How to get that smell out of wet/sweaty/grassy football boots

[Miserableatwork90]

My daughter's football boots STINK.

What can I do? Sometimes they stink the whole house out!

You need to try to keep them dry.

Personally, I would soak in an antibacterial solution first, before rinsing, to wash out the current problem as much as possible. If there are removable insoles, take these out and clean separately. (Something like Dettol laundry sanitiser or Dew Hypochlorous Acid spray.) Then stuff the shoes with cloths/ newspaper to absorb moisture. Remove the stuffed cloths after they have absorbed most of the moisture. Then I put in front of my dehumidifier to dry them out, but somewhere warm would do too. (Not directly on a radiator though.)

Basically, it is bacteria thriving on the moist environment that causes the stink. If you can starve it of the moisture, it can't thrive.

I also keep some socks containing either some unused cat litter, dry unused tea bags, or bicarb of soda to put in the shoes to absorb moisture and neutralise odour. However, this is better for regular upkeep than tackling a major problem.

We bought one of those clear plastic boxes with a lid, and the boots lived outside.

Yy to drying the insides with newspaper/cat litter, but outside means no smell inside, ever

i found sprinkling the insides with bicarb of soda helps

Thank you so much!

So leaving them wet is causing the problem - makes sense. I've ordered some 'Halo' and plan to soak them and get the worse out, and then actually start drying them.. bicarb sounds good too...as does leaving them outside!!@

Forgot that my heated clothes dryer has a heayed shoe rack at the bottom too which will help dry them