How to get rid of shoe odor at home

Summer is a season with plenty of obvious advantages such as warm sun, blue sky and green grass but also a time of very unpleasant situations. One of them is the terrible sweaty smell which appears in the shoes. The smell is the result of bacteria growing and multiplying due to hot environment, which is formed as a result of wearing tight, poorly ventilated shoes. With some of us this can happen in winter due to the individual characteristics of the organism. In any case we can manage to eliminate an unpleasant smell and never bother about taking off shoes. We will talk and investigate how we can get rid of shoe odor at home.

The first method: Drying shoes
The second method: Taking care of hygiene
The third method: Shoe deodorant
The fourth method: Citrus peel
The fifth method: Washing machine
The sixth method: Salt
The seventh method: Vinegar
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The first method: Drying shoes

This method sounds like easiest one but in fact this simple rule can solve the problem for many people. Unfortunately very often shoe odor appears not because of bacteria and waste products of bacteria. Often this terrible smell of sweat is following us due to the mistakes in taking care of our shoes.

Obvious that in dry conditions bacteria cannot live. In order to get rid of shoe odor take measures to dry shoes. Remove shoelaces and put them immediately on the heater or under the direct sunlight. Sunlight is the best way to dry shoes. Even if you do not feel that your shoes are wet every time you wear them you should anyway dry your shoes every single day. Sunlight is great solution because bacteria is not able to survive under the hot sun. If your legs suddenly started to have terrible smell it is better to be safe and check your health. Consider checking your body for the presence of following diseases: foot fungus, diabetes, diseases of the cardiovascular system, impaired circulation and so on.

Important: Do not forget to dry all your shoes before packing them till the next season. In addition storing wet shoes leads to the formation of mold in them.

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The second method: Taking care of hygiene

That is obvious that all the methods and treatments will be useless and they will provide very short lasting result if you do not take care of legs hygiene. Smell of sweat in the shoes will constantly reappear very quickly if you will not follow few main rules.

Hygiene rules

Change insole every season. Try to do it frequently and problem with odor will disappear.
Buy socks made only from cotton. Very often unpleasant foot odor appears from the socks made from synthetic materials.
Do not forget to change socks daily.
If you can afford give one day rest to your shoes. Buy at least two pairs for each season.
Regular hygienic procedures are the must. If the source of the problem is excessive sweating of your feet wash them with soap and water 2 times a day. During hot months you can wash feet even three times a day.
Try to buy shoes made only from organic materials.

If you suffer from severe sweating you can solve problem completely or partially by trying regular feet bath with oak bark. Also you can try few drops of tea tree oil and make such bath for 5 minutes.

Important: If excessive sweating is not solved by basic hygiene procedures consider visiting doctor. Sometimes feet sweating is a symptom of some disease.

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The third method: Shoe deodorant

Some people are searching for ways to get rid of shoe odor which is not caused by sweating or bacteria. There are plenty of reasons why shoes are having annoying smell: some people hate smell of glue or smell of new shoes, others cannot stand smell of the shoes from the second hand. Sometimes shoes can start smelling for no reason after storing them in the wardrobe. All these problems can be solved by choosing correct shoe deodorant.

Choosing form of deodorant

Spray is easy to use, accessible and functional. It helps not only get rid of the unpleasant aroma of sweat and mold but also helps to kill bacteria and fungus. Special components of spray can kill bacteria so always read the description and make sure you are buying not expired product.
Stick for shoes is less comfortable in use. In order to achieve good results you need to use it on the inner part of the shoes regularly. Unfortunately it is often breaking while you are using it and procedure becomes less and less comfortable unless you buy new stick often.
Deodorant in the form of pill is new development of sport business industry. Active components of the pill can get rid of shoe odor within 3 hours. Also these pills are eliminating bacteria and mold smell. Such deodorant can be bought in the sport shops.
Deodorant in the form of cream is mostly used for the leather or suede shoes.
Scented pads are working great especially for storing shoes till the next season. Some people are more into them because they remind them car air fresheners and are extremely easy to use.

The easiest way to solve problem with shoe odor is to buy one of the shoe deodorants. Most of the shops sell one or few types of deodorants. However you can eliminate unpleasant smell by preparing your own organic homemade deodorants.

