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Anyone else try freezing your stinky shoes?

wannabe

wannabe

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Aris
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Hey Gang,

So, I've been hearing this old wives tale for a few years about putting your stinky shoes in the freezer overnight to kill the bacteria that is causing the smell. I never believed it. But, I got bored over the weekend and tried sealing up my stinkiest pair of hiking boots in a plastic bag and putting them in my freezer for a couple of days. I figured that sealing them up in a bag would at least keep them from stinking up the food in there.

I pulled them out on Monday and have worn them all week. Son of a gun. Wouldn't you know it? The smell is officially gone from these things. :thumbup

Has anyone else here tried freezing their stinky shoes? Did you get similar results?
 
I just got in the habit of switching between shoes so that any pair I wore had a few days to dry out. The smelliness hasn't been an issue since, but I'll try this out on some that are borderline.

Thanks for the tip.
 
No, I never have. I don't have sweaty feet, so my sneakers and shit don't stink typically, but I have one cheap pair of sturdy work boots that DOES NOT BREATHE at all and it gets some funk. Usually if I've been working in those guys if I leave them someplace sunny for a day or two, the heat and radiation kills the bacteria living inside as effectively as a freezer.
 
Will try this with my mtn bike shoes and report back. Road all day in the rain once and those things have NEVER recovered from that. :laughing

Steve
 
putting it in a ziplock bag and throwing it in the freezer is the same thing I read about on what to do with Selvedge jeans.
 
I've tried washing mine and spraying the shit out if them with anti-fungal. But nothing worked until I froze them. I was almost ready to throw them out and buy a new pair. Now I get to keep them.
 
fromeast2west said:
I just got in the habit of switching between shoes so that any pair I wore had a few days to dry out. The smelliness hasn't been an issue since, but I'll try this out on some that are borderline.

Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...

This. Just have enough shoes to rotate and don't be afraid to roll in sandals for day to day stuff. Let your feet (and shoes that have been recently worn) breathe.

wannabe said:
I've tried washing mine and spraying the shit out if them with anti-fungal. But nothing worked until I froze them. I was almost ready to throw them out and buy a new pair. Now I get to keep them.
Click to expand...

Fungal treatments won't fix the smell, since that's bacterial.

There is a product called On Your Toes, which is a repackaged antimicrobial, which does help for about a week at a time. (It's cheap, and a little goes a very long way.)
 
You're lucky you didn't die before getting a chance to take them out otherwise whoever had to clean out your place would have thought you were weird.
 
Marlowe said:
This. Just have enough shoes to rotate and don't be afraid to roll in sandals for day to day stuff. Let your feet (and shoes that have been recently worn) breathe.



Fungal treatments won't fix the smell, since that's bacterial.

There is a product called On Your Toes, which is a repackaged antimicrobial, which does help for about a week at a time. (It's cheap, and a little goes a very long way.)
Click to expand...



Thanks for the product recommendation. I'll check out the On Your Toes stuff.
 
the mild cold of a freezer does not kill bacteria, it just makes them go dormant for a bit. they'll wake up after a good sweaty hike or something and your shoes will just smell again.

my climbing shoes dont smell for bout 2-3 climbing days after a night in the freezer. new ones usually last for 3-4wks before smelling.
 
i usually freeze my climbing shoes right next to the fishing bait :laughing. thank gawd the gf fishes too otherwise id prob get hit or something.
 
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