How To Eliminate Odor In Your Shoes!

The fact that I'm blogging about this is one part humiliating and one part comical. It's humiliating because it's hard to go on the record and say that I have stinky shoes, which in turn must mean that I have stinky feet. But alas, some of my shoes stink. They really, really do. And I've married someone that has stinky shoes, and together we have produced children that have stinky shoes.

It's comical to me because I've finally found the solution to getting rid of this problem, and I am literally shouting from the roof tops, because I know a lot of friends who have this issue too.

Growing up in Florida, everyone knows what Sperrys are. I have been wearing Sperry Top-Siders since my junior year of high school. I remember my parents telling me that they would never buy me an $80 pair of shoes, so I basically got a job to raise money to purchase them myself. I can even remember driving to West Marine to buy them. And for about two weeks, they were the greatest $80 I had ever spent.

For once, I looked like everyone else at the boat ramp, and our high school. It's crazy how we desire to be a part of the "in" crowd during our youth, isn't it?

But then, BAM. No one told me about the wicked smell that would follow. And any Floridian who has worn their Sperrys through an entire summer full of boating knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Let me just be clear here. My Sperrys stank so bad even my parents got involved in trying to unstank them. They quickly became "outside" shoes, so they could "dry out" overnight, per my dad. And before long, it was so bad you could even smell them when they were on my feet.

"Put dryer sheets in them," they said. "The wetness will absorb the fragrance and it'll smell less," they said.

It didn't.

When I got to college, friends offered suggestions.  "Use baby powder." Nope. "Gold bond." Not hardly. "Odor eaters." Maybe if I use the whole box. "Put them in the freezer in a plastic bag. It'll kill the bacteria." Didn't even touch it and it ticked my room mates off that those stinky shoes were near their ice. "Put deodorant on your feet." I tried it, and it made my feet terribly sticky.  "Wash your feet." Umm, I was already doing that, but I guess I could scrub harder...

Nothing helped. I tried everything. The money I spent on other products trying to keep my Sperrys in good smelling condition would have been enough to buy another pair of Sperrys. And eventually, that's what I did. I bought another pair of Sperrys and said good-bye to my first pair, not because the soles were wearing out or because the leather was splitting, but because they stank.

And again, two weeks into it, I found myself navigating familiar roads. I knew that before long, those adorable Bluefish Mariners would find themselves facing the same fate; evenings spent outside because they stank up the entire kitchen, and eventually the trash can.

 

I was at a loss. For a long time my Sperrys became boating only shoes. No one cares about what your feet smell like when you're on a boat. I figured they were called "boat shoes" for a reason.

But now, those days are GONE! I'm back to wearing my Sperrys almost every day, because I finally have a tried and true method for eliminating the smell. Friends, I'm here to inform you that it's not you. Okay, that might be a little too generous. For some of you, it's not you. It's the bacteria that traps itself inside your shoe. Think about it-the warm, dark, wet leather environment creates the perfect little petri dish for bacteria to move in and set up shop. THEY are what is causing the stink! So no amount of ADDING materials to the shoe is going to get rid of them. You have to change the shoe's environment so that the bacteria either die or leave.

Get ready, because I'm about to change your life. Introducing, the MaxxDry SD Boot, Shoe, and Glove Dryer.

Stock photo, from Amazon.

If I had to guess I would anticipate that someone north of the Mason-Dixon line invented this product. But by God, everyone in the South needs one. Via silent thermal convection and little bacteria seeking missiles, this thing eliminates odor causing bacteria and even promises to extend the life of your footwear.

How did we find this thing? My husband came home from work saying his coworker was raving about his boot dryer, and that he had to get one. He works in industrial construction where steel-toe boots are a necessity. Mix that with 100 degree Texas heat, and it's not hard to see how the man's boots could smell. He went on about it for weeks, so finally I caved and ordered one for him for Father's Day. It started with him putting his boots on it. After a few days, he told me that the smell in his work boots was completely gone.

I didn't believe it, not for a second. I had it engrained in my brain that nothing on Earth could remove foot stench as bad as ours. I was wrong. My husbands shoes smelled like the day they came out of the box again. Like leather. It was a miracle!

So naturally I grabbed my Sperrys and stuck them on there. About 2 days later, and between alternating with my husbands boots, the smell in my Sperry's was completely gone.

The great part about the boot dryer is that it is completely silent and doesn't emit any excess heat. We keep ours plugged in and have had it for about a month now. There is almost always something on it-my shoes during the day and my husbands at night. The process doesn't stink up our foyer either.

Eventually, the boot dryer will be relocated to our garage or laundry room (when we get one!). But for now, it's earned it's place right next to my entry way table, and that is where it will stay for the time being.

That's it! No more baby powder, no more deodorant between my toes, just me and my, err, my husband's boot dryer!! And my amazing smelling Sperrys (and ballet flats, and walking shoes, too), of course. Enjoy!

Amazon, Sperry Top-Siders, nor MaxxDry paid me for this endorsement. But they are more than welcome to if they would like.