UKH

Evening all,
My wife left her walking boots in the car when they were wet so after 3 days, they have dried out but smell damp.
Any ideas how she, read me, can get rid of the smell?
Cheers, Den

In reply to Denni:

"Boot bananas" work for me for rock boots, trainers, boots etc. Not sure how they will work once they've dried out but for next time - highly recommended.

In reply to Denni:

Leather or fabric?

Stuff them full of cat litter until they are next used.

If they went mouldy or slimy and smell musty as a result then rinse them / dip them in a bowl of cold water mixed with milton (other brands available) then dry thoroughly (the stuffing with newspaper works) and the cat litter.

I found Boot Bananas not only didn't work on my rock shoes but actively made them smell worse!

Also remove the insoles if they have them and dry them separately - avoid heat (radiators) because some curl up and don't go back in the boots nicely afterwards.

You can also simply wash them in a washing machine but this can be destructive to the washing machine if the boots are too big and hard and you'll have to reproof leather boots so probably best left to trail shoes and climbing boots. Biological washing powder does a good job. The rubber on rock boots gets nice and grippy after but I've had some (very old) boots delaminate on washing.

In reply to Denni:

I had that problem with a pair of approach shoes. Kept stinking no matter what I did (boot bannanas, antibacterial sprays, even tried boiling water), I tried shoving them in the washing machine and it worked a treat.

In reply to duchessofmalfi:

I tend to use http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=285024357 rather than Milton, it still kills germs but is gentler on fabric.

In reply to marsbar:

Fabric, goretex lined Mammut ones

In reply to marsbar:

Cheers for the replies folks, looks like they may be going in the industrial washing machine where my wife works!

In reply to Denni:
I machine wash my approach shoes with a good glug of antiseptic.

If she would be very upset if they got damaged then soaking them in a bowl would be OK.