Remove Smell from Running Shoes

I have never heard of the tea tree oil thing. I don’t see how a few drops could possibly breakdown the bacteria that is throughout the shoe.

The pet odor stuff has enzymes that break down the bacteria, and at $.35 cents per ounce it’s much more affordable than the tea tree oil at $10 per ounce.

Washing machine helps but really just masks the smell and never cures it completely.

You don't need direct contact over every square millimeter of your shoe surface. Tea tree oil kills by inducing chemiosmotic changes in the bacterial (and fungal) cytoplasmic membrane. It is highly bioactive in both liquid and gas phases. If you're eyes are rolling into the back of your head now, you just need to know that that means you don't have to coat your shoes with it: what you're smelling when you open the bottle is toxic to the stuff that's making your shoes ripe. Kind of how you wouldn't need to drink turpentine to get sick from it because the fumes will do the job.

OK, I'll humor your I've-never-heard-of-it-therefore-it-can't-possibly-be-a-thing input.

The antimicrobial active ingredient of your "pet odor stuff" is chlorine dioxide (pasted from Nature's Miracle site below). It's not an enzyme. It is, however, toxic to humans. Granted, not significantly so in the small concentrations found in the "pet odor stuff."

The math in your post was a little off though: 1 Oz of "pet odor stuff" × 0.200% ClO2 x $0.35 = $175 per each ounce of the antibacterial active ingredient.

You're welcome.

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:

Chlorine Dioxide ............................................... 0.200%

Alkyl (60% C14, 30% C16, 5% C12, 5% C18)

Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride.................. 0.125%

Alkyl (68% C12, 32% C14)

Dimethyl Ethylbenzyl Ammonium Chloride .......... 0.125%

OTHER INGREDIENTS ....................................... 99.550%

TOTAL..............................................................100.000%

hank jr wrote:

gegertghhbee wrote:

put them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for like a day.

+1

its the bacteria causing the smell, freezing it kills the bacteria.

A freezer will inhibit the growth of bacteria, but it will not kill it, which is why you still have to carefully cook chicken even after you've defrosted it. This is a stupid myth that raw denim guys came up with.

freezerfail wrote:

Freezing the shoe will unquestionably screw up the sole foam

Then how do people run in winter without ruing their shoes? What about people who leave their shoes in the car or store them in an unheated porch in winter? What about shoe companies, do you think they use special heated trailers to ship their shoes in winter?

This.

Think about it. Shoes are designed to handle water. In summer, shoes are soaked with sweat. In some regions, running in the rain is routine. It should be obvious that you can wash shoes without harming them. Just use cold water, a liquid laundry detergent, a half cup of white vinegar, and air dry.

Would you spray dirty underwear with tea tree oil to kill the smell or would you wash them?

Would you put dirty jeans in the freezer to get rid of bacteria? Of course not. You'd wash them.

While this may work for shoes, the shoes are still dirty and greasy-feeling. Just wash them.

Shoes can easily handle washing. You just need to use cold water and either remove the laces or put the shoes in a delicates bag to protect the laces from wrapping around stuff.

Regular liquid detergent and a half cup of white vinegar will clean running shoes. Adding a cap of Odoban will remove even the most stubborn smells. (Odoban is used in nursing homes to clean incontinent seniors' clothing and bedsheets. Moms use it to wash diapers.) Spray and rub stains with a toothbrush and the shoes will look like new.

There are sports detergents, but white vinegar and Odoban are cheaper. A gallon of vinegar is maybe $3. A gallon of Odoban is maybe $15, but it will probably last several years if you only use it for running shoes.

What's wrong with stinky shoes? just dont keep them near where you typically are inside and put them in the trunk if your driving. Not like you can tell when your running if they stink. Not worth the time/money/energy to unstink them

- RS

To begin with, try using several tea bags. Put them in each sneaker and put them in a dark place. If the smell is not too ingrained in the fabric, this tool will help you get rid of the smell in about a day. If it doesn't help, then you can already use something chemical. For example, when I encounter a similar problem with myself or my sons, I use Professional OdorRemoval, which I order from Amazon. This is a good tool that removes the smell of shoes even from my husband, and this, believe me, is a powerful smell. If you try my advice, write if it helped you, please. The link for this substance is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FMT45YS