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What to do with Stinky Shoes (Not that You Have Any of Course)

July 19, 2015 by Laura 25 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

You know what really stinks?

Shoes. After they’ve had feet in them.

And after they’ve gotten wet. Or sweaty. Or dirty. Or wet, sweaty and dirty. You may think something large and furry crawled into your closet and died. Oh no. It’s just the shoes.

Thankfully there is hope. You do not have to dread being in the same vehicle with (or within a ten mile radius of) the wearer of said shoes.

What to do with stinky shoes

Wad up a big bunch of newspaper and stick them down into the shoes for a day or two. Set them outside in the sunshine if possible. Severely stinky shoes may require a removal of newspaper and re-stuffing of fresh newspaper after the first day for a continued de-stinking treatment.

newspapershoessm

If you enjoy sitting back with a nice cup of coffee while reading your newspaper, I highly recommend reading the newspaper before wading them into the shoes as the newspaper not be nearly as enjoyable after taking on the stink of the shoe.

And now I will end this post by saying that I find it comical that only a weird blogger such as myself will take the time to snap a picture of newspapers stuffed into stinky tennis shoes.

This post was originally published in August, 2009.

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Filed Under: Check This Out!, Homemaking

Comments

  1. JenT says

    August 31, 2009 at 7:33 am

    lol…oh I can totally relate to the odd pictures popping up on screensaver. It’s like “Exactly WHY did I take that picture? Oh, yeah, blog.”

    Thanks for the tip on the stinky shoes. Sometimes my boys don’t wear socks with their tennies and boy…yuck!

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth says

    August 31, 2009 at 8:32 am

    Thank you
    I am sitting here at the computer and I was thinking a cat got in (we don’t have a cat) and peed in the closet. I was thinking there was some type of hole in the house. Nope it is dh shoes. They have gotten sour. I will try this.

    Reply
  3. Quinn says

    August 31, 2009 at 8:54 am

    Hoping this tip is effective on work boots too! :D

    Reply
  4. Luke Holzmann says

    August 31, 2009 at 9:29 am

    Thanks for the tip! I’ll keep that in mind if I ever run across any stinky shoes… you know, because I’ve never had any in my house… [cough].

    [smile]

    ~Luke

    Reply
  5. melanie says

    August 31, 2009 at 9:37 am

    And what do you do with the closet that said stinky shoes have overcome?? Do you think that anything besides a bowl of charcoal is gonna help? (gratefully it’s not DH’s shoes, so it’s not MY closet/room that stinks!)

    Boys: “What smell?” =)

    I’m off to find some newspaper~

    Thanks for being *real*!

    Reply
  6. Erin says

    August 31, 2009 at 10:37 am

    So in addition to the newspaper, if you stick some plain (dry) tea bags inside the shoes, that helps a bunch to neutralize the odour as well! =)

    Reply
  7. Linda says

    August 31, 2009 at 11:48 am

    will SO have to try this. Have a pair of favorite shoes that are vaguely unpleasant (oh, and that’s the title of the next blog up on my RSS, lol). Anything to get a bit more life out of them!

    Reply
  8. Linda says

    August 31, 2009 at 11:51 am

    oh…and if you have the really sweaty feet that go into those stinky shoes, wipe the bottoms of the feet down regularly with used teabags (wet). The tannin in the tea will help dry the feet. Works for excessively sweaty feet. You know the kind. They create socks that stand up by themselves after removal. Or cause said socks to explode in the fireplace (yeah, we burned those awful socks)

    Reply
  9. Lenetta @ Nettacow says

    August 31, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    When I store cut onion in zip-top bags in the fridge, I always put a couple of crumpled newspapers in said bag and let it sit for a few days. Then I can use the bag again without making everything smell like (old) onion! Newspaper is amazing stuff . . .

    Reply
  10. Liza says

    August 31, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Great tip! I’ve heard putting dryer sheets in them helps too!

    Reply
  11. Marianne says

    August 31, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    BEST. TIP. EVER.

    Reply
  12. karen says

    August 31, 2009 at 4:37 pm

    I usually add a sprinkle of baking soda to our shoes, I’ll have to try the newspaper.

    Reply
  13. Jennifer says

    August 31, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    This works with wet shoes as well (particularly with light-up sneakers that can’t go in the dryer). The paper helps to dry them out faster than just air drying alone. (With shoe drying, you will need to change the paper a couple of times).

    Reply
  14. Amanda says

    September 1, 2009 at 3:58 am

    Wow!With 2 teenage boys and a husband I really need this tip to work. I shall be giving it a go with the freebie newspapers prior to recycling (providing the puppy doesn’t get to it first).

    Reply
  15. Hallee says

    September 1, 2009 at 4:56 am

    I worked a Susan G. Komen Boston 3-Day walk in June. We were really limited with luggage and lived in tents for 3 days, so I only had one pair of shoes. The first day it rained so hard – shockingly hard. My shoes were so wet that I poured water out of them. I went to bed at 11PM and was up at 4AM — and at 4AM my shoes were dry because I’d stuffed them with newspaper. It was wonderful!

    Reply
  16. Teresa says

    September 1, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    My boys have the stinkingest feet ever! I think you could stuff their shoes full of newspaper, baking soda, and freebreeze and they would still stink…but I’ll give the newspapers a try!

    Reply
  17. kelly says

    September 1, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Hahaha! Laura, you’re so funny!

    I actually KEEP wads of newspaper in the toes of some of my cute summer shoes. I have a few pairs that are closed toe, but do not demand socks. They tend to get a little ripe after a while… the newspaper prevents the ick from building up in there. I change the newspaper when it needs it.

    Reply
  18. Dave Roller (Home School Dad) says

    September 2, 2009 at 7:46 am

    Paper training for shoes?

    Excellent!

    Reply
  19. Heather says

    September 2, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    Can’t wait to try this out!

    Reply
  20. missy @ it's almost naptme says

    September 3, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Oh, Bless you!! Yesterday I could not figure out what the SMELL in my house was – it was my son’s stinky feet! He just turned 6 and I guess it has begun! I have his shoes in the washer right now, I am definitely going to try this trick. Thanks!

    Reply
  21. Wendy says

    September 3, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    My mom has done this for years. I thought she was just being goofy until I got married to a man with huge stinky feet and then had four kids! The newspapers work wonders. :-)

    Reply
  22. Melly says

    March 15, 2012 at 4:24 am

    You are right! Shoes can be the most stinky thing on earth… I know exactly… ;)

    The best thing you can do: Put special cedarsoles inside your shoes. It’s the best and easiest way to get rid of the smell. These cedarsoles are made from fresh smelling cedar wood. Moreover cedar wood has antibacterial charakteristics. So the food bacteria, that cause the smell, have no chance to survive.

    Reply
  23. emily says

    April 24, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    i how it works my mom cant stand to be in the same room when my shoes are near the stink horribly

    Reply
  24. Maisy says

    June 3, 2012 at 10:03 am

    I use cedar insoles from zederna, too. Perhaps you can them at http://www.zederna.com or at amazon. Cedarsoles consist of cedar wood which “soaks” the too much moisture out of your feet.

    Reply
  25. Anne says

    July 20, 2015 at 10:16 am

    For washable shoes, pour in peroxide liberally and swish around. Let sit awhile and then toss in the washer. Peroxide kills the bacteria that causes odor. Works for stinky socks too and can be rubbed on feet. This also works for dishcloth odor.

    Reply

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