Stinky walking boots - solutions please

[FrozenTodger]

Posting here for traffic (and not sure where else would be most appropriate tbh). So, my walking boots absolutely stink! It's after I waded into water higher than I realised and soaked the inside. They are dry now but I want to tackle the odour. Had a google - but keen to ask for tried and tested methods if you have any. Thank you.

I don’t know but maybe an enzyme cleaner like Simple Solution might work because the bacteria get eaten by the enzymes!

Try Shoe Rescue powder.
I've had good results with it.

Watching with interest because my DHs walking boots and running trainers smell like actual death. Short of an exorcism, I don't know what to do 🤣

Get two pop socks, or some cut-off tights. Fill them loosely with cat litter, tie the ends and insert them in your boots. This works best if the boots are damp/wet on the inside. If yours have since dried out, I’d suggest washing them on the inside before putting the cat litter in. Then always use cat litter when they get wet on the inside. I had some expensive boots that absolutely reeked after they got wet inside: I found this solution on the internet, and it’s always worked for me. Never had stinky boots since (but my god they were bad when they were stinky!).

I'm hoping to avoid an exorcism 🤣 Thanks all. I'm going to try the cat litter one first I think!

The cat litter trick does work. We’ve also invested in those shoe charcoal bags from amazon, they just slip in the footwear and absorb whiffs and niffs. They work best used every time the shoes are taken off. Whilst the cat litter is great for initially extinguishing the funk. (But I find I do get litter in the footwear and it feels like standing on Lego only in your shoe)

Same for cut off tights/socks with bicarbonate of soda in it (rather than cat litter)... Could even go all out and put a couple of drops of essential oils in the bicarb to give them a nice smell too.

There is a company called boot buddy that sell shoe deodorizer...... they worked brilliant on my teenage sons whiffy shoes

Shake up 200ml surgical spirit with lemon, tea tree and lavender oil (10-20 drops each) - spritz on and will leave them smelling lovely

Sprayed mine with Febreeze and that helped.

This is the only thing that has worked for me: fill a small net bag with tea bags and insert in each boot after wearing. The tea absorbs moisture and removes any odours. It didn’t sound like it would work, but it has rescued a pair of boots I would have otherwise binned. Magic!