UKH

Anyone use Boot Bananas? Do they work? Are they worth getting? 

In reply to gavjwp:

Yes, they keep my sweaty minging stickies fresh and dry.

I let the rock shoes air dry overnight first then chuck the bananas in.

My shoes have gone from festering biohazards (I don't wear socks in them) to lovely pleasantly odoured footwear.

In reply to gavjwp:

I use socks filled with coffee beans as diy boot bananas. They are super cheap and my climbing shoes smell great!

In reply to gavjwp:

I used them for a while. They're great but go really mank and need replacing every so often. I've started taking a piece of newspaper per shoe, loosly gathering it lengthways, fold in half and put in the shoe. Swap out after very one/two climbs. Works as well as boot bananas and keeping shoes dry & keeping the smell down. And, if you're still getting a newspaper through your door, its free and recyclable. 

In reply to Cloughy:

Good idea, I'm going to try this. What does the resulting coffee taste like?

In reply to gavjwp:

Used to cycle/run down to the wall and they're quite chunky, so would always take them out and forget to put them back in/lose them. When I did use them, my climbing partners (and anyone else at the crag within sniffing distance) were grateful...! For a while I used peppermint teabags, but they just ended up all over the place.

In reply to freeflyer:

Haha you'd have to be braver than me to find out!

In reply to gavjwp: I sprinkle a little Boots foot powder in each shoe after each session. Works a treat.

https://www.boots.com/boots-odour-control-foot-powder-75g-10276754

In reply to gavjwp:

Just buy some silica gel sachets off the tinternet and chuck one in each shoe. Half the price of a fancy banana and just as effective. 

I'm sure I read that you can do 5he same thing with kitty litter in an old sock and then pop that into your climbing shoes. 

In reply to gavjwp:

Not required if you just wear socks in your shoes 😉

In reply to gavjwp:

I use them, but have bought some silica gel to try making homemade versions too. They do work.

I think the key to stopping smelly shoes is to start using something (like boot bananas) from when they're new, and not allowing them to stay damp/sweaty after wearing.

In reply to mik82:

Or machine washing them with a tablespoon of baking soda in each shoe if the bacteria take over....

CB

In reply to cb294:

Football socks with cat litter work great. Dry out wet running shoes really well. Cheap option. 

In reply to gavjwp:

Sell the coffee as civet poo. I assume it comes out smelling like a pole cat. Just keep your shoes dry and aired really.....

I found buying a different shoe worked, also buy good quality cotton socks for normal use & be diligent with the daily personal hygiene.  If your feet don't stink when they go in.... helps the problem no end. 

Think that covers the 3 possible causes of stinking shoe. 

Besides a little preach above, has anyone ever managed to reverse a pair of rock boots from rotten to socially acceptable? I have a thought that once they have gone to the dark side, that's them for life. 

In reply to Kevster:

No, when the shoes are in risk of being banned by the Geneva convention, fill them with a tablespoon of baking soda each, put them in a cotton bag and chuck them into the washing machine. Repeat if really necessary, but normally one wash is enough.

Afterwards, keep dry, wear thin socks for training, etc.

CB

In reply to Kevster:

Not rock shoes, but my running shoes had gone through a bog and been left damp once too often a wee while ago, not quite as bad as the worst climbing shoes you could imagine but they were getting up there.  A cycle through the washing machine left them sparkling clean but didn't touch the stink.  What did sort it out was an overnight soak in dilute Milton sterilising fluid.

In reply to deepsoup:

That's because the wash didn't kill off the bacteria responsible for creating the stink but the Milton did.  Supermarkets sell clothes wash disinfectants designed to do the same job. I dunno how effective they are as I've never used them.

In reply to Kevster:

Yep, once wash through the dishwasher and they were as good as new.

In reply to galpinos: does this mean soaking my Helly Hansen In Milton might shift the 20year old stink?

In reply to gavjwp:

Cat litter- pref the wood pellet stuff, £3 for a lifetime supply

But what works best is never leaving your sweaty boots inside a bag - let them air.

In reply to Toerag:

Yup, guess so.  Milton is just a mild bleach, I don't know but I guess the clothes wash disinfectants you mention are too.  I'd rather not put my shoes through the washing machine too often though, I don't think it's particularly good for either.

In reply to Herdwickmatt:

I think in this case you would have to take off and nuke the entire site from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure.

Might not help with 20 year old Limburger cheese type smellies, obviously, but a diving friend likes these enzymatic odour removers for his neoprene suit. No need to machine wash or bleach (!) to ruin your shoes and rubber, just rinse or spray. I did use the McNett one on some smelly boots and it helped a lot. A spray of alcoholic hand sanitiser inside first might help killing the remaining bacteria (and might be a good idea on feet as well just before a climb as well for those unfortunate with sweaty feet!) then the enzymes break down much of the smelly acids (bacteria metabolites) or the organic stuff they eat.

Of course, since the smell comes from acids, any alkaline like soda should neutralise it as well, but I think the enzymes help with really smelly stuff better.

In reply to gavjwp:

I bought some but found I hated the smell, which always reminded me of cinammon. Eventually they reached the end of their life and I switched to Scholl shoe spray, which I found works very well for my rock shoes.