Caring for shoes

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 MartynW 03 Mar 2020

My la sportiva finale shoes are six months old and started to develop a hole in the leather upper near the toes. I have really sweaty feet and I am thinking that the sweat is rotting the leather. I'm going to try and patch the hole but I was wondering if anyone had good ideas about preventing them getting worse. I dry them with stuffed newspaper after every use and use bicarbonate of soda once a month to stop them stinking.  Could I soak them in water to dissolve away some of the sweat? Or will that totally wreck the shape? 

Thank you, Martyn 

 FreshSlate 03 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

> My la sportiva finale shoes are six months old and started to develop a hole in the leather upper near the toes. I have really sweaty feet and I am thinking that the sweat is rotting the leather. I'm going to try and patch the hole but I was wondering if anyone had good ideas about preventing them getting worse. I dry them with stuffed newspaper after every use and use bicarbonate of soda once a month to stop them stinking.  Could I soak them in water to dissolve away some of the sweat? Or will that totally wreck the shape? 

> Thank you, Martyn 

I'd probably advise against soaking them in water as a damage limitation exercise. Some shoes can be washed OK but you'd just be doing that to get rid of the smell. 

Your toe nails may need trimming or perhaps the fit of the shoe might be causing the issue. How is the rubber? 6 months could be the lifespan of a shoe if they were your only shoes and well used during that time. Although to be fair, the upper should outlast the rubber so a moot point. 

Perhaps you could try synthetic shoes next time or something with a little more ventilation?

Post edited at 23:07
 Wiley Coyote2 03 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

Boot Bananas. They seemed a bit pricey when I bought them but they do work at drying the shoes and getting rid of the pong. My pair have lasted a couple of years so compared to the cost of shoes they look like a bargain

OP MartynW 03 Mar 2020
In reply to FreshSlate:

The rubber has loads of life left which is the annoying thing. Toe nails are trimmed. Might try a different fit next time or I'll have to resort to synthetic. 

Cheers 

Martyn 

OP MartynW 03 Mar 2020
In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

Might give that a try 

 imahuman118 03 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

With your next pair of shoes don't put them in your bag, stick a carabiner through them and hang it from the bag to let it air out, don't store in cupboard or cat boot.

 FreshSlate 04 Mar 2020
In reply to imahuman118:

Great advice that I forgot to mention. Particularly for sweaty feet. 

In reply to FreshSlate:

Initially, it seems wrong but try synthetic shoes and put them through the washing machine regularly. This coupled with storing your shoes outside of your pack will stop them syinki g and help with longevity. 

 MischaHY 05 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

Honestly if you sweat that much, consider wearing a thin pair of sport socks with the shoes. It will make a huge difference and won't affect the performance that much. 

 Lhod 05 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

I wonder if the bicarb is too harsh on the material and actually degrades it? Very different topic but our toddler wears reusable nappies, and the manufacturers advice for those is to avoid bicarb as it damages the material (cotton / bamboo fibre I think).

 stevevans5 05 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

is this mostly climbing indoors or out? And does the hole appear to be growing from the inside or out? Whenever I have seen a hole in that part of the shoe it's usually been dragging the front of the shoe up the wall during moves. 

 PaulJepson 05 Mar 2020
In reply to MartynW:

Try putting cat litter in an old sock and sticking in the shoe after use. It will suck all the moisture out.

 Iamgregp 05 Mar 2020
In reply to PaulJepson:

Top Tip:  Do not use cat litter in which the cat has already littered.  Does not end well..


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