UKC

Can anyone advise on the bombproof way of ridding really smelly climbing shoes of smell without effecting the shoe?

In reply to sean1: The only thing that works with Evolv shoes is burning them.

Mine go in the washing machine on a cold wash with some Ecover liquid. Works for a about a week. My old leather 5.10s however, don't smell at all, or my leather La Sportivas.

In reply to sean1: Dont put them in a bag after climbing. I clip mine to the bag with a mini biner and let them air out. Add some scholls foot powder if they really niff. Which they rarely do. My feet smell of pretty flowers all the time.

In reply to sean1:
My first pair of shoes stank to high heaven, so when I renewed I thought I should make an effort to not let them get smelly too! I had an odour eaters spray and that worked a treat. Spray the shoes before and after use and hey presto! Sweet smelling shoes! Ironically, the spray smells foul.

In reply to sean1: Tea tree oil or put them in a bag in the freezer for a couple of days.

In reply to sean1:
Wear socks.

Shoes only smell because of your sweat generated by having bare feet, then that sweat rotting.

Sxx

In reply to sean1: easy: sprinkle bicarbonate of soda powder in them, and wear flip flops between climbs. Bicarbonate is a wonder cure!

In reply to sean1:

If they are lace-ups and don´t have any metal on them put `em in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

You can also do that with velcros but don´t wonder about the firework going on inside the microwave.

Also laying them in the sun is a good germkiller. i know the myth says you shouldn´t expose rockshoes to the sunlight.

For indoor use i would go for socks in my gymshoes since it doesn´t make any difference on the indoor footholds. they are always big compared to outdoors so you won´t need that extra bit of sensitivity.

In reply to sean1:

I'd agree with airing them. Once they smell it's game over, but with a new pair airing and odour eaters spray have worked for me.

In reply to sean1: Boot bananas!

In reply to Lukeva:

Have you tried this? I did and the inside of the shoe became slippy mush.

For the OP, let them dry soon after use and add some foot powder to absorb smells.

In reply to Sarah G:

Unless your socks are actually impermeable plastic bags, sweat is eventually going to makes its way through them and into your shoes, where it will nourish a happy ecosystem of bacteria and fungi. It won't rot any more than seawater can rot.

I'd go for the "dry really thoroughly, soak in strong disinfectant, dry really thoroughly" approach myself. If possible, dry em outside in the sun unlaced and exposed as much as possible. UV kills all sorts of stuff.

In reply to Jamming Dodger:

This is very good advice - I started doing this a few years ago after my shoes started to make my house smell... It really makes a difference. They do still get a bit stinky towards the end of their life, but generally they aren't too bad.

In reply to sean1:


I put min in a hot bleach solution and scrub the insides out with a brush. Actually these days I just put up with the stink but the bleach works.

jk

In reply to jonnie3430:

So you suggest drying them before foot powder, but didn't think to dry them before the bicarb?

>.>

In reply to sean1: I second the use of socks, it's not sweat but the lumps of skin that goes manky and make the stink.

or try this (if they still have one) http://www.climbingworks.com/the-beta/blog/2008/12/01/Smelly_Climbing_Shoes...

Or this
http://www.climbingworks.com/the-beta/blog/2008/12/01/Smelly_Climbing_Shoes...

I'm lucky my feet don't stink, I can wear my boots for months and stick my nose in (and other people's noses in too) and they still smell like new.

In reply to neuromancer:

No, you can add the foot powder to damp shoes, it'll dry them out quicker at the same time as reducing smell. I found the problem with the bicarb arose the next time I used the shoes and got a sweat on. It was not pretty...