How To Remove Odour From Shoes – Keep Your Shoes Smelling Fresh With These Tips!

Are you tired of shoe odour? Well, we have all been there – where the minute we take off our shoes after a long day, there is a distinct odour, which is nowhere near pleasant. We wonder how to remove the smell from shoes, and many of us are not able to find a way to do it. While you might be perpetually confused, we are here with some solutions for this long-term issue. 

You need to start with  ‘what’ before trying to understand how to remove odour from shoes

First of all, you need to know that shoe odour is not gender specific – it can occur in shoes for men as well as women. However, before getting rid of those smells, you need to start with questioning what is causing that particular smell. 

• Sweat is the most common reason for stinky feet and weird-smelling shoes. Did you know that the average person has more than 2,50,000 sweat glands in their feet alone and this number is greater than any other part of the body? So, obviously, there will be more sweat in the feet, than any other part of the body and well, sweat tends to smell! When you wear closed shoes, sweat is often not able to escape and that leads to your shoes stinking. 

• Another reason for that weird smell is bacteria – at any given time, there are thousands of bacteria present on human skin and some of them produce certain types of chemicals, which have a weird smell. Now, in case these bacteria are present on your legs and feet, then the smell is inevitable. 
• If you have the habit of wearing socks, removing them and then stuffing them back into the shoes to be used the next day, then you are inviting more bad odour. Socks tend to soak up the sweat and if you are storing those sweat soaked socks in the shoes, the odours will continue to linger. 

In certain situations, there could be health-related conditions or skin problems, which could lead to foul odours or even bad foot hygiene can cause the stink. 

Tips on how to remove bad smell from shoes

Now let’s get into how to get rid of the smell? 

Here are some simple tips and tricks and methods that will allow you to keep your shoes smelling good, every single day. 

Maintain Foot Hygiene 

Let’s start with the most basic tip that is maintaining good foot hygiene. Remember to wash your feet every day; ideally before and after wearing the shoes. You should take a few minutes to clean in between the toes and then dry your feet really well, too. If you have body odour related troubles, then you can apply an antiseptic powder. 

Wear Socks 

Yes, something as simple as wearing socks could reduce the possibility of odours. No matter which type of sock you wear, (cotton or natural fibers are always the best bet), remember to wear socks, because it is a layer of protection between your feet and the shoes. Opt for pure cotton socks cause they are ideal for all kinds of shoes.  

Wash The Socks 

Although wearing socks is important, what you do at the end of the day with those socks is far more important. This means that when the day is done, you need to remove your socks and put them to wash. Stuffing those smelly socks back into the shoes is like inviting more trouble. 

Let The Shoes Air Dry 

After you remove your shoes, allow them to get proper fresh air – this means that you should leave them out in the open, and let them dry out properly. This would mean that it will dry out not only the sweat that might have accumulated inside the shoes, but also any moisture that the shoes might have come in contact with. 

Rotating The Shoes 

One of the reasons why we suggest that you invest in more than one pair of shoes is so that you can rotate them. This means that when you wear one pair of shoes one day, you should ideally have another to use the next day. This one-day gap will allow your footwear to dry out and reduce the chances of them smelling. 

In most shoes, it is the insole that becomes the breeding ground for odour causing bacteria, which is why you need to make sure that you pay attention to those as well. You can either take them out and allow them to air out or you can look at replacing them on a regular basis. 

Here are some easy remedies to remove shoe smells

When you are looking for easy and natural methods of how to get rid of shoe odor, then here are some that you can try too! 

Newspaper

This is probably one of the easiest and most uncomplicated methods to get those funky smells out of your shoes. All you need to do is crumple up some newspaper and stuff it into the shoes. The paper will absorb all the moisture and leave your shoes feeling fresh and mostly odour free as well. 

Essential oils 

You can take your favourite essential oils and add a few drops on a cotton ball or cotton pad and you can place that inside the shoes overnight and this will leave your shoes smelling great. Remove the cotton when you intend to wear your shoes and you can replace the cotton ball, once you are done wearing the footwear. 

Baking soda 

A generous sprinkle of baking soda on the insides of each shoe could help reduce those smells. You need to let the baking soda sit overnight and then you can shake it off in the morning. You can simply use a soft brush or even a vacuum cleaner to remove any residues. 

Tea bags 

You can also use dry tea bags (it doesn’t matter if they are used or unused, as long as they are dry) to eliminate shoe odours. You need to simply place the tea bags inside the shoes and they will be able to absorb moisture and neutralise smells. 

Cedar shoe trees 

This is perhaps one of the best ways to keep your shoes odour-free; cedar shoe trees will not only help remove all those smells, but also keep your shoes moisture free and of course, help maintain the right shape of the shoes as well. 

Conclusion 

With quite a few tips, we hope that we have helped you figure out how to remove footwear odour easily. In addition to all these tips to remove shoe smells, you can also consider getting professional cleaning done of your footwear once in six months.