Hi guys

I have a problem with a pair of shoes - they stink.

The reason is because of the bad weather a few months ago - the snow and ice melted in to the inside of the shoes and they became quite damp throughout the duration of the day and also for the rest of the week since they were my only pair of shoes.

I bought another pair of shoes and they have been fine because they did not become damp. It's just this pair that got damp that smells.

I read on the net that the best way to remove shoe odour is to pour bicarbonate of soda in to the shoe to absorb the odour and also to dry it out. I put this in to my shoe and left it for a week. No change - they still smell although they are bone dry.

I then read that it could be because of bacteria that manifested because of the heat and moisture that still survived, and that the best household method of getting rid of this bacteria is to place the shoes in the freezer for at least 24 hours.

So, I put some more bicarbonate of soda in to the shoes and left the shoes in the freezer for another week. After taking the shoes out and shaking out the powder, the shoes smell just as bad as before.

Should I just buy new shoes? Or is there a better method of getting rid of this awful smell?

Oh wait and before you LOL me in to next week for having my account hijacked and replaced by some bot that likes to talk about shoe odour; I am actually being serious!

Subject them to obscene amounts of radiation and see if that fixes it.

On a more serious note, you probably should just throw them out. If you are feeling really obsessive, you could dismantle them and individually cleanse the parts.

Annoying as they cost me £45 and only lasted a few months

But probably the only thing I can do.

nice story you got there pal! there's only one problem mister account hijacker. THE AZCN I KNOW WEARS COWBOY BOOTS

an American website suggest stop buying shoes from Canada lmao.

put vinegar inside the shoes then put them through the washing machine. Did it on my old sport shoes and worked lol after reading it on internets. P.s. my shoes don't still smell of vinegar! ^^

If bicarbonate of soda didn't work, I doubt anything will tbh.

You could always just buy a new pair I guess

I could put them through the wash, but they are leather so they may not come out looking too good.

Vinegar is also something I have tried...

Long story...

OK I'll explain. I got drunk one night and was sick in my bag which had loads of new clothes in. So I had to wash my underwear in vinegar to get rid of the sick smell. Worked perfect. I guess if the vinegar didn't work and the bicarb didn't work... nothing will. New shoes time.

I took a homeopathy course, I know what to do here.

what you need is something to make them worse, maybe some Bree, and you need to dissolve the Bree in a lot of water, the more dilute it is, the stronger it is (it's the most important rule) use a 1:1x10^20 scale, that should be dilute enough for your needs.

srs taim, I dunno try fabric cleaners?

Put them in the oven at 90C, DENATURE-DEM-ENZYMES-BOI!

No one has said Febreeze?

... look up a tad DHR, "
srs taim, I dunno try fabric cleaners?"

Oh fail, completely missed the fabric cleaners sorry >_<