Homemade deodorizing powder

Ingredients: baking soda, cornstarch and tea tree oil.
Mix in the plastic bowl 2 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 5 drops of tea tree oil.
Cover with this powder inner surface of the shoe and leave overnight.
Backing soda and cornstarch are perfect for eliminating wetness and odor from the shoes.
Tea tree oil will make sure that all bacteria are gone.
In the morning just throw away powder and shoes are ready to go.

This powder is a powerful deodorant against bacteria and fungi and also has an antiseptic action.

Important: Do not leave any type of deodorants on the places where kids can access them.

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The fourth method: Citrus peel

Citrus peel has antibacterial properties and is widely used in household cleaning products. The high content of citric acid in the zest kills bacteria and mold. It is obvious that orange, lime, grapefruit and lemon peels have excellent deodorizing effect. Some of us know that orange peel can be put under the sink in the kitchen where usually stays garbage bin and unpleasant smell will be neutralized. Dried zest can be hung in the closet where during the summer are staying all our winter coats. Mold will never appear it such closet. There are plenty of ways to apply orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit peel around the house.

Fresh citrus peel has a strong and steady odor because it contains essential oils. Put some zest in your shoes for the whole night. In the morning shoes will have fresh citrus aroma inside.

Important: Very similar result can be achieved by dropping a few drops of orange essential oil on the insole of your shoe.

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The fifth method: Washing machine

Some of us think that shoes cannot be washed in the washing machine. However only in the washing machine you can get rid of shoe odor of your favorite sneakers and make them smell like new. Follow simple tips and your washing experience will be always successful.

Simple washing rules

Inspect carefully shoes before washing. There should be no elements which can fall off during a washing.
Remove the shoe laces and insoles.
With the brush you need to remove all the dirt, stones, branches, etc. before putting shoes into washing machine. Rinse under water shoes to maximize the removal of sand and dust from them.
Use special bag for shoes. If you do not have such bag then you can put the old towels together with shoes or wrap the shoes in an old pillowcase.
Maximum wash at once two pairs of shoes.
Select the program of delicate washing. Washing temperature for shoes is suitable around 30-40 degrees.
Use medium amount of detergent.
Choose the smallest amount of spins or turn them off.
Switch off drying (if available) as the shoes can be deformed due to high temperature.

As soon as washing is over it remains only to dry shoes thoroughly. Use paper and it will absorb moisture and will not let the shoe to lose its shape after washing. During the summer shoes can be drying on the balcony. In winter shoes should dry on the heater. Cover heater with old towel and put shoes on the towel.

Important: When you are washing shoes washing machine is making noise stronger than usual. Remember this when you are choosing the time of day for laundry.

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The sixth method: Salt

How often shoes start to have odor after rain. Wet material can become very difficult to clean if it will stay wet for few days. After rain or snow shoes should be dried immediately. Salt is always in our kitchen. This everyday product will make shoes dry, eliminate smell and prevent mold to appear. Salt should be heated on the frying pan and put in the small bag made from fabric or into the sock. Put such sock full of salt into the shoes. If salt will get cold and shoes remain wet the procedure should be repeated. No need to use few kilograms of salt as you can warm up the same salt.

Also salt can be used for dry shoes as a remedy against mold and shoe odor. Fill in your shoes with salt and leave them to stay for 3 days. No need to wash shoes after this procedure. You can just use vacuum cleaner and make sure that salt is not left inside your favorite pair of shoes.

Important: Be careful when filling sock with the salt as hot salt can easily leave burns on the skin.

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The seventh method: Vinegar

How many of us asked ourselves how to get rid of shoe odor. Unfortunately sometimes it seems like impossible task. There is simple and very effective method and it is also very cheap. Vinegar will help even when regular washing doesn’t help. When various deodorants are useless vinegar can solve the problem.

The most difficult task is eliminating shoe odor from the winter and autumn shoes as they have fur inside. Fur usually “soaks up” sweat moisture developing bacteria and fungi. First of all it is necessary to moisten a thin socks in vinegar. Fill socks with paper and put them inside boots. Leave them inside overnight and in the morning there will be no traces of smell. Very important that boots should be dry before the procedure.

You can also eliminate smell from the shoes without fur using vinegar. Moisten cotton pad and wipe shoes inside. Wipe shoes with vinegar until the smell disappears completely. Also you can leave for night a cotton pad soaked in a vinegar. Wipe shoes inside with dry cloth in the morning and they are ready to go.

Important: Do not worry about vinegar smell. Your shoes will not smell like vinegar as its smell evaporates very quickly.
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