemistry, all combined with a near-constant wear pattern, giving them no time to recover.
I wouldn't be surprised if they're harboring a fair amount of bacteria. I'll definitely give them a super-deluxe-kill-the-bastards treatment this weekend, when I have some time to give them a break.
Some after-Xmas sales will see me stocking up on socks, for sure. I'll be happy to trash the pairs I'm wearing now.
And I've already got my eye on a couple different pairs of Red Wings, if Santa leaves a couple bucks in my budget for personal use.
Did you spill yeast in them?
Heh. It wouldn't surprise me. This is definitely not a healthy yeast smell, though. Good lord.
And you know how you hear a new little squeal/rattle from under the hood one day and that's all you can hear from then on? Yeah, since my nose is in tune with my funk now, I can smell it all the damned time. Nobody's said anything yet, but I can tell they're judging me...
But yeah, since I spend a lot of my working day cultivating an environment for favorable yeast/bacterial development, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to kill these little bastards.
Activated charcoal and baking soda down into the boots to try and "suck" the stink out? Also, do it with the boots in a pretty warm area so the odors exude out of the leather.
Then, spray the crap out of them with Fabreeze.
My step-father had a HORRIBLE problem (OMG) with smelly feet. He started taking chlorophyl tabs, and they helped a lot ! Try a shoe repair store, too. Lord knows they've dealt with smells. Also, dy cleaners.
Make a mild bleach solution with water in a 5 gallon bucket. Dunk the boots then hang inverted to dry. Apply neatsfoot oil if they're leather so the leather doesn't dry out and crack. Per previous use fresh rotated socks and baking soda. You might also try spraying the inside with Athlete's foot spray.
Not wearing them for over 5000 hours is the best way to fight odor.
I have work boots that get replaced every 6 months, but I also change them before and after work. So my nasty feet don't stay in one shoe for too long.
Dr. Scholls has a shoe-odor powder that you spray in. It works well for us with our caddy shoes. Mom gets it. I think its just scented Baking Soda.
Thankfully I dont have to wear boots every day but have to keep the professional appearance. Good leather shoes are a must so that you can concentrate on the matters at hand. Dexter's are my favorite but for casual days(I have more of them nowadays) I have Rockports and Deerstags. I wear out the heels long before I can smell the shoes.
Hocrest wrote: We finally decided that it must have been some reaction between one of the chemicals in the shoe and her feet. No sprays or deodorants had any effect. The only way to fix them was to toss them.
How is she getting along with no feet?
In reply to T.J.:
Oh, you meant toss the shoes, not the feet.
I don't think I've ever had terminal shoe-funk to the degree y'all are describing, but my advice is to nuke it from orbit just to be sure, one of these days something mofugly and big enough to see is going to crawl out of those boots and it will NOT be pleased with the first living being it finds
oh, and you all can turn a phrase with the best of them
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